SCS Partners Receive $1 Million Grant to Fund Creation of New Community Schools Model in Memphis, Tennessee

Shelby County Schools is pleased to announce it has partnered with
Communities In Schools of Memphis, Whole Child Strategies and Seeding Success to create several community schools that will not only educate students but serve the needs of the surrounding community as well. 

The funding for the project comes from a $1 million dollar grant that Communities In Schools of Memphis was awarded from the Together for Students Initiative. The organization is one of four community groups across the nation to share in $3.75 million in funding to improve schools. The collective goal is to showcase how collaborative decision making among families, educators and partners can create better outcomes for nearly 100,000 youth.

Beginning the fall of 2019, the grant money will fund a prototype model that will transform a few existing traditional SCS schools into a community school. A community school is one that provides wraparound services to both students and community members to help eliminate barriers that affect that specific community. It will partner with local organizations to provide a variety of services to anyone in the surrounding area, even if they do not have a child that attends that school.  

The new community schools will offer services based on community needs, so each program will not look exactly alike. As each program is developed student, community, school leader and teacher voices will be taken into account to assess what services will be offered. 

“These will be full-service schools for parents, students, siblings and community members,” said Dr. Lori Phillips, Chief of Student, Family and Community Affairs. “They will remove barriers so that principals can lead, teachers can teach, students can learn, and parents can love.”

“There is no one-size-fits-all fix for the challenges facing America’s students,” said Dale Erquiaga, Communities In Schools president and CEO. “Individual communities know what they need to do to get their students on the path to success — the Together for Students grants will help our communities make those ideas a reality. From giving youth access to engaging learning opportunities to expediting academic growth, these
community-designed, student-centered plans will create real change with generational effects.”

SCS is proud to work with partners Communities In Schools of Memphis, Whole Child Strategies and Seeding Success to transform our schools, neighborhoods and communities to improve the education and successes for generations to come.