Part of the commitment to being a Governor's School was the assurance that we would network with community and social service agencies to support our programs, and we have done so very effectively through a series of opportunities which, when grouped together, provide an extraordinary amount of service to our children. Programs such as our Making a Habit of College, which take children to the college each year beginning in grade one, teach them about college. In addition to great chocolate chip cookies, the children remember the math and science lessons taught by a college faculty member. Prior to the college connection, most of our families never even considered college to be in their children's futures. Now, because of the important role that college students and faculty play in the fabric of our school community, college is an option that our children will consider.
Student nurses participate in health screenings and with students in well-children case studies.
Some of the college students assist in the production of the Grove Avenue News, the Family Center newsletter, published monthly in English and Portuguese. All of the events involving families, from PTA to the SBM Council to the Family Center, are publicized and promoted in this publication. This offered us the first opportunity to begin to meet and network with other schools committed to systemic change. We have been involved in all of the major conferences and Working Parties. The UWP sessions, which focused on sharing achievements, disappointments, barriers, and triumphs of participating school communities, provided powerful learning experiences, which we brought back to our own community.