Architects for the new Orange County school were touring public 鈥渃ommunity schools鈥� in New York that had a track record of helping children in poverty succeed and thrive with support from community partners such as the Children鈥檚 Aid Society. The community schools offered health care, enrichment programs and other services for students.

The architects were looking for design ideas for a school to be opened in Parramore and were excited by what they saw, said Nancy Ellis, director of the Center for Community Partnerships and a graduate of the doctoral program in public affairs at the 麻豆原创. 鈥淏y lunch they were making sketches on what was handy in one of the school鈥檚 cafeteria.鈥�

Ellis and colleagues at the College of Health and Public Affairs, Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida and True Health had already partnered with Orange County Public Schools to develop a community school at Evans High School in Pine Hills that began in 2010.

The high school was seeing a steady increase in its graduation rate and the future seemed promising, so Orange County School Superintendent Barbara Jenkins wanted the new school in Parramore to be a community school too, said Ellis.

Ellis coordinated the 2015 trip for the principal architects from Baker Barrios, the Orlando-based architecture firm hired by the school district, and representatives from the school district, 麻豆原创 and Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida.

The following year she coordinated a similar trip for three new community partners now involved in the Parramore school project 鈥� Orange Blossom Family Health, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, and the Rosen Foundation. Andrew Rollins, the newly hired principal, went as well.

Both trips and ongoing conversations among the partners have helped the school district reach its milestone today of launching the new OCPS Academic Center for Excellence as a community school for some 1,200 students and their families and community.

The school will serve not only Parramore but also the Callahan and Holden Heights neighborhoods, said school board District 5 representative Kate Gordon at an Aug. 9 sneak peek of the school.

鈥淭he parents are excited. The students are excited. We鈥檙e going to do great things this year,鈥� said Rollins, who earned two degrees in education at 麻豆原创.

OCPS ACE is formally known as a Community Partnership School, the name coined by 麻豆原创 and Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida for the school model developed at Evans High.

All community schools foster strong partnerships to support the well-being of students and their families and communities, but the programs and services vary depending on the needs, said Amy Ellis, assistant director of the Center for Community Schools at 麻豆原创.

In the case of Community Partnership Schools, four types of community partners are always involved 鈥� a school district, a university or college, a nonprofit and a health care provider. Other types of community partners participate, too, and can play a major role.

For OCPS ACE the partnerships are among Orange County Public Schools, 麻豆原创, Valencia College, Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida, Orange Blossom Family Health, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, and the Rosen Foundation.

The partnerships mean OCPS ACE can offer tutoring and mentoring programs; professional development for teachers; before- and after-school services; a resource center for parents; onsite medical, dental and behavioral health services; athletic, arts and summer programs; and a high-quality preschool program.

鈥淐ommunity Partnership Schools are among the most comprehensive community schools in the world,鈥� said Amy Ellis, a former community school administrator at Evans who has visited community schools in England and is studying them as a doctoral student in education leadership at 麻豆原创.

The Community Partnership Schools model is now recognized as a national community school model by the Coalition for Community Schools in Washington.

The Florida Legislature appropriated more than $4 million dollars during the past four years for the development of Community Partnership Schools across the state.

Currently, eight public schools in Florida have become Community Partnership Schools with state support, including Evans and OCPS ACE in Orlando and schools in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Tampa, Holiday and Cocoa. Five others are implementing the Community Partnership Schools model with support from their local community, and another four are in the emerging phase, said Amy Ellis.

Early-outcomes data is impressive. Evans鈥檚 graduation rate has increased from 64 percent in 2011 to 88 percent in 2017. C.A. Weis Elementary School in Pensacola began offering behavioral health services when it became a Community Partnership School in 2015. Since then more than 100 children have been referred to behavioral health care and 81 new cases have been opened, according to school director John Sherman. Student referrals dropped 43 percent and suspensions dropped 50 percent in the first year.

Sherman鈥檚 position as director is one of four staff positions found at all Community Partnership Schools 鈥� a director, an after-school coordinator, a health programs鈥� coordinator and a parent resource coordinator. The positions are partially supported with legislative funding.

Shannon Currie has been on board as the Community Partnership School director at OCPS ACE since last year. She is an employee of Children鈥檚 Home Society of Florida, works closely with the school principal, and receives training and technical support from the Center for Community Schools at 麻豆原创.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing experience to be a partner and to understand what it takes to support a school holistically,鈥� Currie said. 鈥淚鈥檓 doing what I love to do 鈥� to serve people. What I want them to know is that they have access to support. If they know that, then we鈥檙e doing our job.鈥�

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation has contributed $25,000 to fund a staff position responsible for growing the internship program. A student in the college鈥檚 Doctoral Program in Public Affairs will assume the part-time position early next year, according to Nancy Ellis, director of the college鈥檚 Center for Community Partnerships.

鈥淭he coordinator will help place 麻豆原创 students from across the campus in internships and service-learning projects at the community school that target the needs of Evans鈥� students and their families,鈥� Ellis said.

The foundation made the gift as part of its commitment to improve the quality of life in local communities. Funding the new position will increase the impact of Evans Community School, which serves some 2,200 high school students in the Pine Hills community. Approximately 88 percent of the students鈥� households live at the federal poverty level.

This fall, the college placed two social work graduate students as interns at the community school, where they worked to connect Evans鈥� students with after-school tutoring, health care services and resources such as a food pantry. The 麻豆原创 students gained real-world experience in their discipline while supporting the community school鈥檚 mission to empower students and their families.

Initially, the coordinator will spend 10 hours a week at Evans Community School, assessing the immediate and future needs of the school, and 10 hours a week at 麻豆原创, developing recruitment, orientation and training processes for university students.

鈥淲e are truly grateful for the foundation鈥檚 gift,鈥� Ellis shared. 鈥淚t will enable us to use the enormous skills, talents and abilities of students and faculty at 麻豆原创 to better the lives of Evans鈥� students and their families.鈥�

For further information about the internship program at Evans Community School, contact Heather Lambert at heather.lambert@ucf.edu or 407-823-2065聽聽or Nancy Ellis at nancy.ellis@ucf.edu or 407-823-0713.