Read the full article from The Apopka Chief here.
“Wekiva High School has received the university-assisted community school (UACS) designation, unlocking millions in funding to transform the campus into a hub for a variety of student services.
The Full-Service Community Schools Program federal grant awarded UCF $50 million toward its Unlimited Potential Initiative (UPI) grant. UCF then awarded approximately $7 million to community schools within OCPS as part of its UPI grant.
So what is a community school?
“This community school model is more like a strategy that helps boost academic success and strengthen our communities by making that connection so that the schools can be a hub for health and social services, youth programs, family engagement, academics — all those things that kind of focus on the whole child,” said Alina Davis, UPI community schools senior administrator for Orange County Public Schools (OCPS).
For the first phase of Wekiva’s transformation, community school director Johnny Outing aims to officially open the Mustang Market — a food pantry — and a clothing outlet for families in need around the end of the school year. Wekiva is also renovating a space to reopen as a multi-purpose family resource center.”