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Communities in Schools site coordinator says program boosts student support and family engagement at Bell Elementary
Summary
Laquisha Vaughn, site coordinator at Bell Elementary, described greeting students at car line, connecting families to food, transportation and supplies, and running attendance-focused interventions. A student testified that the coordinator provides encouragement and practical help.
Laquisha Vaughn, the site coordinator for Communities in Schools at Bell Elementary, said the program’s on-campus coordinators connect students and families to basic needs and classroom supports and help re-engage parents and staff. "A day for me starts off at the car line where I'm greeting the students, talking to the parents," Vaughn said, describing outreach and weekly resource sharing.
The Communities in Schools representative described the organization as a national nonprofit that places site coordinators at partner campuses to link students with caring adults. "Their mission is to connect students to caring adults to help them ultimately succeed in life," the representative said, explaining that site coordinators also provide school-wide basic-needs supports such as food, transportation and school supplies.
Vaughn said coordinators do more than distribute supplies: they run interventions aimed at improving attendance and supporting students who are falling behind. "So, if students are needing, you know, connection to food, transportation, school supplies, those are some of the things that we do kind of whole school. But, we also provide interventions or supports related to attendance," she said.
A student speaker gave a firsthand account of the program’s impact, saying the coordinator offers personal encouragement and practical help: "Even though sometimes I may mess up, I can go to her and like she'll try to help me more," the student said. Later the student added that Vaughn is "just like a part of my family" and helps them achieve goals when they talk about them.
Vaughn said the partnership has led to increased parent engagement and more family participation in school activities. "We have seen a uptick in our parents being here at school, coming in... We're getting them services that they need," she said.
A Little Rock School District representative summarized the district-level view: "Through our partnership with Communities In Schools, our site coordinators across the Little Rock School District work tirelessly every day to ensure our students have the resources and supports they need to be successful in the classroom and beyond." The district statement did not specify the number of site coordinators, budget amounts, or program funding sources.
There were no motions, votes or formal board actions in the presented remarks. The presentation consisted of partner and student testimony about program activities and observed effects at Bell Elementary.
