Building Brighter Futures: How United Way Community Schools Enhanced Learning in 2024
Students enrolled in United Way Community Schools showed academic growth across all schools during the 2023-24 academic year, as highlighted in the organization’s 2024 annual report. Throughout the school year, these schools reported:
- Academic growth across all grade levels, outpacing the state and other schools in the region in terms of school-year growth;
- 38% increase in student attendance since 2021;
- 229% increase in family engagement since 2021;
- 94% of families improved stability this year thanks to access to food, health care and financial support;
“The Community School model proves its impact by ensuring students have the resources and support they need to thrive. With the collective impact of our partners and Community School Network, our students are growing academically, socially and emotionally,” shared Marci Lesko, Chief Executive Officer of United Way.
United Way Community Schools serve 19,994 students in 34 public schools in Allentown, Bethlehem Area, Easton Area, Bangor Area and Panther Valley school districts. Salvaggio Academy in Allentown joined the Community Schools network in 2024.
Community Schools improve academic success by focusing on students’ basic needs and build trusting relationships with children and their families by offering a range of services that include:
- basic needs support such as food, clothing, toiletries and school supplies;
- connections to critical resources such as healthcare and housing;
- academic engagement experiences such as field trips and after-school programming;
- parent engagement workshops and activities; and
- on-site physical, mental and behavioral health services.
Funding and support for United Way Community Schools is provided by United Way donors and Community Schools partners including: Air Products, Allentown School District, Ametek Foundation, Inc., Bangor Area School District, Bethlehem Area School District, Brown-Daub Family of Dealerships, CAI, Capital Blue Cross, City Center Group, Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania, Crayola, Easton Area School District, HNL Lab Medicine, Just Born Quality Confections, Lehigh University, Moravian University, Moses Taylor Foundation, Northampton Community College, North Star Construction Management, Inc., PPL Corp., St. Luke’s University Health Network, Topper Foundation, United Way TeenWorks, United Way Women United and Victaulic.
For more information on United Way Community Schools, click here.