Co-founded in 2010 at Evans High School by the Children’s Home Society of Florida, Orange County Public Schools and UCF, the Community Partnership Schools model is an innovative approach that enables schools to offer various resources for students and families in underserved communities.

Each school unites at least four core partners — a school district, university or college, community-based nonprofit and healthcare provider — that leverage their collaboration and community resources to provide students with access to healthcare, social services and more. Within the schools, four staff members each oversee a pillar of the model: a partnership director, an expanded learning coordinator, a wellness coordinator, and a coordinator for family and community engagement.

Four years after the flagship program at Evans High School launched, the intiative received $685,000 in funding to establish the UCF Center for Community Schools and began adding new sites across the state. One of them, Orange County Public Schools’ Academic Center for Excellence, is located just across the street from UCF Downtown and 15 minutes from Evans High.

“OCPS ACE is one of our most comprehensive Community Partnership Schools, with Rosen Preschool and the Boys and Girls Club embedded directly on the school grounds,” says Amy Ellis, director of the UCF Center for Community Schools. “This unique educational campus provides students with access to before- and after-school tutoring, counseling and a full range of healthcare services.”

Ellis says the increased funding will help support and add to existing programs and services in the areas of expanded learning, wellness, and family and community engagement. It also gives the center the opportunity to award up to eight new schools with grant dollars to begin planning implementation of the model.

“An increase in funding for Community Partnership Schools signals a greater understanding of the value of school partnerships and the aim in Florida to genuinely care for and invest in the whole child,” Ellis says. “Legislators in Florida are some of our strongest partners, and we are privileged to be working alongside them to elevate our students, families and communities.  This funding will provide close to 44,000 students with access to needed enrichment and tutoring programs; physical, dental, and behavioral health services; and family assistance.”

The recent increase marks the first since the 2019-20 academic year, which saw a leap from $1.4 million to $7.1 million, allowing additional districts across the state to launch new sites. Today, over 80 core partners have made 36 sites across 21 districts — and counting — possible.

Proposals for up to eight additional sites will be selected by an external review team, with priority given to schools in new districts and along with those connected to existing community schools.

“Students can be successful with the right efforts in place,” Ellis says. “It takes a village to raise our Florida children, and the core Community Partnership Schools partners have committed long-term — for 25 years — to support that village.”

Leaders from the center and College of Health and Public Affairs recognized Simmons at the Sept. 25 board meeting of the Children’s Home Society of Florida in Orlando. CHSF and UCF partnered to help establish Evans High School in Pine Hills as the first community school of its kind the state.

Center Director David Bundy, former president of CHSF, thanked Simmons for his support of proposals in 2014 and 2015 to establish the center and award the state’s first community-school planning grants. The Legislature funded .

Simmons’ interest in community schools grew out of a 2013 meeting with Bundy and college Dean Michael Frumkin. After their meeting the senator requested a binder filled with information about community schools to review.

“The community-school concept was very much in keeping with his educational philosophy,” said Bundy. “He liked that community schools are an efficient use of resources and that they bring people together and remove barriers to student success.”

At the Sept. 25 meeting, Simmons received a black and gold recognition plate from Marklyne Joachim, an Evans’ graduate who benefitted from the community school programs. She is now a sophomore at UCF.

Simmons later wrote of his joy in working with the partners and appreciation of the recognition. He also made note of his pleasure in meeting Joachim.

“Marklyne did such a great job sharing,” he wrote. “[It] made it really special that she was there too.”

In addition to being recognized by the center, Simmons was honored as Legislator of the Year by CHSF.

PHOTO (Left to right) Rob Matschner (CHSF-CF Board), Tara Hormell (CHSF), Charles Cromer (CHSF Board), Amy Ellis (UCF), Michael Frumkin (UCF), David Simmons, Marklyne Joachim (UCF), David Bundy (UCF), Jarvis Wheeler (Evans) and Summer Pfeiffer (CHSF)

The Center for Community Schools and Child Welfare Innovation (), based at the College of Health and Public Affairs, will receive the funding in the new fiscal year to continue its work with Evans Community School in Orlando and expand the community-school model to other schools in Florida.

“We’ll receive enough funding to award planning and first-year operational grants to schools interested in developing community schools,” said Dave Bundy, director at the center. “We know it is extremely successful in terms of student performance and it is a cost-efficient model.”

The partners who helped created Evans Community School (http://evanscommunityschool.org) in 2012 – Children’s Home Society of Florida, Orange County Public Schools, Central Florida Family Health Center (now True Health) and UCF – launched the Center for Community Schools and Child Welfare in 2014 thanks in part to the success at Evans.

Community schools aim to tear down the barriers that can interfere with a child’s educational success from poverty to a lack of health care. At Evans, for example, students and parents have access to primary health care, dental care, mental health care, free meals, food pantry, snack closet, job-assistantance programs, tutoring, mentoring and additional help. Community partners provide all these services at discounted rates on site year-round.

Bundy said that since Evans started the model, graduation rates have risen from 60 to 80 percent.

“The idea is to remove barriers and let children focus on learning,” Bundy said.

Last year the UCF center provided grants to public schools in Brevard, Pasco and Escambia counties. The new funding will allow for more schools to come online.

The new funding will also allow the center to help with first-year operational costs of the program at each school selected.

Endeavour Elementary School in Cocoa and C.A. Weiss Elementary School in Pensacola are working with the center to develop their plans to follow the community model. They could be eligible for first-year operational costs, thanks to the new funding.

“It’s a good model for schools that struggle in terms of student performance and that are in distressed neighborhoods,” Bundy said. “We are happy to be able to partner with community organizations to help students succeed. Helping students attain a good education is a wise investment in our children and our future as a community.”