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Berkeley County to convert bus into mobile family‑engagement unit with $40,000 grant
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Summary
The district announced a $40,000 United Way/Sealy Foundation grant to convert an out‑of‑service bus into a FACE (Family and Community Engagement) mobile unit, with three workstations, accessibility, and programming including Schoology training, meal prep nights and yoga partnerships; conversion starts in March.
Travis Williams, the district’s Family and Community Engagement coordinator, presented a multi‑part plan to expand outreach and services through a converted bus funded by a $40,000 grant from United Way (via the Sealy Foundation).
“This bus will provide our families and communities with Schoology training, a way for them to enroll, and many more opportunities and services as well,” Williams said, describing a vehicle with three workstations, a book section, HVAC, handicap access and a generator for power. He said the district has contracted with the same vendor used by a neighboring county and expects the conversion to start next month.
Williams outlined related FACE work: a new web page on the Berkeley County site, a developing video library (including an IEP video produced in response to House Bill 2499), a meal‑prep night using CTE teachers to teach budget‑friendly cooking, free neighborhood yoga nights in partnership with Berkeley County Parks and Recreation, and an April 22 career fair at Martinsburg High School funded by an Eastern West Virginia Communities Foundation grant.
Board members and staff discussed logistics: whether the bus will hold books and host story time (staff confirmed it will include bus books and event programming), plans for vinyl wrapping with the FACE logo, and coordination with public libraries and local partners. Williams said the bus is handicap accessible and the district will begin the conversion in March with the goal of having it operational for outreach in the spring.
The presentation emphasized outreach to families who face barriers to attending school‑based events, including tutoring at housing authority community centers and resources for grandparents raising grandchildren through a West Virginia State University grant supporting the 'Healthy Grama Families' program.
