Friends,
A few weeks ago, I was invited to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative’s 2022 annual summit, where I discussed Little Rock’s successful community schools partnerships with policy leaders from around the world. I’m not surprised that our community schools model is drawing positive international attention. This strong alliance between the City of Little Rock, the Little Rock School District and many other community partners is leading toward successful outcomes for students both in and outside of the classroom.
My focus as Mayor has been to foster a stronger path forward for our children and youth by working together with LRSD. In the last few years, as the school district has returned to local control, I’ve established the position of Chief Education Officer within city government to facilitate partnerships between City Hall and the school district and identify grants and additional funding opportunities to benefit our teachers and students. In 2021, we implemented the community schools model at Chicot, Stephens, Washington and Watson elementary schools. We expanded the concept to Mabelvale Elementary and Mabelvale Middle School this year.
Our community schools are located within neighborhoods that have traditionally been underserved. The schools are designed to offer expanded services to students and their families, including things like after-school programs, social-emotional services, nutrition programs and job training for parents.
There are four pillars of each community school: Integrated student support, expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, family and community engagement and collaborative leadership. Each community school has a coordinator who is a liaison between the school and the community it serves. The coordinator identifies what kinds of services meet the needs of students and families within the school.
Each community school is unique, with programming that is targeted to positively impact both students and the surrounding neighborhoods. In Little Rock, we’ve opened food pantries, planted gardens, established school-based health clinics and offered after-school services and tutoring, among other wraparound services.
We also want each community school to serve as a neighborhood hub, so our community schools offer occasional “community cafes,” which allow families to spend time at schools outside normal hours.
This week, there are community cafes scheduled at Chicot, Stephens and Washington elementary schools.
The cafes are open to the public, and free meals are provided. There’s also typically some helpful or informative programming at each event. For instance, the Chicot Elementary Community Café will feature a performance from Ballet Folklore Tonantzin. In addition, representatives from our Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be on site for participants to sign up for a Municipal ID or learn more about the program.
I’m proud to share the great news about our community schools model wherever I go, and I appreciate the strong community partnerships that will allow us to sustain and grow community schools in the future. Learn more about our community schools by clicking here.
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Jay Barth, Ph.D., Little Rock's inaugural Chief Education Officer, explains the community school concept.
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Garden Party!
Speaking of community schools, I’m happy to pass along the great news that the School Garden at Chicot Elementary has won the Best Harvest Partnership School Garden from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. The award recognizes a school that uses school garden produce and produce grown in Arkansas in its meals.
The City of Little Rock proudly supports the garden at Chicot Elementary. We help maintain the garden when students aren’t in school in the summer. Students learn about agriculture and nutrition, and produce grown in the garden is distributed through the school’s food pantry.
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Residents in Action
The Little Rock Police Department and members of my staff joined with residents in the Reservoir Road area this past weekend to discuss how the community can work with the city to help reduce crime.
Christopher Harvey, my senior advisor, explained my comprehensive Crime Reduction Strategy, which is detailed on the City’s website. LRPD offered updates about its targeted patrols in high-crime areas and its effective approach to investigating crimes and apprehending suspects. We were also joined by Jacquelyn Cole, a social worker from LRPD; Tim Campbell, a community advocate and member of the H.O.P.E. Advisory Council; and Dr. Tanya Washington, who spoke about those impacted by crime.
As I’ve said before, crime reduction involves all of us working together on both short-term and long-term solutions. I’m grateful for groups like Residents in Action who take the time to get involved and share their input on how to reduce violence.
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The week ahead
-The Little Rock Board of Directors meets Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Centre at University Park, 6401 W. 12th St. All board meetings are livestreamed on the City of Little Rock Facebook and YouTube pages. To view the agenda, click here.
-Chicot Elementary Community Café, Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 5 p.m., 11100 Chicot Road.
- Movies at MacArthur, “Art in the Face of War,” a free movie screening at the MacArthur Museum of Military History located in historic MacArthur Park, 503 E. 9th St., Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 6:30 p.m.
-Washington Elementary Community Café, Thursday, Oct. 20, at 4:30 p.m., 2700 S. Main St.
-Stephens Elementary Community Café, Thursday, Oct. 20 at 4:30 p.m., 3700 W. 18th St.
-The Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs will host a public hearing at Southwest Community Center, 6401 Baseline Road, on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to obtain input about potential uses for CDBG, HOME and HOPWA funds.
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As always, stay up to date with what's happening in the City on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram via @citylittlerock. You can also email me at mayorscott@littlerock.gov or call my office at 501.371.4744.
I appreciate you!
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