PSSA Supports Build Attendance, Confidence, and Schoolwide Momentum Across Erie Public Schools
Across Erie Public Schools, United Way Community Schools helped make PSSA season more than a testing window. Community School Directors worked with school teams and partners to create attendance incentives, pep rallies, family engagement events, encouragement campaigns, and student celebrations designed to help students feel prepared, supported, and proud to show up.
At East, “Kickin’ It Through PSSA” used United Way Impact Investment funding to provide incentives for students who arrived on time and prepared for testing. The effort helped contribute to a 94% student attendance rate during PSSA week. Strong Vincent celebrated the first day of PSSA testing with a 99% attendance rate and a high-energy Colonels Assemble event featuring games, awards, and prizes funded by United Way of Erie County. Harding hosted a PSSA pep rally where students received motivational gift bags made possible through United Way Investment Process funding, then walked back to class through hallways filled with younger students and staff cheering them on.
Aligns with Community School Pillars:
Positive Environment for Wellness and Learning | Expanded Learning and Extracurricular Activities | Family Engagement and Support
Family Engagement Events Create Welcoming Spaces for Connection and Belonging
Family engagement continued to be a strong theme across United Way Community Schools in April, with schools creating events that brought families into positive, welcoming spaces outside the traditional school day. These events are not just fun activities. They are intentional opportunities to build trust, deepen relationships, and help families feel connected to their schools.
Edison hosted a caregiver-focused paint night developed after families requested more opportunities to connect with one another. The event provided dinner, childcare, fellowship, and a creative activity led by local artist and Edison parent Courtney Petis. Jefferson welcomed more than 200 families to Family Skate Night at Gem City Skate, creating an evening of fun and connection that was so successful the school plans to make it an annual tradition. Pfeiffer-Burleigh hosted its first-ever Family Game Night, welcoming nearly 200 people for board games, snacks, multicultural stations, sensory-friendly activities, and family fun.
Aligns with Community School Pillars:
Family Engagement and Support | Positive Environment for Wellness and Learning | Community and Neighborhood Partnerships
Student Leadership and Service Help Students See Their Role in the Broader Community
Several April activities gave students opportunities to lead, serve, and contribute to something larger than
themselves. These experiences help students understand that they are not only recipients of support. They are also leaders, helpers, and community members with something meaningful to give. At Erie High, United Way Community School Directors partnered with Erie High SkillsUSA to organize an Earth Day community service project. Thirty-two students, two Erie High staff members, and Community School Directors traveled to Burton Park and Bayview Park to clean both spaces, helping create safer and more welcoming community environments.
Grover Cleveland students took part in Penny Wars for a Cause, a school-wide fundraising initiative organized by the Community School Director. The grade-level competition will culminate in May with a student-led mini- Relay for Life event, with proceeds donated to the American Cancer Society. At Diehl, Pre-K students learned about service through a role-play activity built around the United Way Community Closet. Students pretended to be the Community School Director, helped families in need, visited the real Community Closet, and learned about service and everyday heroes.
Aligns with Community School Pillars:
Positive Environment for Wellness and Learning | Expanded Learning and Extracurricular Activities | Community and Neighborhood Partnerships
Other Notable Highlights
Below is a snapshot of additional activities happening across Erie Public Schools through the Community School Model. These efforts are funded and/or coordinated by Community School Directors in partnership with school teams and community partners. This is just a glimpse of the work we do each and every month!
Diehl: Launched two attendance motivation programs in April, including a grand prix classroom competition
and a PSSA attendance reward opportunity for classrooms to earn a glow party.
East: Used United Way enrichment funding to take 30 newcomer students to the Yahn Planetarium at Penn State Behrend for an alphabet-based program on the fundamentals of the universe.
Edison: Families Off Duty continued to respond directly to caregiver feedback by offering a monthly opportunity for Edison parents and guardians to connect with one another in a relaxed, supportive setting.
Erie High: Supported Erie High Cultural Night, which welcomed more than 250 students, families, and community members for performances, food vendors, henna tattoos by Erie High students, and a celebration of cultural appreciation.
Grover Cleveland: Welcomed families to a special Eid celebration recognizing the end of Ramadan, with snacks provided
through United Way funding and additional treats shared by families.
Harding: Hosted Donuts with Grown Ups: PSSA Edition, bringing 90 families together for a PSSA-themed Kahoot
activity, educational game prizes, and a major increase in family participation compared to previous years.
Jefferson Elementary: Hosted a Staff vs. Students Basketball Game for students in grades 3-5, creating a high-energy morale
boost that encouraged confidence, teamwork, and school pride ahead of PSSA testing.
JoAnna Connell: Partnered with Mercyhurst University student leaders to introduce 4th grade leadership students to team-
building activities, reflection, and the basics of leadership ahead of the Community School Student Leadership Retreat.
Lincoln: Launched quarter 4 after-school enrichment programs, including Garden Club, Play On! Playground Games, Sneaker Design with Erie Arts and Culture, and All About Animals with Asbury Woods.
McKinley: Launched Creator’s Club REMIX, a new after-school program for students in grades 3-5 that teaches the
basics of DJing, beat creation, and remixing favorite songs.
Perry: Partnered with PLAYtime to plan a summer reading series that will bring literacy, enrichment, and family engagement opportunities to students and families outside the regular school year.
Pfeiffer-Burleigh: Worked with Safe Harbor, teachers, and the school nurse to identify students for an upcoming Vision to
Learn clinic, which will provide eye exams, prescriptions, and glasses to approximately 25 students at no cost to families.
Strong Vincent Middle School: Kicked off PSSA season with Corey the Dribbler, who brought energy and excitement to the full student body through an event sponsored by the PTSA.
Wilson Middle School: Hosted its annual PBIS March Madness celebration before spring break, offering students activities including a staff vs. student basketball game, glow dance, cooking, crafts, movies, games, and more with support from National Fuel volunteers.
Recent Strategic Partnership
For the third year, United Way of Erie County is proud to partner with Vision to Learn to provide vision services to community school students. Vision to Learn is a national nonprofit whose mission is to bridge the gap in vision care for children in low-income communities, bringing mobile eye clinics directly to schools to provide screenings, exams, and glasses at no cost to families.
This year, the program will serve students at Pfeiffer-Burleigh, Erie High, and Strong Vincent. Over the course of four days, up to 100 students, identified by their school nurses as having unmet vision needs, will be seen by Vision to Learn clinicians, receive a prescription, and receive two pairs of new glasses at a follow-up visit from Vision to Learn in the next few weeks.
The program works because of the strong partnership between United Way, Erie Public Schools Central Administration, school nurses and the nursing supervisor, Community School Directors and Vision to Learn. Vision to Learn will be back to three more schools in October to support vision needs at Harding, East, and Wilson.