By Eliza PARTIKA

On Aug. 21, GUSD hosted its first Community Schools Resource Fair. Over 450 students from community schools Mann, Marshall, Jefferson, Columbus and Cerritos elementary schools enjoyed an afternoon filled with resources and school supplies, all with the goals of helping them start off the school year right. Glendale Police Dept. gave away backpacks and the Al Barro Foundation gave away clothing, shoes and school supplies. Students received dental and orthodontic checkups, and families received information on child care, CalFresh, mental health support and much more.

According to the GUSD website, “The purpose of a community school is to strengthen connections between a school and its students, parents/guardians, and community organizations to address students’ social-emotional needs and their connectedness to their school community. Students will develop voice, agency, leadership, and self-advocacy, all critical areas in students becoming successful leaders and lifelong learners.”

Offering additional resources, the Glendale Education Foundation (GEF) held a “free shopping event” on Aug. 26 that included teacher “wish lists.” The GUSD boardroom, which houses the GEF, was filled with backpacks, pencils, crayons and other school supplies ready for distribution to community school students. Some received new backpacks and shoes, others school supplies.

Parents and teachers were grateful to receive the resources from GUSD on behalf of students.

The events provided families who struggled to afford resources for their kids everything they needed to start the new school year.

“We’ve been struggling and getting clothes and supplies here took a huge weight off our shoulders,” said one family.” We didn’t know how we were going to afford school supplies this year. This event truly made a difference for our family.”

“I’m so thankful for the support – this fair made sure my kids are ready for school with everything they need,” said another family.

According to the California Dept. of Education website, the goals of community schools are to provide families with educational and social resources to support the whole child as they progress through school – addressing families’ needs for food, health, transportation, digital access, after-school programs and many more resources in addition to providing help in academics. The goal is to improve students’ learning and educational outcomes by creating partnerships with schools, families and communities.

GUSD aims to continue its support of students and families and to grow its partnership with community schools over the duration of this school year as the district works to build new programs for kids.