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The collaboration between the school and the community is very important for the success of student learning and strengthening the community. This collaboration can be very beneficial when both parties have a need. Jackson is the capital city located in Mississippi. The city of Jackson has three county seats (Hinds, Madison, and Rankin). Jackson Public Schools is the second largest district in Mississippi (JPS, 2019). It has 7 high schools, 12 middle schools, 33 elementary schools, and 4 special schools which serves altogether 24,000 students. These schools are sectioned into 7 feeder patterns based upon the high schools that will receive the area’s students. Forest Hill High School is within the Jackson area whose population may be impacted by the data provided for the city of Jackson.
Findings
The city of Jackson has a population of 167,250. The average household income in Jackson is $39,004. In Jackson, there are at least 23.8% of people living below the poverty line; 35% are children under 18; which is about 90% of the rate in Mississippi and 14% are seniors 65 and older. The data for the city of Jackson can impact and influence other systems that exist within the city such as the educational system.
Forest Hill High School’s history goes back to the 1800s, the school’s mission is to empower all students to become competent, self-directed, lifelong learners so that they can accomplish their highest potential in today’s society (JPS, 2019). Forest Hill serves 1,074 students in grades 9th -12th. The total percentage of students that are economically disadvantages at Forest Hill is 100%, which means that 100% of the student population receives free lunch. Forest Hill’s graduation rate is 67.6% which is lower than the district (71%) and the state (83%) (U.S.News, 2019). Furthermore, the data indicates that the household income for all Forest Hill students is below $50,000. Moreover, the data proves that the Forest Hill graduation rate is below the city of Jackson’s standards (Census, 2017).
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Community Needs
With attention to the poverty circumstance with students in the Forest Hill population, and the data provided, it is necessary that the economic stability of families in households of income less than $50,000 increase. Other resources and adjustments that can assist the students and families of the Forest Hill population is to first recognize the economic barriers and incorporate teachers, parents, and others in the community to strategize and develop a plan to ensure the academic success of the students. Furthermore, the following needs were identified after collaborating with the parent-teacher organization, school administration, and student government at Forest Hill:
- club and organization funding,
- college and career preparation,
- media support, and
- parent support.
The participants from the parent teacher organization, school administration, and student government agreed that there are potential benefits when the school and community collaborate to raise funds. They mentioned that their clubs and student organizations could receive more funding if they collaborated with non-profits and other businesses within the community.
They also mentioned that the school and community could collaborate to prepare students for college and careers. This collaboration can be done by forming a mentoring program with an organization, business, or college within the community. The program can help students create a roadmap for college or their career. Furthermore, as it relates to media support, the participants mentioned that the media can be very influential. Moreover, they would like to see the media support the schools and the community more by highlighting the positive things that are occurring on a weekly basis. Parent support is another need that the participants mentioned as benefiting the school-community collaboration. Participants suggested that parents could be invited to serve on committees, boards, and school initiatives.
Community Service Plan
The quality of education that the students receive from Forest Hill does not have to resemble the household income of the students and their families or any other lack for that matter. The school can compensate for the lack through developing relationships with organizations within the community such as: social service agencies, educational institutions, religious groups, and businesses.
Moreover, schools can develop a community service plan that incorporates the school-community needs. AT&T has been identified as a partner in the community service plan. The theme for the community service plan is “Tech Up with Forest Hill.” AT&T is a business in the Forest Hill community. AT&T provides wireless and other services such as: cell phones, phone activations, internet, and more. Students at Forest Hill will have the opportunity to be mentored and trained by AT&T technical engineers. This community project will provide students with new opportunities to explore careers in technology.
The students will matriculate through a 12 -month software and development program. The students will have the opportunity to virtually train with a technical engineer 1-hour per school day. After students have demonstrated mastery of basic coding within a 12-month period, students will have the opportunity to apply the skills learned with real world application. AT&T and Forest Hill will utilize a space within the school to allow students to volunteer as phone repair technicians. Students will apply the skills learned to repair the phones provided by AT&T. As a result, AT&T will match the service fee charge for every phone and donate the money to the organizations and club funding at Forest Hill.
The money will be split amongst all of the active organizations and clubs. Parents that are seeking employment will be invited to work the tech store located within the school. Parents that work will receive the opportunity to earn $10 per hour for up to 20 hours per week. The parents will be responsible for managing and overseeing the daily operations of the tech store. The media will be invited to highlight the Tech Up store and the community partnership that has been established with AT&T.
Conclusion
Overall, this community service proposal addresses the needs of the community. It provides a solution to club organization funding, college and career preparation, media support, and parent support. Most importantly, this community service proposal demonstrates the power of collaboration.
References
- Census profile: Jackson County, MS. (2017). Retrieved June 27, 2019, from https://censusreporter.org/profiles/05000US28059-jackson-county-ms/
- Jackson Public Schools / Homepage. (2019). Retrieved June 27, 2019, from http://www.jackson.k12.ms.us/
- Rankings, N. (2019). The Student Body at Forest Hill High in Jackson, MS. Retrieved June 27, 2019, from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/mississippi/districts/jackson-public-school-dist/forest-hill-high-11301/student-body
