Merced schools win $21 million in state grants. Here’s where the money will go
By next school year, some Merced schools will be transformed into resource centers that provide comprehensive services to families and their neighbourhoods as part of a sweeping effort to remove barriers to children’s academic success.
Fifteen schools in the school district were awarded community school grants, totalling $21 million, by the California Department of Education.
The five-year grant comes from the California Community Schools Partnership Program, a $1.3 billion initiative to help schools better serve families and neighbourhoods. In previous cohorts, some school districts in the San Joaquin Valley have used the money to operate food and clothing pantries, hire coordinators to connect outside resources for families in need, and fund behavioral counseling and mental health services for students.
This is the first time that the Merced City district applied for the state’s community schools program.
“Fifteen of the district’s 19 schools met the criterion for the program funding,” said Dominique Zuniga, the district’s communications director. “The district intends to utilize the funding to make the district a hub for community schools.”
The 15 community schools for Merced City Elementary are: Givens Elementary, Reyes Elementary, Wright Elementary, Stowell Elementary, Franklin Elementary, Joe Stefani Elementary, Fremont Elementary, Muir Elementary, Gracey Elementary, Sheehy Elementary, Merced City School District Community Day, Rivera Elementary, Hoover Middle, Rivera Middle, and Tenaya Middle.
According to data from the state education department, about 83% of the district’s 12,000 students are living in poverty.
The district plans to enhance counseling services, improve school site safety, and add behavioral health supports, Zuniga said.
Families can expect to receive extra support in parent and community engagement opportunities, learning programs to improve student outcomes, and additional personnel for school sites, Zuniga said.
School districts with established community schools report that the model helps reduce chronic absenteeism by addressing students’ basic needs, such as not having clean clothes to wear, or missing the bus and having no other transportation to school.
“When I tell them about the car and the fact that there’s someone willing to pick them up, you could see the light on their faces by knowing that we care enough that we will drive literally to their front door, honk and give them a ride.” said Beatriz Castro, a liaison for Fort Miller Middle School, a community school in Fresno.
The services hosted by the 19 community schools in the last two years have reached more than 30,000 families, according to Fresno Unified’s spokesperson Diana Diaz.
