School Partnership
Regularly falling below the national average in spending-per-pupil, the state of California continues to fail to deliver adequate funding for its public school system, particularly in recent recessionary periods. In addition, federal mandates like No Child Left Behind have had a narrowing effect on the children’s overall educational experience, making the role of partnership of school and community-based organizations, including congregations, increasingly important.
GUM serves to build bridges between local congregations and public schools by establishing relationships, facilitating meetings, and developing opportunities for churches to partner with school principals and staff to serve the needs of their students. For example, congregation members work directly with teachers, through the GEMS tutoring program, to ascertain specific needs and challenges of particular students. Also, congregations provide school-wide dental screening and hygiene education.
From our latest newsletter…
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Last Spring’s Health Day at Willie Brown College Preparatory Academy was our last. The school’s closure at the end of the 2010-2011 academic year marked the end of our church’s first exploration into neighborhood ministry. As I reflected on our six-year partnership with the Wellness Center at Willie Brown, I began to see how it had formed our view of partnership."