The difficulties and unfavorable reports that our schools and children are facing might easily overwhelm us.
However, meaningful transformation is not limited to Kentucky; we are a leader in showcasing the outcomes of robust schools and close-knit community collaborations.
In order to witness the same change in their own schools and children, we also encourage parents, community leaders, educators, and legislators to join the movement.
With the help of the Groundswell Initiative and the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, we have launched a campaign that tells motivational tales from 20 school districts in Kentucky. Its message is: Effective Partnerships, Strong Schools, and Real Results.
Although we don’t always give ourselves enough credit, Kentucky is frequently commended for its nationally renowned collaborative attitude. This campaign serves as a reminder to Kentuckians that our strength is in our ability to work together, and that the same spirit of cooperation is essential to changing education. We are sharing experiences from all throughout Kentucky that demonstrate how effective community-school collaborations benefit children in quantifiable and life-changing ways.
Compared to comparable projects that are created and carried out separately, these school activities that are built in conjunction with the community and families are more successful in producing quantifiable results.
By making the most of outside resources, local education and community leaders are implementing a creative strategy to improve student outcomes like attendance, behavior, and success through a federal grant obtained by the Prichard Committee. Teachers can refocus on teaching by using this tactic.
Participating school districts include Bracken, Carter, Clark, Christian, Covington, Danville, Daviess, Dayton, Fayette, Hopkins, Jefferson, McCracken, Owensboro, Paducah, Rockcastle, Rowan, Scott, Shelby, Warren, and Washington.
Teachers are witnessing personally how its Lunch Bunch with community partners has contributed to an increase in attendance, including Suzanne Farmer, chief academic officer for the Danville Independent School District. She informed us that because the community is involved at every stage, we have been able to enhance answers to problems we have faced for years. Although the community has already shown us a great deal of support, this is going above and beyond.
In just one year, the following outcomes were attained:
children from Georgetown College collaborate with Scott County Schools in Scott County to help mentor and teach children math concepts through creative teaching approaches. According to the first-year results, 83% of the 43 kids enrolled in the Buffalo Learning Lab showed growth from their autumn to winter iReady math and reading assessments, while 100% of the participating students at Garth Elementary increased their arithmetic pre-assessment levels.
The CentreWorks community collaboration program at Centre College now works closely with the Danville school system, helping primary kids with their schoolwork and advising high school students on financial aid applications and admissions essays. Additionally, free after-school programs are offered by the public library, arts center, local extension service, and a food charity; parents can receive information from local agencies about topics like substance use disorders; and other organizations offer free food and child care.
With the assistance of the Baptist Church across the street from Simpsonville Elementary, 79% of Shelby County children saw an increase in their Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) scores through extended study time.
Using community resources and donations to provide food and space, middle and high school students in Hopkins County got visual art instruction and coping skills training for mental health challenges. At Madison North High School and Browning Springs Middle School, grades, attendance, and behavior all improved for 65 percent of the kids who took part.
Visit www.prichardcommittee.org to discover more about Groundswell, The Kentucky Effect, and the importance of your participation.
The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, a citizen-driven, nonpartisan, solutions-focused nonprofit organization founded in 1983 with the sole goal of providing Kentuckians with a road to a better life with education at its center, is led by Brigitte Blom as its president and CEO.