Parker Elementary School becomes community school

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Local leaders are coming together to transform a Bay County school into an accessible learning hub for more than just its students.

Bay District Schools is partnering with the Children’s Home Society Of Florida, PanCare Of Florida, and Gulf Coast State College to operate Parker Elementary School as a community school.

This will create new learning opportunities for students, as well as become a one-stop shop for anything families living in the Parker area need.

School leaders said the first step will be going out and assessing exactly what the community needs help with.

“You have to look at the entire person. You have to look at, you know you just can’t say the student is going to come to school to learn. We have to understand that what happens starts in the family, what we see at home relates to what our kids are going to do here in person, to have their academic success and also their family’s success,” Chris Coan, Principal of Parker Elementary School, said.

Officials said the goal is to build a stronger community while creating more opportunities for the young children in the area.

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