Lee High School

What are the benefits of a Community School Model and how does it eliminate barriers that
students are facing?

Ellena Gonzalez
Senior Capstone
Mrs. Snyder
March 28, 2016

Ellena Gonzalez
Mrs. Snyder
Senior Capstone

Gonzalez 1

28 March 2016

The Benefits of a Community School

Many students face different obstacles, but in the Godfrey-Lee School District, a large amount of
students face the same challenge, which are the barriers that keep them from reaching their full
potential within their academic performance. Luckily for the students of the Godfrey-Lee
community, they have Kent School Services, also known as KSSN, that are within the school
district. The Kent School Services are provided within the community to help increase student
achievement, lower student absences, improve coordination of services, and deliver services as they
are needed. (What is KSSN?) With the extra support, and resources that are provided by
KSSN it helps students eliminate the barriers that stands in their way of learning.
Each and everyday, in and out of school, a student is being faced with a hurdle of problems; the
problems may affect a student in a way that may keep them from learning to their full potential.
These problems may range from minor to major, such as missing the bus to get to school or not
having a roof over their head. The bigger problems are those things that are carried into school,
heavier than a backpack full of homework and books. These problems are not just happening to one
or two students within the district schools; this is happening to a majority of the students. Within the
district, 38 percent of students live below the federal poverty line, which is the highest in the Kent
County area; 95 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch; and 34 percent of students are
classified as having limited English proficiency, the second highest in the state. (Albanese) This
shows that there is a need for support within the district because these are things that create a
disadvantage for many of the students, as well as the parents. As previously stated, students
attending the Godfrey-Lee district are below the federal poverty line which could mean a few things.
One, the parents are not making enough to make ends meet, which leads to many problems such as

Gonzalez 2

parents not being able to pay rent, provide transportation for students to get to school, not being able
to provide clothing for a child, and/or not being able to put food on the table. Two, nearly every
student in the district receive free or reduced lunch; this is when the problem comes into play
because many of the students only have school lunch to fall back on when not at school. For
instance, When a snowstorm approaches during the winter, and school does not get cancelled the
reason being is because, Superintendent David Britten ...tries to weigh student safety with other
factors, like whether some kids will get a well-balanced meal if they stay home,(LaFurgey) which is
a indication that some students may not get fed if they are not provided with lunch from school, and
this create barriers for students.
When asked, What is a community school model? many people are clueless. A community
school is
The center around which the community revolves. In the community school
model, public schools, non-profit organizations and local businesses come together
to provide a broad range of programs and services to students and their families in
support of comprehensive child development. (The Federation for Community Schools)
Now, when asked How does a community school eliminate barriers that students are
facing? A community school model eliminates barriers that the children and families are facing
because there are people there to help support the families with resources as they are needed.
When problems that are happening at home become an issue for a child that does not
have the basic necessities they need, this is where KSSN comes into play. When a student is not
being fed, being sheltered, not being able to make it to school, or any other problem that may
occur, KSSN will reach out to each family and provide them with resources to overcome those
issues.
For example, KSSN provides a family who is unable to provide some, or very little food
supplies for their family, and will suggest different resources such as dates of the food truck that

Gonzalez 3

is provided once a month to families that need extra food; they also provide sack lunches for
students at the elementary to bring home so they at least have some type of meal outside of
school. Another resource that is provided from KSSN is the coat drive, which gives children the
chance to get a free coat so they are warm during the winter time. Also, when a family does not
have medicaid, KSSN provides services during after school hours for a family to get checked out
by a nurse, and they also provide services such as after school tutoring and counseling.
Having a community school model is beneficial because, unlike other schools, the
Godfrey-Lee District is at an advantage. Superintendent David Britten says,
Having different resources for students, and their families that are
provided by the school does eliminate barriers for students, and does
put them at an advantage, because instead of a child worrying about
what their family is going through financially, they are just now worried
about school. They do not have to worry about when is the next time they
are going to get checked up by the doctor, because we have nurses within
the district from spectrum health that are here to make sure a childs healthy.
We have Cherry Street Health services that come in to make sure that children
are up to date with their oral hygiene. The district also has a Social Worker in
each building to help children that are going through depression, or family
problems. But KSSN has played a big role, especially with attendance, the
big change that I have seen is that the number of absences decrease drastically,
which has been one of our biggest challenges because when a student is not
present in school it causes them to get behind in their school work, and thats a
huge barrier. (Britten)
They have all these alternative ways to seek help, and they have people there that
genuinely care about the children, and families within the district, and this puts them at an
advantage. Although the Godfrey-Lee area is described as one of the most disadvantaged
districts, as a community they have supporters and KSSN to override that stereotype. The district
differs from other schools that may not have the support of the KSSN because neighboring
schools such as Union High school is one of Kent County's most disadvantaged schools
financially and academically as well, but how it differs is because it does not have a community
school model. The school faces similar problems as the Godfrey-Lee district, such as not having

Gonzalez 4

food, clothes, or other barriers that withhold a student from reaching their full potential
academically.
Godfrey-Lee has a graduation rate of 77% compared to Union High school that has a low
rate of 56%. (Scott) Although both schools face the same problems financially and academically,
Godfrey-Lee is at an advantage because they have KSSN, alternative resources, supporters, and a
community school model that eliminates barriers that stand in the way of a student achieving
academic success With the district having these supporters and alternative resources, many
students do well in school, as opposed to Union High school who does not have the same assets
that the Godfrey District has, and this puts them at a disadvantage.
The KSSN goal is to ensure that all children are healthy and learning (Godfrey Lee
Public) and they do just that. They help eliminate problems that students may be dealing with by
helping provide food, so a child is not starving, clothing, so a child is not without proper
clothing, medical help, so a child is healthy, making sure a student has transportation to get to
school so they are on track with their school work. These are all things that eliminate barriers,
and although Godfrey- Lee Public schools is named One of Americas most financially
disadvantaged school districts (Charles and Albanese) they have supporters that make life a
little bit more easier. This is accomplished by providing support and resources to children that
have little to nothing, and giving their families the necessities, so a student does not have
thoughts of how they are going to eat, or how they are going to make it to school roaming
through their mind. This is because KSSN helps alleviate the stress for many children and
families, which results in barriers being resolved.

Gonzalez 5

Works Cited
Albanese, Erin. Lee High School:A Tale of the Need for Equity. WKTV NEWS, 2 July 2015. Web.
26 Mar. 2016. <http://now.wktv.org/lee-high-school-a-tale-of-the-need-for-equity/>
Britten, David. Personal interview. 29 Mar. 2016.
Honey, Charles. The Price of Poverty Series Overview: Students Struggle to Overcome Families
Financial Hardships. Ed. Erin Albanese. N.p., 24 Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.schoolnewsnetwork.org/index.php/2014-15/price-poverty-students-struggleovercome-families-financial-hardship
LaFurgey, Joe. Canceling class: Snow days and coddled kids. WOODTV8, 2 Mar. 2016. Web.
26 Mar.

Gonzalez 6

2016.<http://woodtv.com/2016/03/02/canceling-class-snow-days-and-coddled-kids/>.
Scott, Monica. Grand Rapids graduation rates climb above 50 percent, dropout figures fall. N.p.,
11 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/03/grand_rapids_sees_jump_i
n_high.html>.
"What is a Community School?" About KSSN: A COMMUNITY SCHOOL COALITION.
KSSN, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
"What is a Community School?" The Federation for Community Schools, n.d. Web. 30
Mar. 2016.
What is KSSN? Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.godfrey-lee.org/kssn.html>.