• Community Schools Information Page
     
                Three logos in a horizontal line: Erie's Public Schools Stairclimber logo, United Way Community Schools logo, UW logo          
     
     
     
    In 2016, Erie's Public Schools, in partnership with United Way of Erie County, announced the pilot of Community Schools at five EPS sites: East Middle School, Edison Elementary, McKinley Elementary, Pfeiffer-Burleigh Elementary and Strong Vincent Middle School. Since the initial community schools pilot in 2016, Diehl Elementary, Harding Elementary, and Perry Elementary have all been announced as community schools. Diehl was announced in November of 2018, and Harding and Perry elementary schools were announced in May of 2019.
     
    Due to the reconfiguration of the district in 2017, and the closing of Emerson-Gridley and Wayne, two of these pilot sites were moved to newly named community schools at East Middle School and Strong Vincent Middle School.
     
    In 2021, the district and United Way announced that the community school model would expand to all other district elementary and middle schools. By July 2022, that expansion was complete. Lincoln, Grover Cleveland, Jefferson, and JoAnna Connell elementary schools and Wilson Middle School are now community schools.
     
    Community Schools are a strategy for organizing school and community resources around student success. Each Community School is both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, services, supports and opportunities leads to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities. Schools become centers of the community, open to everyone, all day, every day, evenings and weekends. 
     
    Each community school has a corporate and funding partner who provides financial resources to support the hiring of Community School Directors at each location. The Corporate and Funding Partners for our community schools are: Wabtec Corporation (Edison Elementary), Hamot Health Foundation (East Middle School), Highmark (Strong Vincent Middle School), Women United for Community Schools (McKinley Elementary), an anonymous donor and Erie Insurance Group (Pfeiffer-Burleigh School), Eriez Magnetics (Harding and Perry Elementary Schools), and Larson Texts/Big Ideas Learning (JoAnna Connell Elementary). Diehl Elementary School has the corporate partner support of multiple local businesses: Accudyn Products Inc., American Tinning & Galvanizing, Custom Engineering, Lincoln Recycling, Reddog Industries, Inc., Smith Provision Company, Inc. and Team Hardinger. Corporate and funding partners have not yet been named for Lincoln, Grover Cleveland, and Jefferson elementary schools and Wilson Middle School.
     
    Erie's Public Schools and United Way of Erie County are also pleased to announce the selection of Lead Partners for each site who will employ the Community School Directors and lead the work of organizing services through the community school strategy. These Lead Partners were chosen through an open RFQ process and were matched with schools based on student/family needs and identified services. The Lead Partners for the district's community schools are Achievement Center (Edison Elementary), Safe Harbor Behavioral Health Of UPMC Hamot (East Middle School), Edinboro University (McKinley Elementary), Gannon University (Strong Vincent Middle School), Family Services of NWPA (Pfeiffer-Burleigh School) and Mercyhurst University (Diehl Elementary), YMCA of Greater Erie (Harding Elementary) and Erie Family Center (Perry Elementary). Lead partners have not yet been named for Lincoln, Grover Cleveland, Jefferson and JoAnna Connell elementary schools and Wilson Middle School.  
     
    East Middle School
                                                                
    Safe harbor logo                 Hamot health logo
     
                        Lead Partner                                                                              Corporate Partner
     
    Edison Elementary School
    achievement center logo                                  Wabtec logo
     
     
                    Lead Partner                                                                            Corporate Partner
     
    Diehl Elementary School
      
    mercyhurst logo                                  Logos of Accudyn, American Tinning, Custom Engineering, Lincoln Recycling, Reddog, Smith's, and Team Hardinger
                      Lead Partner                                                                        Corporate Partners
     
     
     
    Harding Elementary School
     
     
                                                                                                                       
    YMCA logo                                                                     Eriez logo            
         
     Lead Partner                                                                            Corporate Partner
    McKinley Elementary School
     
                        Edinboro logo                                                  Women United for Community Schools logo         
           
     Lead Partner                                                                                  Corporate Partner
         
    Perry Elementary School
     
     
     
                                                                                                                       
    erie family center logo                                                                     Eriez logo          
           
     Lead Partner                                                                                                    Corporate Partner
    Pfeiffer-Burleigh Elementary School
     
     
     
    Family services logo                                          EI   
     
                   Lead Partner                                                                         Corporate Partner
     
    Strong Vincent Middle School
     
    Gannon logo                                            highmark
     
                     Lead Partner                                                                            Corporate Partner
     
     
    JoAnna Connell Elementary School
     
                                               
    Larson Texts logoBig Ideas Learning logo
     
    Corporate Partner
     
     
    Community School Director Contact Information
     
    Karen Donnelly, Community School Director of Diehl Elementary School  
    Rachel Pierce, Community School Coordinator of East Middle School  
    Tami Krzeszewski-Conway, Community School Director of Edison Elementary School
    Sara Musone, Community School Director of Grover Cleveland Elementary School  
    Shanna Potter, Community School Director of Harding Elementary School   
    Ashley Taylor, Community School Director of Jefferson Elementary School 
    Marcus Yuille, Community School Director of JoAnna Connell Elementary School
    Liz Nies, Community School Director of Lincoln Elementary School  
    Amy Grande, Community School Director of McKinley Elementary School  
    Scot Galloway, Community School Director of Perry Elementary School   
    Meghan Easter, Community School Director of Pfeiffer-Burleigh Elementary School  
    Katrina Byrd, Community School Director of Strong Vincent Middle School
    Julia Boyd, Community School Director of Wilson Middle School