Community schools initiative expands health clinics, care closets and summer programs across Washington County

Danielle Dye, EO’s workforce program coordinator, told the Washington County Public Schools Board on Monday that the division’s community schools work is advancing, with renewed state grant funding, an expansion of on-site health clinics and multiple student supports planned for next year.

Dye said the community schools grant was renewed and officially finalized in December, and that the EO team and partners continued work through the funding delay so schools did not lose momentum. “Our vision is for implementation to create schools in Washington County where we are inclusive. Every student is supported. Families are valued, and every partner has a voice,” she told the board.

Health clinics and student supports Superintendent Dr. Perrigan said the district is expanding its health-clinic partnership this fall and noted the impact of the John S. Battle clinic: “John s Battle’s clinic this year had 794 visits,” he said, adding that clinic visits served both students and staff and kept people out of urgent care and emergency rooms.

Dye described several components of the community schools framework: - Integrated student supports: 16 care closets (one at each school), student support coordinators, on-site health clinics and role clarity for partners. - Expanded learning: EO’s Career Commons hosted seventh graders in the fall and expanded services for 11th graders. EO will run a career discovery summer camp five weeks this summer and an internship program for rising juniors, seniors and recent graduates. - Family and community engagement: Events such as school art nights and guest speakers drew hundreds; EO assisted with STEM days and college/university visits. - Collaborative leadership: School climate teams transitioned into community school advisory teams that now include partners such as Highlands Community Services and Communities In Schools.

Data and early-warning systems Dye and board members discussed an early-warning and response platform the transcript calls the “LASER” system, which DOE offers and integrates with PowerSchool. Dye said the district plans to review and possibly adopt the LASER system to better target attendance, behavior referrals and coursework issues. She said the system is free and that Region 7 currently has no users.

Resource guide and designation process Dye said EO is converting a paper resource guide into an interactive online resource with hover descriptions and contact details and hopes to launch it before school starts. She also said the Virginia Department of Education will soon release a community schools designation process that districts can apply to; EO expects Washington County’s schools to be well positioned for designation.

Board response and next steps Board members asked to be notified when trainings and online resources go live. Members also endorsed continued collaboration among EO, Highlands, Communities In Schools and central office to avoid duplication and fill identified gaps such as interpreter services for ESL families. Dye said the teams have completed 78 of 101 strategic-plan goals set across the 16 schools and plan more work next year to address goals delayed by weather and the previous school-year interruptions.