Walk through the front doors of P.W. Moore Elementary in Elizabeth City, NC and you'll notice something right away: it doesn't just feel like a building where kids learn their ABCs. It feels like home.
Here, school is not just books and desks. It's a place where families find a helping hand, neighbors become partners and the whole community shows up to make sure every single child has what they need to shine.
PW Moore is a community school, which is really just a fancy way of saying they know that kids do their best when they have a whole team behind them. It's about realizing that a child can't focus on a math problem if they're worried about things at home, and that a child’s school can do so much more to support students when parents and local leaders are in the trenches with them.
It's a simple idea: when we take care of the family, we take care of the student. By opening the school to the Elizabeth City community, P.W. Moore is making sure every child has a robust network of adults they can trust and rely on.
P.W. Moore isn't a lone example, it's part of a growing statewide movement. The school stands alongside nearly 50 community schools in more than two dozen school districts across North Carolina, all working through the North Carolina Community Schools Coalition to make family and community support a core part of how students learn.
The culture cultivated in these community schools is an incredible embodiment of the vision set out in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) strategic plan, Achieving Educational Excellence. The plan recognizes that we can't just think about education in a vacuum – we also must tangibly support the parents and caregivers doing the hard work at home every day. This is central to Pillar 3 of the strategic plan: Enhancing Parent, Caregiver and Community Support.
At its heart, the intention of a community school is respect. It's about seeing parents not just as the people who drop their kids off in the carpool line, but as the most formative teachers a child will ever have.
The benefits of this school model are apparent in all facets of P.W. Moore Elementary School. “A child’s ability to learn is strengthened when they feel safe, supported and connected,” said Maryann Everett, principal of P.W. Moore Elementary School.
“Our community model allows us to meet students’ academic, social, emotional and basic needs through strong partnerships with families and our community. When we support the whole child, we create the conditions for every student to succeed.”
The teachers see the difference every day. When a student knows their parents and teachers are partners, they show up to class ready to give it their all.
“As an educator, my mission extends far beyond teaching academic standards,” said Lekia Privott, a third-grade teacher at P.W. Moore Elementary School. “I believe that every child deserves to feel loved, valued, supported and capable of achieving greatness. I strive to be a caring and compassionate teacher who builds meaningful relationships with my students, meets them where they are and encourages them to believe in what they can become. My goal is to give each student the knowledge, confidence, character and support they need to succeed—not only in my classroom, but throughout their lives. I want every child who leaves my classroom to be a true reflection of the power of great education, knowing that they were seen, believed in, challenged and cared for every step of the way.”
For the parents, the school has become a true anchor; a place where they feel heard and supported.
“We as parents feel welcome and heard when we express our thoughts and concerns to the teachers, principal and administrative staff,” stated Quientasia Williams, parent of a current first grader at P.W. Moore Elementary.
And for the students? It means they can just be kids, knowing that there's a whole village of adults who believe in them and are rooting for them to succeed.
“I think it’s good because we get to do fun activities and go on field trips,” said fifth grader Kali Brown. “I enjoy being on the student advisory board.”
Every handshake in the hallway and every phone call home is another brick in the foundation of a student's future.
As NCDPI works toward having the best public schools in the nation by 2030, schools like P.W. Moore are leading the way. They're proving that when we work together to invest in our communities, there's nothing our students can't achieve