Going beyond instruction, community schools serve as ‘hubs in the community’

Selena Davis, left, 8, and Mariah Long, right, 7, play in the mini-diner that is part of the Lilliput Play Homes in the library at Duquesne K-8, on Dec. 12, 2023. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource) Community schools around Pittsburgh work to reduce violence, fight food insecurity and support student mental health. by Lajja Mistry& and& Tanya Babbar, PublicSource Every Friday, at 1:53 p.m., Sha’Ron Kennedy helps his classmates at Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Langley K-8 prepare bags filled with food. First, he slips in some instant noodles, and then he adds green beans, corn and tomato sauce. Sometimes he also adds breakfast oatmeal and fruit.& Once all bags are prepared, Kennedy leads the students to different classrooms.& At each class, they knock on the door saying, “Blessings in a backpack!” then deliver the bags to other students.& Kennedy is a seventh-grader in Langley’s autistic support class where he volunteers to work in the school’s Blessings in a Backpack program. The program is part of Langley’s community school model, providing food for students experiencing food insecurity.& Seventh grader Sha’Ron Kennedy demonstrates packing food for the “Blessings in a Backpack” program that provides food for students experiencing food insecurity at Pittsburgh Public Schools...