- Jefferson K-12 Community Partnership School provides essential health, wellness, and academic resources.
- The initiative helps students and families, particularly those facing homelessness or economic challenges.
- Watch the video to find out how much funding the organization needs.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Jefferson County residents can access free healthcare, mentoring, and food services at Jefferson K-12. I’m Lentheus Chaney, your Monticello neighborhood reporter, talking with school leaders about how their community partnership program is impacting students, teachers, and our neighbors.
The Community Partnership School model at Jefferson K-12 is designed to provide essential services that extend beyond the classroom. Community Partnership Director Lori Livingston says the initiative is helping to remove barriers that often prevent students from succeeding academically.
“We have a very high low-income population of students and families, and so a lot of our students may be experiencing homelessness, or they may be in transition,” Livingston said.
That’s where the leaders of the Community Partnership School step in to help. They provide access to essentials like the school’s food pantry, laundry room, clothing closet, and even shower facilities and job assistance. Livingston says these services are open to all Jefferson County residents—including teachers—by giving them a refreshed space to regroup and recharge.
“We want to make sure that the teachers are happy here, and in return, the students will be happier, and we will see continued academic success,” Livingston said.
Academic leaders from nearby community partnership schools recently visited Jefferson K-12 to share insights and exchange ideas. Rebecca Couch, vice president of Community Partnership Schools, says the program is funded through a specific allocation in the state budget, but there is a 25% match requirement.
“Some of those funds that we receive from the state can’t be used for certain things, so whether that’s a food pantry that a community might need, and really trying to find local contributions to stop that food pantry, or maybe it might be a clothing closet at that school, or it may be mental health counseling that the community or the school might need. We try to identify those gaps and then locate the resources in the funding to help fill those needs in those gaps in that community,” Couch said.
This year, the organization is hoping to secure $9.1 million to expand the initiative from 37 schools to 47. Livingston says the investment is well worth it.
“We were an F school just two years ago; this year, we’re a B school, and most of that can be attributed to the services and supports that we provide through the community partnership school,” Livingston said.
Community Partnership School leaders from around the state will meet with legislators this week at the Capitol to ask for continued support and expansion. In Monticello, Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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