Community Schools
Community Schools, developed in partnership between the City of Little Rock and the Little Rock School District, show Little Rock’s commitment to ensuring equitable support for our most vulnerable students and neighborhoods.
We recognize that each of Little Rock's neighborhoods and school communities has its own strengths and challenges. However, in many of our neighborhoods, these challenges often prevent students and families from reaching their full potential. Community Schools seek to address these needs by creating a network where community members, school leaders, and families work together to develop supports and services that meet the needs of students and their families. Questionnaires and conversations with each school's families, staff, and community stakeholders help identify need areas and types of support programs that they would like to see. These programs could look like expanded after school care and social-emotional services for students, health and nutrition programs for students and families, job training for parents, and collaboration between community members to support these services.
By providing students and families with the supports they need and want, Little Rock's Community Schools help to advance equity in neighborhoods that have historically been underserved. These schools become neighborhood hubs that support the community and ensure that students and families have the tools they need to be their best selves!
Where are Little Rock's Community Schools Located?
There are currently eight Community Schools throughout the Little Rock School District: Chicot, Mabelvale, McDermott, Stephens, Washington, and Watson elementary schools; and Mabelvale and Dunbar middle schools..
The current schools were chosen from key locations in some of Little Rock's most vulnerable neighborhoods. The schools in these neighborhoods were identified to have needs including food insecurity, lack of access to healthcare, large numbers of families whose first language is not English, and high rates of absenteeism among students. Across these schools, large numbers of students were not reading at grade level. Community Schools in these neighborhoods offer the services that students and families need and want, ensuring that students are able to come to school ready to learn!
What types of services do Community Schools offer?
Since each school and community has different needs, each Community School looks different. Support programs at each school are tailored to the interests and needs of the population it serves. Each school's Community School Coordinator works with school staff, district staff, and the city to identify and implement support programming specifically designed to meet the needs of students and families.
How are Community Schools funded?
To fund these programs, Community Schools typically use braided funding sources. District and federal funds provide funding for programming, and private donations provide support as well. Local nonprofits as well as national organizations often contribute funding for specific community school programming.
Who are the local partners?
Community schools are a community effort! The Little Rock School District and City of Little Rock have collaborated to support this project. Many local organizations join together to support families and communities. Some organizations are listed below.
To support food security efforts, Community Schools partner with the Arkansas Food Bank to stock food pantries and provide families with food. Americorps programs support Community Schools through FoodCorps garden educators and City Year Student Success Coaches.
To support healthcare equity, Community Schools partner with Arkansas Children's Hospital and ARcare to operate school-based healthcare clinics. These clinics serve students and their families and connect families with primary care providers and wellness services.
To support academics, several organizations have partnered to offer after school care and tutoring. AR Kids Read tutors work with children to provide targeted academic support. Central Arkansas Library Services (CALS) provides support in a variety of areas including academic support, reading material donation, and more.
Community Schools are very fortunate to have support from a variety of other individuals and organizations. Any support, whether it is in the form of donations, hands-on support, feedback, or programming, is crucial in creating the strong community networks needed for Community Schools to be successful. We look forward to continuing to build and expand our partner and support networks!
Contact Us
If you have any questions about Community Schools or are interested in forming partnerships, please reach out!
Briana Davis, Community Schools Director, Little Rock School District - briana.davis@lrsd.org
Jennifer Glasgow, Chief Education Officer, City of Little Rock - jglasgow@littlerock.gov