Garden Grove Unified School District is expanding its community schools program again after receiving an additional $2.4 million from the state, bringing the total number of participating campuses to 22, which officials say is more than any other district in Orange County.
The California Department of Education approved the latest funding in August, adding La Quinta High to Garden Grove’s roster of community schools. The new allocation builds on earlier grants of $11.8 million in 2022 and $18 million in 2023, bringing the district’s total award to $32.3 million.
The grants are competitive, and not all schools that qualify are guaranteed funding. Schools are selected based on factors including the percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, higher-than-average dropout or suspension rates and other challenges that can affect learning.
The grant program, created by the 2021 Community Schools Partnership Act and later expanded, has received more than $4.1 billion to help schools provide integrated academic, health and social services that support the “whole child,” with funding scheduled to continue through 2031. The program supports schools acting as social service hubs that build strong connections with families and the surrounding community.
A school might spend the money on staff training, additional teachers or tutors to support students’ learning, and programs that support mental health and family engagement. Each year, schools must submit reports showing how they spent the money and what results they achieved in their priority areas, district spokesperson Abby Broyles said.
At Russell Elementary Language Academy, one of the district’s first community schools, Principal Carol Haase described the program as “an opportunity to talk to all stakeholders and figure out what are the needs of the community.”
In practice, that can mean taking a deeper look at something as routine as attendance. Haase said staff now work with families to understand what’s behind absences. She recalled a mother explaining that her younger child was losing sleep because an older sibling stayed up late playing video games in the single room they all shared.
“They begin to give us a little more depth into the why, and it’s not just because they slept in,” she said. “And so we respond to that. How could we help that situation? Can we maybe go and knock on their door?”
One of the visible changes at Russell since becoming a community school is the creation of a wellness room. The space, outfitted with rugs, colorful beanbags, fairy lights, books and sensory activities, is open to all students during recess and used for counseling groups and one-on-one sessions during the day.
“It’s usually a time to rest your brain and engage in fun activities, like sensory activities or games where they can practice social skills,” said Heidy Correa, a mental health specialist on campus.
She said the support has created more opportunities to respond to issues that show up in the classroom.
“Sometimes there are problems that stem from the home, but then we start to see behaviors in the classroom,” Correa said. “We have the support for them so they can either talk about that if they’re willing, or sometimes they just need a break in the wellness room.”
The room has become a bridge between parents and staff, too. Haase said some families now come forward to ask if counselors can support their child through family hardships such as a divorce. She recalled one parent had said her daughter’s counseling sessions were so helpful, she wanted to know the strategies so she could try them at home.
Each community schools campus has a teacher coach, funded by the grants, who helps steer the strategy. Cindy Kobayashi, who fills that role at Russell, said the model makes planning more collaborative.
“Everything we do starts to become more meaningful because we hear what families, students, teachers and our community partners think and we can make decisions together,” she said. “So it’s really the idea that it takes a whole village.”
The district has also used the funding to reimagine school events. Broyles said Los Amigos and Santiago high schools have turned back-to-school night into a kind of community resource fair. Instead of just meeting teachers, families can get health screenings and other services they often don’t have time to track down elsewhere.
The idea, Broyles said, is to meet families where they are.
“We learned they don’t have time to go here and there to do all those things, so at our back-to-school night, we’re going to bring everything to you,” she said.
The program has also given the district a chance to respond to larger community concerns. Correa noted that fears about immigration enforcement came up over the summer and at the start of the school year.
“We’re addressing it individually as students come to us and letting them know there are counselors here to support,” she said.
Correa added that the school is increasingly able to address students who may have gone unnoticed in the past.
“Before we were a community school, the counseling team was able to address specific students whose behavior stood out, but now we can address more of the whole school and get the students who are sometimes under the radar,” she said.
Haase said having a dedicated coach to organize programs, such as a potential reading incentive or book club to address students’ lack of motivation to read, makes it more likely those initiatives will continue beyond the grant period.
“I don’t have the manpower to do that,” Haase said, but because there is the dedicated coach in position, “she can start things like that that will end up being part of the system that then could continue.”