Harding as a community school

Harding Elementary, part of Erie’s Public Schools, became a United Way Community School in 2018. Located at 820 Lincoln Ave, Harding Elementary’s boundaries span from the Bayfront (north) to 18th Street (south) and from Pittsburgh Avenue (west) to Walnut Street (east), encompassing some of Little Italy and all of West Bayfront and Frontier Neighborhoods. The school serves about 678 students, with 89.4% economically disadvantaged, 4.9% English Language Learners, 22.4% receiving special education services, and 3% experiencing homelessness. Data pulled from Future Ready PA Index. All data points feature the most up-to-date publicly available metrics.

For more information and district resources, visit eriesd.org/harding or check them out on Facebook!

United Way community school director

Community School Directors are United Way of Erie County employees embedded full-time within each Community School. They serve as the on-site connector between the school and community, building relationships with students, families, staff, and partners to remove non-academic barriers to learning. By coordinating resources and aligning support, Community School Directors, with the assistance of United Way backbone staff, help ensure every student and family has what they need to succeed in school and life.

Meet Harding Community School Director, Shanna Potter

Shanna is an Erie native who attended Edinboro University, where she earned both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Education. A former classroom teacher and reading specialist, she is passionate about building relationships with students and families to support their success.

With nearly twenty years of experience in education, Shanna has worked with students of all ages in a variety of capacities. She has served as the Community School Director at Harding Elementary since January 2020.

Corporate Partners

Corporate Partners are integrated partners, not just donors. Their collaboration creates consistency, resources, and opportunities that directly impact student success and family well-being — key pillars of the Community Schools model.

These businesses and organizations provide both financial and volunteer support, working side-by-side with Community School Directors to create meaningful opportunities, improve learning environments, and strengthen connections between schools and the community.

Interested in becoming a Corporate Partner? Contact Julie Chacona, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at julie@unitedwayerie.org or Anita Kuchcinski, Vice President of Development at anita@unitedwayerie.org.

Meet Harding's Corporate Partner:

cOMMUNITY sCHOOL hiGHLIGHT

Every year, United Way Community Schools make measurable strides across the four pillars of the Community School Model. Here's one highlight from the last school year.

Harding Elementary improved their regular attendance and reduced truancy rates in the 2024-2025 school year:

9 % decrease in chronic absenteeism since 2022

33 % decrease in illegal absences since 2022

Community School Dashboard

This dashboard provides a comprehensive view of academic performance, attendance, and survey data for Harding Elementary as a United Way Community School. It contains seven interactive pages, each focusing on a distinct area of data.

Page 1: presents key school facts from the most recent year of available data.
Page 2: displays PSSA scores, allowing users to select metrics and filter by subject and demographics.
Page 3: shows PVAAS scores for the most recent year, with similar filtering options.
Page 4: highlights attendance data, which can be filtered by year.
Pages 5-7: include student, family, and staff survey results, also filterable by year. All visuals and filters are interactive, enabling users to click within charts to explore the data in greater depth.

IMPACT STORIES

These stories highlight real examples of how the United Way Community Schools model is creating lasting change. From improved student engagement to stronger family connections, each story showcases the people, partnerships, and progress driving success across our community.