Community Schools
Camp Fire strengthens schools and families by delivering Community School services in local Title 1 schools. The program engages youth in a robust afterschool program that delivers academic support, unique enrichment, and family engagement opportunities that are aligned with best practices. The Community School Program augments afterschool programming with wraparound supports for youth and their family. Recognizing that children need stabilized, supportive homes to be successful in school, the Community School Program offers educational, health and social services for children and their family. Camp Fire leverages existing community resources into a network of services that is centralized and highly accessible at a neighborhood school.
Locations include Free Orchards, Gilbert Heights, Menlo Park, and
Mill Park elementary schools.
Results:
An independent evaluation of the program, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, found that students in the Community Schools program increased their test scores at a faster rate than their peers, while making significant improvements across core academic areas—this despite having a free and reduced lunch rate 11% higher than their peers. Youth in the program also demonstrate significant growth in youth developmental assets, including confidence, motivation, self-efficacy, compassion for others, and a sense of connection with their school and community.
“With Camp Fire…we’ve seen improved attendance, kids looking forward to coming to school, and teachers and Camp Fire staff working collaboratively to ensure kids have adequate homework help. Even our most challenging kids seem to have made a real connection with Camp Fire staff that has benefited them both during the school day and at home.”
– Kevin Fordney, recently retired Title-1 school principal |
How Community School Services Helped One Student:
For Maya, a 5th grader in East Portland, the program’s holistic strategy helped lift her up during a trying time in her life. Maya is a bright and spirited student, but struggles with several challenges. She lives with a single mother who is barely able to make ends meet financially. They often rely on the free meals provided at school to feed Maya during the week. Her mother was briefly incarcerated during the school year and Maya was living with nearby relatives, which drastically impacted her behavior. Even further, Maya is a bigger girl and suffers from teasing and social isolation from her peers.
Camp Fire’s afterschool program became a place where Maya felt safe, was able to explore and discover new talents, and had consistent, caring adult role models. Camp Fire helped connect her family to emergency food boxes during the holidays. Through our partnership with Lewis and Clark College, Maya attended a counseling group with her peers. And daily programming has helped her develop friendships and build confidence. One day, youth were lead on a scavenger hunt and at the end, gave each other—including Maya—compliments. Maya quietly cried. When they asked her why she was crying, she admitted that “no one had ever said nice things about me like that.” Since then, Maya has expressed that she feels a part of a community at Camp Fire. Because of opportunities like this, we are seeing dramatic increases in her self esteem, a growing positive attitude, and an improved ability to focus on her school work.