Plymouth Elementary awarded $1.187 million CCSPP grant; board approves contractor to help manage reporting

The Amador County Unified School District on Wednesday announced Plymouth Elementary has been awarded a California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) grant of $1,187,500 over five years and approved a post‑award services contract to help implement and report on the work.

Director of School and Community Integration Amanda Avila told the board the CCSPP award is designed to expand the school'as‑a‑hub model: "A community school is distinguished by its integrated focus on academics, youth development, family support, health and social services, and community development," she said, summarizing the CDE framework. Plymouth qualified under the state's unduplicated pupil count threshold and was among the district's applications that met the competitive criteria.

How the funds will be used: Staff described a collaborative planning process that produced three central goals for Plymouth's Community Schools implementation: strengthen family engagement and support services; enhance student well‑being and health supports (including expanded counseling and social‑emotional learning); and expand academic support and enrichment opportunities, including after‑school clubs in Spanish, art and agriculture identified by students during listening sessions.

Service agreement: The board approved an addendum to an existing contract with ERC to provide post‑award monitoring and reporting services required by the grant. District staff said the agreement is written so the ERC fees are paid from the grant award and were included in the grant budget; the board approved the contract. The presenter noted contracting with an external vendor for reporting was anticipated in the grant application and budget.

Community advisory team and next steps: A Plymouth Community Advisory Team composed of parents, teachers, students and community partners will meet regularly to direct spending aligned with the grant's four pillars. Staff said the grant application included a nearly 500‑page needs and assets assessment and that project implementation will begin with hiring or contracting, convening partners and scheduling site programming; several pilot activities and partnerships will be brought back to the board as contracts are finalized.

Ending: District leaders said they would return with updates and contracts as they finalize program details and spending; the grant runs over five years and has reporting requirements to the California Department of Education that ERC will help the district meet.