By: Sherry Leavitt
School Site Coordinator / Central Regional Education Association
Last December, Heart River Elementary School started identifying as a North Dakota Full-Service Community School. NDFSCS (North Dakota Full-Service Community Schools) and CREA (Central Reginal Education Association) are a consortium representing a variety of ND schools and organizations that are passionate about helping ND students and families succeed.
NDFSCS serves as a place and a set of collaborative partnerships that embrace the whole-child, whole-family approach to student success. We partner with community leaders to coordinate comprehensive support using our 8 pipelines. Our pipelines are Early Childhood Education, Remedial & Academic Enrichment Activities, Family Engagement, Community-Based Supports, Wellness, Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, Workforce Readiness & Development and Mentoring & Other Youth Development Programs. Students cannot learn when their basic needs are not met. Not all students have the resources to meet all needs. NDFSCS supports schools and community partners in navigating these challenges together.
We are the first district in the state to have 3 of our schools identified as Full-Service Community Schools. Heart River Elementary, Prairie Rose Elementary and Dickinson Middle School. I serve as the NDFSCS Site Coordinator at Heart River Elementary. I have dedicated time to extending the capacity of the school by assisting students and families to overcome barriers to learning.
We have identified family engagement as one of our focuses for this school year at Heart River, so what better way to kick off the school year with a little messy fun. On Saturday, September 16th, Heart River had its first back-to-school color run/walk. We were awarded some funds through the MCH (Maternal Child Health) grant to support and amplify increased physical activities for our students, staff, and families. With the help of some of the DHS football players, parents, and staff, we were able to have an hour of color-blasting fun running or walking around our school. We had 16 stations where the 8 different colored non-toxic chalk was squirted out of bottles or tossed with our hands as our participants ran/walked by. Otter pops, bottled water, sunglasses and wrist bands were also provided at our event. We couldn’t have been luckier to have such a beautiful September day with the sun shining and no wind. The turnout exceeded our expectations, so thank you to all who volunteered and participated.