Orlando’s Evans High School is a shining example of how students benefit when a community pulls together, with rising enrollment and a graduation rate that has soared to 91% — up from 64% a decade ago.

That is in large part thanks to Evans’ teachers and students, as well as Children’s Home Society of Florida, Orange County Public Schools, the University of Central Florida, and Orange Blossom Family Health — all of whom collaborated to provide support to students and their families, including affordable healthcare, tutoring, access to healthy foods and more.

Those efforts made Evans High the first Community Partnership School — a designation that has grown exponentially to 43 total sites across the state — including 18 UCF-certified Community Partnership Schools and 25 Community Partnership Schools on their way to certification. Another nine planning sites are scheduled to launch this year through UCF’s Center for Community Schools, established in 2014 to expand community schools across the state.

Now with over 80 Florida core partners in this work, even more vital services will be delivered to help level up student success — including tutoring, healthcare and mentoring to almost 50,000 students statewide.

Last year, the program’s funding helped schools provide more than 292,000 hours of tutoring, 12,000 behavioral health sessions, and nearly 4,000 dental and vision checkups.

The Florida Legislature’s 2024 funding boost ensures Florida schools have the resources they need to break down barriers to educational achievement.

That support will continue thanks to the generous investment from the Florida Legislature, whose members recognize the importance of lifting up underserved schools and communities to cement Florida as a producer of top-tier K-12 students.

The Legislature’s 2024 funding boost rose from $11 million to $20.1 million, ensuring Florida schools have the resources they need to break down barriers to educational achievement: wellness supports, family and community engagement offerings, and expanded learning opportunities.

“The increase in funding to the Community Partnership Schools grant program is a testament to its success and the transformative impact it has had on our students’ lives,” says Andry Sweet, president and CEO of Children’s Home Society of Florida. “By fostering a holistic approach to education, this program has not only improved academic outcomes but also enriched the overall well-being of our students.”

Sweet says the increased funding will help expand their reach, allowing them to provide even more students with opportunities they would not otherwise have.

“With this additional funding, we look forward to ensuring that even more students benefit from the support and opportunities they need to thrive,” Sweet says. “We are grateful to UCF for their invaluable partnership in making this possible.”

Each Community Partnership School brings together at least four core partners — a school district, university or college, community-based nonprofit, and healthcare provider — to work together and pool resources, offering students access to essential services.

Those partners collaborate to bring opportunities to students and families, such as academic support, health care, clothing, meals, counseling and more — all affectionately known as ‘the HUB’ at Evans. The high school offers a parent resource room and on-site access to public assistance for eligible families. There’s also a robust after-school tutoring program; enrichment activities and resources to address food insecurity, including a food pantry; snack cabinets; and periodic community food distributions.

“The HUB helped me grow the perspective that anyone can be a leader and can voice their concerns to take action to create a world they want to see. At Evans, I felt like I was actively making Pine Hills better. What I have learned from my experiences with the Hub can be applied to have a positive effect on the community,” says Evon Thompson, a 2020 graduate of Evans High School who recently earned his degree in neuroscience from Harvard University.

“… [UCF’s Center for Community Schools’] mission [is] developing and sustaining high-quality community schools.” — Grant Hayes, dean of the UCF College of Community Innovation and Education

UCF’s Center for Community Schools has acknowledged 18 schools as UCF-certified Community Partnership Schools, ranging from elementary to high school, for successfully aligning with the model’s core components and reaching the implementation benchmarks defined by the UCF-certified Community Partnership Schools Standards. Earning this distinct honor represents years of dedicated work focused on student success and well-being.

“One of our primary goals in the College of Community Innovation and Education is to cultivate partnerships that allow us to collaborate with community stakeholders in creating innovative solutions to complex social issues,” says Grant Hayes, dean of the college. “UCF’s Center for Community Schools not only embraces this mindset but actively works to transform the lives of students and families served through the Community Partnership Schools model. This funding increase is crucial to the center’s mission of developing and sustaining high-quality community schools, empowering both existing and future stakeholders to positively impact an even greater number of students and families.”