A team of Florida State University faculty and administrators served as a key partner in supporting Jefferson County Schools (JCS), providing research expertise and resources as the school district implemented a new community school model.

Due to the success of this initiative and the dedication of JCS teachers and staff, the school district received a “B” grade from the Florida Department of Education for the 2023-2024 school year.

As a key partner, FSU has provided evidence-based research support and helped build relationships to provide JCS with a broader range of resources and services, helping to reduce educational barriers in the community.

“The FSU team is proud to be a part of the successes of Jefferson County Schools and the Community Partnership Schools model,” said Jarrett Terry, assistant principal for Centers, Institutes and Community Engagement. “We recognize and commend the hard work and dedication of the Jefferson County community and school district as the primary drivers of the success that helped them achieve a ‘B’ grade. FSU is committed to supporting and enhancing the Partnership’s efforts in developing solutions to community-defined problems.”

In 2022, JCS introduced the new school model to better support the district’s success while addressing the needs of the community. The innovative Community Partnership Schools (CPS) model is an evidence-based approach that aims to improve student achievement and well-being by addressing the academic, social, emotional and health needs of students and their families.

The model involves four types of community partners, all of whom have signed a 25-year Memorandum of Understanding under the shared governance model:

• Local School District: Jefferson County Schools
• Nonprofit: Children’s Home Society of Florida
• Higher education: Florida State University, Florida A&M University and North Florida College
• Healthcare: Florida Department of Health – Jefferson

The CPS model is based on four pillars: well-being supports, expanded learning time and opportunities, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership and practice. All of the school’s services and supports fall under one of these four pillars.

With Children’s Home Society of Florida as the primary partner, partners work with the community to identify and address barriers and opportunities for learning and development. All partners have a seat on the Executive Cabinet, which meets monthly to discuss annual goals, strategic planning, and how to best provide services and supports.

Erin Bush, assistant professor in the School of Communication Science & Disorders in FSU’s College of Communication and Information, is currently the lead faculty leader for FSU’s support of CPS. For the past two years, she and her team have conducted a district needs assessment to best identify the needs and challenges in Jefferson County and how the school and community can become mutually beneficial partners.

“We really work with the community and do research with them,” Bush said. “We can’t just come in and offer a top-down solution and then think that will work as an outsider in any community. We have to come in and really get to know the community to understand their particular needs.”

The needs assessment included participants from all sectors of the larger JCS community and was conducted to collect and analyze data on student and community member perceptions of the benefits and challenges they experience in living in Jefferson County. The study also examined existing and available community supports and resources.

“The CPS model really looks at all aspects of students’ lives and tries to support their health and well-being – and not just limit it to their academic performance,” Bush said. “The model recognizes that academic performance is greatly influenced by all the other things going on in students’ lives and in the community.”

The results of the needs analysis will be presented to the Steering Committee of the Community Partnership and will feed into the development of new programmes and services for the community.

“FSU was particularly instrumental in supporting the needs assessment for Jefferson County Schools,” Bush said. “The needs assessment is necessary to figure out what needs to be done for the community going forward. But the real heroes of the story are the individual students at Jefferson County K-12 School and Community Partnership School. We’re just happy to be one of the supporting partners.”

Jefferson County K-12, the only school in the district, is the only K-12 community partnership school in the state of Florida and enrolls over 700 students annually. Lori Livingston, director of community partnership school at Jefferson K-12, said the wide age range of students creates more opportunities than challenges.

“We have consistency not only in the training, the quality of the training that is provided, but also in the relationships that we build with the staff, parents and the community,” Livingston said. “With a community-based research approach, we are really able to maximize our resources while creating ownership within the community.”

Bush and Livingston jointly presented the findings to date at the FSU College of Medicine’s Network for Clinical Research, Training and Community Engagement (NCRT-CE) Learning Series in July, providing insights into how faculty and their partners can focus on public impact activities.

“Having Florida State University as one of our core partners definitely adds to the legitimacy of the CPS model, and not just on paper,” Livingston said. “Vice Provost Jay Terry sits on our cabinet and helps us solve problems and provide resources, which is invaluable to us. Florida State has found ways to support us outside the box and is committed to going above and beyond the minimum requirements to really make an impact and make a difference.”