Community Schools: Elsa Widenmann Elementary
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Community Schools: Elsa Widenmann Elementary
Supporting families so Elsa Widenmann Elementary Services
kids can thrive • Case Management • Volunteer Program
• Public Benefits • Social Service Referrals
Community Schools provide services to struggling
• Parenting Classes • Tutoring
families so children can focus on school instead
• Health & Dental Care • Translation
of financial instability in the home. Many students
from low-income families go to school hungry, sick • Youth Leadership
or unprepared, resulting in poor academic progress.
Elsa Widenmann Elementary at a Glance
The Community Schools Initiative transforms • Grade Level: Elementary
public schools into neighborhood hubs that bring • Number of Students: 524
health care, food pantries, after-school programs,
• Demographics: 75% qualify for free or reduced-cost
parent education classes, family engagement and
lunch, and 50% are English-learners
other services directly to school campuses. This
• The surrounding community, which accesses some
has a positive impact on academic achievement,
of the services on school campus, is a lower-income
attendance rates and parental participation in their
neighborhood with a high density of immigrants.
children’s education. With Community Schools, more
kids get a fair shot at a good education which lays the
foundation for success in life.
1 | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INITIATIVE: Elsa Widenmann Elementary
Creating a Social Service & Volunteer Hub for Families Program Epicenter: The Family Resource Center This year, Vallejo’s Elsa Widenmann Elementary Before the creation of the Family Resource Center, School has been transformed from a mere school to teachers and school administrators had nowhere a pillar of the community with the implementation to turn to handle students having problems outside of the community school model. At the epicenter is of academics. Time taken to manage a student’s the Family Resource Center (FRC) which is housed social service needs was time taken away from across from a splashy graffiti-style mural depicting teaching. Today, school staff has a welcome the student’s ideas about the issues facing partner in the FRC to provide ongoing case education. management for struggling families. At the FRC, both children and parents can access Though the program is only in its first year, staff a world of services with everything from tutoring report that there is a big change in the culture to public benefits to parent education right down of the school with greater connectivity between to getting translation of an important letter. The parents and education as well as children better campus also includes a free medical and dental able to focus in class. Staff are confident that clinic open to the community at large, alleviating academic results will follow as standardized test the toothaches and basic health problems of low- scores are reported. income families who don’t have insurance. 2 | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INITIATIVE: Elsa Widenmann Elementary
Elsa Widenmann: Program Components
Case management: Struggling families work with elementary school and teens. This provides parents
an FRC staff person on a plan and receive ongoing with skills to better support their children and
support to address a range of problems whether manage those who are having behavior problems.
they be financial, emotional or academic. The FRC
becomes a second home to many, knowing they Health and dental care: There is a free health
can get support and assistance with whatever and dental clinic on campus open to the larger
challenges they face, no matter how small. community. Families with no insurance can
get their basic medical and dental needs met,
Public benefits: Families can get assistance alleviating one of the big financial worries of those
signing up for government programs like struggling to make ends meet.
CalFresh (food stamps), utilities assistance and
rent assistance right at the FRC. Dealing with Youth leadership: A committee of students, with
government agencies and bureaucracies can be guidance from the FRC staff, takes on school-wide
confusing and intimidating, so getting assistance projects to improve the school atmosphere. One
from an FRC staff person they know and trust such project was a campus cleanup marketing
creates access they wouldn’t normally have. campaign in which they made posters and
encouraged responsible trash and recycling use.
Parenting classes: The FRC has a series of classes The peer-to-peer education and encouragement has
that focus on child development and parenting been enormously successful.
techniques for three age groups: pre-school,
3 | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INITIATIVE: Elsa Widenmann Elementary
Elsa Widenmann: Program Components
Parent volunteer program: To engage the
parents in their kids’ education and get much-
needed helping hands around the school, the FRC
coordinates a parent volunteer program. Parents
take on small projects like helping teachers
prepare materials as well as larger year-long
projects like reorganizing the library.
Tutoring: Kids receive free tutoring after school
that focuses on long-term learning rather than
short-term homework assignments. The goal is to
help students progress in their studies, and not
just get tasks done.
Referrals and on-site programs: Families are
given referrals to a wide range of community
resources, and a variety of nonprofit agencies bring “If a child goes to bed hungry,
their programs directly to the FRC. This includes and they are sitting in class
ESL, computer classes, family literacy, nutrition,
healthy cooking and exercise.
knowing that they are going to
go home and have no food, they
Translation: The school has a high Spanish-
are going to be distracted. By
speaking population so FRC staff are bilingual to
assist families in navigating services, documents taking away that need, they are
and websites where language is a barrier. Staff going to do better in school.”
will lend a hand with everything from attending a
doctor’s appointment with a Spanish speaker to
– Vince Valenzuela, Director of Fighting Back
translating an important personal document.
Partnership, the nonprofit which leads
the community school efforts in Vallejo
4 | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INITIATIVE: Elsa Widenmann Elementary
Elsa Widenmann Family Success Story: Leticia Gonzalez
Getting A Family Back on Track
When Leticia Gonzalez turned her back, her son
Alberto got up on the dining room table and fell
on a glass bottle. Screams ensued as the bottle
shattered and cut an artery in his leg. Alberto lay
on the table for several minutes as Leticia tried
to stop the bleeding while calming her two other
children. It soon became clear that Alberto needed
to get to a hospital -fast. But when Leticia lifted
the phone to call 911, she was gripped with panic
because she couldn’t speak a word of English.
Though she couldn’t understand what Leticia was
saying, the operator could tell from Leticia’s cries
that something serious was happening, so she sent
the police immediately. A squad car arrived soon
after, but Alberto’s injury had progressed, and he
was bleeding to death by the time the police got
the accident, her kids started to have problems in
an ambulance to Leticia’s house. Fortunately, they
school. But with the counseling and support the
got him to the hospital just in time, but that was
family has received from the FRC, everyone is back
not soon enough for Leticia, who laments that she
on track. The Gonzalez family is now putting the
wasn’t able to properly communicate.
accident behind them.
After the accident, Alberto needed a wheelchair
for a month, extensive physical therapy, and all
three of her children needed emotional counseling
Leticia’s family was able to put
from the trauma. Navigating her family’s needs trauma behind them with the help
would have been scary and challenging given of the Family Resource Center.
the language barrier, but Leticia had somewhere
to turn: the Family Resource Center at Elsa
Widenmann where her children go to school.
To get involved in the Community Schools
There, the FRC staff spoke to the doctors, helped movement, email communityschools@uwba.org
Leticia figure out how to get Alberto to physical
therapy and set up the family with counseling. To donate to United Way’s Community School
Leticia also took parenting and ESL classes. After effort go to www.uwba.org/donate/
5 | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS SPOTLIGHT: Elsa Widenmann Elementary
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