Organizations in Las Cruces are working to create the city’s first community school at Lynn Middle School, a partnership between a school and community resources.
Assistant Director of Ngage New Mexico David Greenberg says many students in low-income areas have more worries then learning, which affects their education.
“Students often times are coming to school, and they’re worried about where they’re going to sleep that night,” Greenberg said. “I had students who were sleeping in a car, trying to get their homework done, students have so many things on their mind that often times undermine their ability to really learn in a classroom.”
Greenberg says community schools offers more services than just education, which helps the overall well being of children.
“To really as a community come together and support children,” Greenberg said. “It means thinking about things like social, emotional learning, and whole child well being. Thinking about health both mental health and physical health, and nutrition, and housing, and social support.”
Greenberg says community schools also offer parents opportunities to further their own education, and learn about valuable services.
“There’s so many different opportunities for children out there,” Greenberg said. “But as a parent, how do you learn about all of them, how do you navigate those complex systems, and the same is said when children enter the school system. There are lots of wonderful after-school programs and opportunities out there, and community services, but if there not located where parents can easily get to and from, and provide transportation then often times children and families can’t really take advantage of them.”
Mary Parr-Sanchez, Vice-President of NEA New Mexico says community schools provide wraparound services with everything from family engagement to health clinics.
“Whatever services the families say that they don’t have,” Parr-Sanchez said. “For example if it’s eye care, they don’t have glasses, or if it’s that they have asthma, diabetes and they don’t have an option to go to the doctor frequently. Those conditions can become debilitating. So, these are ways that we’re hoping to keep kids in school more and for longer periods so that will lead to an improved graduation rate.”
Parr-Sanchez says the community school at Lynn Middle School will also offer opportunities for businesses to provide mentor services for students.
“The importance of bringing adults into the school and mentoring students,” Parr- Sanchez said. “Is a lot of kids live in families where they may have one parent and that parent may work two or three jobs, so there’s not a lot of adult interaction and connection, and it’s not because their not loved, it’s just because of their economic situation.”
For more information on the progress of the community school at Lynn Middle School visit successdac.org, and click on the community schools link.
