The Community Leadership Team, a group of students, staff members, community members and caregivers, gathered Dec. 11 for an update on the Kentucky Community Schools Initiative in the Danville Independent Schools. 

Principals from the two DISD schools that are part of the  $1.5 million five-year grant through the Prichard Committee, to begin the Kentucky Community Schools Initiative in the DISD, shared an update on the initiative’s progress. The schools involved in the initiative are Danville High School and Edna L. Toliver Intermediate School.

They spoke on the four pillars of Community Schools, which are: active family and community engagement, integrated student supports, expanded learning time and opportunities, and collaborative leadership.

Several of the topics discussed were mentorship programs, attendance programs, family engagement nights and more. 

Edna L. Toliver Intermediate School

Both DHS and Toliver have held a fall series of family engagement nights. On Thursday, Dec. 12, Toliver is hosting the last event in this series, a Supporting Academic Growth Over Breaks event. It will be open to all Danville Schools families and will feature a presentation from Kentucky Association of School Councils (KASC) Assistant Executive Director Liz Erwin. Dinner will be provided by the Boyle County Extension Service at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria, and the presentation will be at 6:15 p.m. Each family will receive a free game to take home and can enter to win a game night basket at the sign-in desk.

One of Toliver’s mentorship programs is a Lunch Bunch group with high school students who meet with a group of Toliver students. 

“At Toliver, we have a thriving mentor program,” said Toliver Principal Renee Lanigan

DHS Principal Danny Goodwin said the program is beneficial not only for the Toliver students who meet with the DHS students, but also is beneficial for the DHS students involved.

“Not only is it helping them — it’s helping us,” said DHS Principal Danny Goodwin. 

This is because it gets students excited about getting involved and working with the younger students. 

A few programs at Toliver geared toward improving attendance are monthly attendance backpack tags and Zero Hour, which Physical Education Teacher KT Kennedy helps run. Students who arrive at school early are able to visit the gym and participate in games and other activities. After winter break, Toliver will be having a cardio drumming session focused on attendance and behavior, led by Toliver Family Resource Center Director Tesha Bryant. 

Partnerships with local organizations have also made attendance incentives possible. Whitaker Bank was able to present a student from each grade with a $100 check. Toliver has been able to take students out in the community to celebrate attendance, to the Art Center of the Bluegrass and Plaid Elephant Books. This month, students rewarded for their attendance will visit the The Great American Dollhouse Museum.

Toliver also had a LEAP after-school nutrition program earlier this year, Lanigan shared. Looking ahead, Artist Brandon Long will be collaborating with Toliver to design a mural near the front entrance of the school. The students will design it with drawings of what they love about Toliver, and Long will finalize it. 

“We’re excited for the next half of the year with this grant,” Lanigan said. 

Danville High School

DHS has attendance and mentorship programs in the works as well, like a Check and Connect group, where a targeted group of students are able to meet with adults to check in on how they are doing. 

“Attendance is an issue … across the board, across the country,” Goodwin said. 

One way to bolster student involvement at school is a student ambassador program that’s in the works. The school is working on forming groups of students who will serve as a welcome committee, a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) advisory committee and Sources of Strength group. 

“It looks like it’s beefing up to be a really good program for our students,” said DHS Youth Services Center Director Jenny Clark. 

The Admirals University program at the Jenny Rogers Community Center offers valuable learning opportunities for high-school-aged students, through partnerships with community organizations such as the Art Center of the Bluegrass, the Boyle County Extension Service, Boyle County Public Library and more. Goodwin said one program particularly popular with DHS students at the community center is the cooking class, since it equips students with an important life skill. 

Other business from the meeting

Students, community members, caregivers and staff came together to brainstorm ideas for programs and improvement in the Community Schools pillar areas.