Four Little Rock School District elementary schools are writing new chapters in their long histories.
The schools -- Chicot, Stephens, Washington and Watson -- are designated "community schools." The community-school model, found in cities across the country, uses a network of partnerships to provide services -- such as after-school care, food pantries, clothes closets, health care and adult training -- to meet the needs of not only students but also their families as a way to generate student success.
Services under the community school umbrella have been in place at the Little Rock schools for about a year now in spite of the covid-19 pandemic that all but closed schools and limited face-to-face interaction in the 2020-21 school year and now into the 2021-22 school year.
The services -- still a work in progress -- vary by campus depending on the identified needs of students and the availability of resources that come from the school district, the city of Little Rock and from other partner organizations.
[COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: Interactive map not showing up above? Click here to see it » arkansasonline.com/19schools]
The four schools have been labeled and supported in different ways in the past -- all in an effort to raise achievement for pupils from families living in poverty.
"Double-funded incentive" schools and "majority-to-minority interdistrict magnets" or state-graded D and F schools have been among the tags applied to at least some of the four in past decades as a way to give attention and support to them.
This time, the community school name comes with support from the city.
Jay Barth, chief education officer for Little Rock who actually initiated the idea of community schools in 2019, was on the Arkansas Board of Education at the time the Little Rock district was under state control for chronically low student achievement at some schools.
Barth and Darian Smith, the Little Rock district's executive director of elementary education, are spearheading the development of the community schools that are built on the "four pillars" or components of student well-being, including health care, after-school and summer learning opportunities, training programs for adults, and parent leadership development.
"These are exactly the schools that when I was on the state board we were talking about in terms of 'turnaround ' -- what can we do to turn around these challenged schools?" Barth recalled in a recent interview about the initiative.
"I think this is the most sustainable way of doing that," he said about the community school concept. "It's focused ultimately on academic achievement, but it's also about making the neighborhoods in which students are coming of age healthier places -- where the students have less violence, less trauma, less hunger and fewer adverse childhood experiences."
Each of the four schools has or soon will have social workers to assist in the mission. The city last month announced receipt of a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that will go toward two social workers at Stephens.
Transforming the schools into neighborhood hubs for young and old has entailed traveling to locations such as Shreveport and Albuquerque, N.M., to see their community school set-ups, as well as searching out service providers and funding.
Conversations with Barth, Smith and others affiliated with the four schools are peppered with references to the contributing organizations: Arkansas Children's Hospital, ARcare Health, Forward Arkansas, National Education Association Foundation, Windgate Foundation, Blue and You, Arkansas Food Bank, National League of Cities, and many more.
The Little Rock district hired four community school coordinators -- one per campus -- in late 2020.
Nicole Chandler, Chicot's community school coordinator, said community school offerings are developed to be fun and engaging, as well as beneficial for students and their families.
The offerings at the 830-pupil Chicot Elementary and Early Childhood Center, for example, include the weekly distribution of food boxes assembled by church groups, but also after-school soccer under the tutelage of the Little Rock Rangers Soccer Club.
A school vegetable garden in concrete-walled raised beds is another feature of the campus, as is the colorful outdoor classroom. A church partner, Boy Scouts, the Junior League of Little Rock and the family of a deceased school security guard were among those helping with the outdoor features.
Regularly scheduled "community cafes," which are intended to bring families into the schools for a meal and conversation, are an integral part of the community school plans, Barth said. Because of covid, those events had to be reconfigured as "grab and go" meals, with maybe some pamphlets of information because of covid-19.
That's been tweaked now at Chicot, where families are invited to pick up their meals and stay to eat in their cars while watching a family friendly movie on an inflatable screen, reminiscent of a drive-in theater.
The community school initiatives are weaved together with services that are not directly tied to the community schools but work in tandem, Chandler said.
Chicot, for example, is home to an on-site Arkansas Children's Hospital health clinic that also serves Watson Elementary pupils and their siblings.
