Charlottesville City Schools details community‑schools rollout, partners and supports; van purchased for transportation

Division leaders presented a detailed update on the community schools initiative, describing the model’s four pillars (integrated student supports; expanded learning time; family and community engagement; collaborative leadership) and naming partners including First Baptist Church, Abundant Life, Boys & Girls Club, City of Promise, UVA and others.

Dr. Jones Lewis and Abigail Ferguson described concrete steps: placement of community‑schools points of contact at each school, recruitment and training of literacy mentors (a mix of students, UVA and PVCC students, community members and CBO staff), distribution of differentiated literacy kits for students in the academic middle, and coordinated referral pathways to reduce duplication. The presenters announced they had purchased a van that arrived Jan. 7 to help with student and family transportation and the movement of goods.

Staff said they are establishing standardized MOUs and data‑sharing agreements with partner organizations and developing evaluation plans with university partners to measure impact and sustainability. They emphasized that the initiative focuses on aligning existing community strengths rather than layering new programs, and said the work will be paced by school need and readiness.

Board members pressed staff for clarity about hubs, MOUs, evaluation metrics and how capacity and funding would be sustained; staff said some MOUs are already in place and that they are seeking both short‑term pilots and longer‑term funding through sources such as WIOA, Title IV and Virginia community‑schools grants. Staff also said they will bring partner organizations to future meetings to provide more detail on their roles and impacts.

The board expressed support and asked for continued reporting on implementation, referral pipelines and evaluation results.