Why Community Schools

We remember a time when our community had every thing you needed for educational, physical,mental, emotional, and spiritual health and well being. Our teachers lived in the same neighborhoods and attended the same churches. Our school-grounds were open for social outlets and recreational needs. Businesses, grocers, physicians, were all within our reach and thriving. Our schools stood strong in academics and as reinforcers of morality. We understood the progression for us would be from our elementary schools (Melrose, Jordan, Wildwood, Campbell's Park) to our beloved 16th Street Jr. High, then to Gibbs High School, home of the mighty Gladiators! We were comforted by this predictable and secure pipeline of excellence that would ensure our success. Then, we were hit with a bowling ball called desegregation. Now scattered among high schools, we fought to maintain our relationships with each other and our beloved communities. Over the years, what was once a pipeline for our success disintegrated and was replaced by a school to prison pipeline. In the wake of our scattering, we lost sight of our most precious resources. We long to restore our community and believe that it is imperative that our schools once again be seen as great pillars, hubs,and places of strength and growth. We believe we can accomplish this by engaging the community in honoring ways, by coming alongside of teachers, and administrators to ensure that they understand deeply and fully issues pertaining to racial disparities and equity. We want our service providers to return to our communities and our communities to have the confidence of utilizing needed services. In short we want our communities to be strong and vibrant again--and with those shared goals, community schools have promise. Check out the link below for more information on community schools.