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CES95 updates Family Resource Centers and community partnerships as grant ends
Summary
District staff reported 221 referrals since September, about 450 families helped with food (approximately 1,400 food bags), vision services for 9 students via a new MOU, and a plan to expand resource center access as facilities are completed; superintendent said federal Community School Resource Grant ends Dec. 31, 2025 but the district remains committed to the work.
Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Brooke Kensler told the board that the district’s Community Schools team is building systems and partnerships to support Family Resource Centers as they move toward full implementation.
Kensler reported the district has received 221 referrals since September across health, food, housing, clothing, laundry and transportation. Services provided have included food bags, help scheduling medical appointments, transportation support and follow-up care coordination. She described one coordinated case in which Ms. Roper arranged emergency dental care and follow-up for a student and a sibling through Shawnee Health. A new memorandum of understanding with Complete Family Eyecare secured 10 vision appointments, with nine students receiving glasses after evaluations. Kensler also said Family Resource Coordinators have supported around 450 families with food distribution—approximately 1,400 food bags to date—and noted partner support from Kroger, Banterra, Hopewell Church, the Masons, SIU Latino Professionals in Aerospace and University of Illinois Extension.
Superintendent Janice Pavelonis told the board that the U.S. Department of Education’s Community School Resource Grant will end on Dec. 31, 2025, but emphasized that “the district is still committed to doing the work within the Family Resource Centers” and that updates about replacement funding or support will be shared as received.
Kensler outlined upcoming enrichment offerings planned for the next semester including an 8th-grade financial literacy course provided by Banterra Bank, nutrition and cooking courses through University of Illinois Extension, and expanded early-literacy enrollment through Imagination Library.
