Lincoln as a community school

Lincoln Elementary, part of Erie’s Public Schools, became a United Way Community School in 2022. Located in a residential area bordered by East 26th to East Grandview and Parade Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, Lincoln serves as a neighborhood anchor dedicated to helping every child succeed. The school serves about 320 students, with 92% economically disadvantaged, 7% English Language Learners, 21% 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/lincoln, or check out their 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 Lincoln's Community School Director,
Liz Nies

Liz is an Erie native with a passion for community building, family engagement, and advocating for social and economic justice. She attended John Carroll University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, with minors in Political Science and Peace, Justice, and Human Rights. Liz returned to Erie to earn her Master’s degree in Social Work and is a licensed social worker in the state of Pennsylvania.

Liz previously worked part-time with the Community School Model at Edison Elementary and has also served as a trauma case manager, working with families and children involved with the Office of Children and Youth in the Erie area. She is a strong believer in the positive transformation that can occur when a holistic approach is used to support children’s education.

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 Lincoln's Corporate Partners:

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.

Lincoln Elementary grew their after-school programming to expand opportunities to more students! In the 2024-2025 year:

12 NEW program partners

16 Unique after-school enrichment programs for Grades 1-5

116 Unduplicated students participated in after-school enrichment programming

Community school data dashboard

This dashboard provides a comprehensive view of academic performance, attendance, and survey data for Lincoln 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.

Monday Apr 20th, 2026

Creating Spaces for Students to be Themselves

Learn how Marquis Wallace, owner of Anansi Collaborations, is bringing creativity and confidence to students at United Way Community Schools!

Monday Apr 20th, 2026

Challenge 24: a competition like no other!

On Thursday, March 26, students from nine United Way Community Schools came together for an evening of problem solving, quick thinking, and high energy as they competed in Challenge 24.