Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Partnerships topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rockwood schools highlight faith-based partnerships for tutoring, mental-health access and outdoor classroom
Summary
District principals and local church partners described volunteer tutoring, after-school supports, a Tri-County behavioral health collaborative and a church-run wildlife prairie that aims to provide hands-on science learning and nearby green space for students.
At a Rockwood Board of Education meeting, school leaders and faith-based partners described a series of neighborhood collaborations that aim to supplement school services with volunteers, short-term after-school support and community-based behavioral-health access.
Jason Levanos, principal of Wildwood Middle School, told the board the school has partnered with Quest Church and Living Word Church to provide academic volunteers, after-school tutoring and friendly community faces who help students transition after school. "We've been able to really develop a great partnership with several of our local, uh, churches," Levanos said, describing volunteers who rotate through "six week segments" to support the school store, offer tutoring, and help students who are latchkey or need additional attention.
Pastor Kevin Hughes framed the work as churches "coming alongside" schools to "seek the welfare of the people among whom I've put you," emphasizing volunteers must avoid overstepping professional school roles while providing consistent supports.
Karen Luchek, principal at Eureka Elementary, and Anna Mackey of St. Francis Episcopal Church described concrete services the church provides: twice-yearly donations of snacks, holiday family assistance, paying off lunch debt in some cases, guest readers for students, and use of church parking and building space for school events such as PTO blood drives. Mackey also described St. Francis' role in launching Tri-County Behavioral Health, a new collaboration offering in-person therapy in office space the church provides; presenters said the service is aimed at adults (18+) and fills a previously limited local capacity for one-on-one behavioral-health care.
The partners also described a grant-funded wildlife prairie next to the church that district staff hope to link to science curriculum and walk-to field experiences for students without transportation costs. Board members praised the partnerships as consistent with district goals around belonging and community engagement.
The presenters urged continued communication between schools and partner organizations and said programs have been operating for one to two years in some places and only a few months for newer initiatives such as the behavioral-health collaborative.
