PVUSD gets state grant to build more community schools

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV)- Pajaro Valley Unified School District received a 32 million dollar grant from the state to get more students back into classrooms.

This grant will be providing better social and mental health services to the kids in order for them do better in schools and eventually graduate.

“To qualify for the grant, your schools need to have a certain percentage of students that are meeting some of these mitigating factors," Chrissy Maclean the PVUSD coordinator of counseling programs said. "24 of our schools met that requirement so we decided to apply for these dollars knowing that it could help our schools and our families.”

Community schools is a key initiative aimed at the transformation of public schools and includes universal free school meals, transitional kindergarten, before-and-after school learning investments in teacher training, coaching, recruitment and student retention. 

“Students need to be well and you know emotionally and physically in order to do well academically," Maclean said. "They’ve invested quite a few dollars into helping mitigate the issues that keep students from being able to be at their best and successful in their academics.” 

These funds will be supporting a total of 995 schools statewide in implementing a community schools approach at their sites. 

PVUSD Superintendent Dr. Heather Contreras expressed gratitude for the significant investment in a statement, "This funding will allow us to expand our commitment to the whole-child, whole-family, whole-community framework and approach, which has already shown great success in supporting our students, families and educational community." "By providing essential services within the school environment, we can ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed academically and socially."

According to CA.GOV, one student in Eureka city schools went from 40 absences to just one in a roughly 60-day timeframe, and another child went from 26 to one. 

“There’s truancy mediation for students who aren't coming to school at all, and we know those families need a lot more support to figuring out what those are so that we can provide for them and get those students to school," Maclean said.

All community school sites will be working closely with students, families, staff and community partners to get the resources and supports that they need.

The district office is also investing to help strengthen whole-child and whole-family systems for community school implementation.