The clinic -- under the direction of clinic manager Jaime Combs -- is made up of a suite of offices, a laboratory and exam rooms, including a new fully equipped vision center that is staffed by different providers. Combs said the school has already provided 35 pairs of eyeglasses to students since eye exams began in October.
Behavioral and mental health services are provided by Living Hope Southeast and the People Advocating Transition (P.A.T.) Center.
Stephens Elementary also has a health clinic for pupils, with services from Arkansas Children's Hospital. Washington Elementary pupils, their families and school staffers have access to ARcare, which includes telemedicine services.
Chicot -- where Gina Khoury is principal -- is also home to a federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grant for after-school programs and, like the other community schools, Chicot is the recipient of bicycles, helmets and bike-riding lessons for kindergarten physical education sessions made possible by All Kids Bike and Coca-Cola Foundation.
"I like to tell people that the work of community schools happens with collaboration and being intentional and strategic and wanting to do our best not just for students but for the whole family," said Chandler, who is a graduate of Little Rock Central High and Hendrix College, and worked in various positions in Boston for nine years before becoming a community school coordinator.
"The work we do impacts the whole household," Chandler added. "It is about trying to serve the whole family so that they are healthy and they have what they need. That can ripple into the community. Ideally, at some point, the community is feeling the impact of the work we are doing at the school."
Each of the four schools has a community council to provide guidance on the services.
Keneasha E. Scott, a member of the Chicot council, and Sharon Houston, president of the school's Parent Teacher Association, are enthusiastic in their support for Chicot and the community school concept.
Scott said the role of the council is to build relationships with community partners.
"I like to say that we do not have a lack of resources in our country and we do not have a lack of people who need those resources," Scott said. "We can be successful when we have ensured that the bridge between those who need and those who have it to give is short enough so that those two groups meet. That's what this council does -- ensures that the bridge is short enough so that those two groups are able to meet."
Houston pointed to the convenience and the range of services available at the on-site health clinic and the Leader In Me summer program, a national program for students on leadership, self-reliance and healthy habits.
"I would not change a thing about Chicot Elementary School," Houston said, adding that she only rues the covid 19 pandemic for delaying even more programs and services for the surrounding neighborhood.
"I believe if this coronavirus was gone, we would see a lot more great things," she said.
The idea of community schools with their slate of extra support services for students and families was first raised in late 2019 as a way to smooth the fractious transition of the Little Rock district from state control to governance by a locally elected board.
State leaders at the time had proposed releasing all but as many as eight of the district's lowest-performing schools to local governance. The F-graded schools would be placed under separate leadership, a plan to which Little Rock district supporters vehemently objected.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. intervened with a plan that, in part, would place the low-achieving schools under the direction of the school system but with city support of wrap-around services to address poverty in those school neighborhoods.
In December 2019, Barth -- a newly retired college professor -- was hired in a part-time role as the city's first chief education officer with a responsibility for implementing a community schools model within the Little Rock district.
"This will be a rejuvenation in opportunity for young people living in our most fragile neighborhoods," Barth said at the time of his selection.
The city's share of funding is $475,000 a year, which Barth said is best used to fill in gaps not covered by grants from other sources. Of the schools, Chicot's community school budget of about $580,000 is the largest, Barth said, due in part to the health clinic and the 21st Century after-school program.
The school district and city -- through a task force representing both entities -- continue to work on formation of a memorandum of understanding for the long-term operation of the community schools.
Adrienne Hawkins, Chicot's school counselor, said the community school program has been a stress reliever for her.
"I don't feel the worry I would have when I came to work and would wonder what kids have certain needs that I haven't been able to meet," Hawkins said. "I would try to figure out who I can call. Now, I don't have to worry. The resources are all plugged in. I can call the community school coordinator, and she can help with housing assistance and food insecurity. The clothes closet for students in need of clothing. Anything as far as basic needs -- that's what community schools are all about."