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OWENSBORO 鈥� On a September evening, students gathered on the lawn of Burns Elementary School in Daviess County for a family movie night.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an inflatable screen. 鈥� It鈥檚 like going to the drive-in,鈥� said Emmy Woosley, executive director of the Foundation for Daviess County Public Schools. 鈥淭he kids are all out there playing. They鈥檙e excited to see their teachers after school and introduce their families.鈥�

The event was not only entertaining for the children but also informative for parents, with community partners participating. 鈥淭he parents were able to stop by RiverValley Behavioral Health and see what services they have, or stop by and learn more about kindergarten readiness,鈥� Woosley said.

The school鈥檚 next family movie night might look different. The Trump administration late last year revoked the that was supporting efforts at Burns Elementary and 39 other Kentucky schools across 20 districts to help remove barriers to learning for students and families.

Now the schools are looking for ways to keep the work going without the federal money.

The funding came through the Full-Service Community Schools program, which the Trump administration to eliminate. Congress, nonetheless, for it in fiscal year 2026. A federal in Washington D.C. is challenging last year鈥檚 cancellation of 19 community school grants nationwide , including the one in Kentucky. The Trump administration has said the program no longer aligns with its priorities.

In Owensboro and Daviess County, that loss of federal support comes as a disappointment.

鈥淭his grant was one of the most bipartisan and well-supported things that I鈥檝e ever been a part of,鈥� said Brian Benjamin, who was coordinating the program for Owensboro Public Schools. 鈥淚t was inclusive in the fact that it included literally everybody, and the mission was to improve outcomes for all students and families.鈥�

鈥淲e would work with school leadership, parents, students, and community groups to see what their needs were exactly. And then design specific programming based around that,鈥� said Benjamin.

In the county school district, Burns Elementary was able to pay for wraparound early childhood services and a full day at school for preschoolers, thanks to the grant. Youngsters who were in the morning session moved to day care in the afternoon, and vice versa.

The Bobcat Squad brought community partners, school staff and students together to meet non-academic needs. It was an opportunity for students who need more positive attention and also for students who already are exceptional leaders, said Woosley, who coordinated the program for Daviess County Public Schools.

鈥淭hose students would meet on a regular basis and look at different projects. Then they would go out in the community once a month and work with local nonprofits from a service-learning standpoint.鈥�

At Burns Middle School, the grant paid for transportation so English language learners could receive more personalized staff support after school. The grant also supported Girls Who Run, a running club for students that also included opportunities to learn life development skills during conversations with adult volunteers.

And there鈥檚 Guys in Ties, a partnership with Chamber Young Professionals in Owensboro. Young men would come to Burns Middle once a month and work with 8th-grade boys on life skills. At Owensboro Middle School, the Build Her Crown program aimed to enhance girls鈥� self esteem, while Faust Elementary鈥檚 Homework Diner facilitated parent engagement in academic performance.

The grant that fueled Kentucky Community Schools Initiative was getting results. Nearly 95% of KCSI schools (34 out of 36 reporting) saw a drop in chronic absenteeism during the 2024-25 school year, according to the committee. Math proficiency also increased by an average of 10.79 percentage points and reading by 9.24 points across KCSI schools, based on locally selected assessments.

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence was administering the grant which funded the Kentucky Community Schools Initiative (KCSI). The nonprofit is now one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration鈥檚 decision to revoke the grants midstream.

Continued programming

The challenge now is to keep the community partnerships and supports for students and families going without the federal money, which would have run out anyway at the end of the five years. The Prichard Committee is asking families, educators, local leaders, businesses, and philanthropic partners to come together to sustain community involvement in schools.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a call to action,鈥� Brigitte Blom, Prichard Committee president and CEO, told the Lantern. 鈥淲e know students, particularly in low-income areas, face non-academic barriers to success. So maybe it鈥檚 access to health care or a supportive environment with caring adults. The community can play an important role in removing those non-academic barriers.鈥�

The loss of the grant comes as Kentucky is adopting a that encourages community involvement in setting聽standards.

Blom said what distinguishes a community school is the intentionality 鈥渁bout bringing community partners to the table to help remove non academic barriers to success that students might have and to extend learning beyond the school, beyond the classroom and beyond the school year. So it also seeks to ensure community engagement, but also family engagement and how school is designed and delivered.

鈥淭he model helps leverage public resources, private resources, community resources alongside dedicated funding for our schools to help realize greater success for students. So it鈥檚 efficient, it鈥檚 transformative, and continuing the work is really important,鈥� she said.

The grant funded positions in the school districts for a director to spearhead and coordinate community school efforts.

In Owensboro, Benjamin, who moved into another position with the city schools after the grant was canceled, worries the loss of the director will make it tougher to follow through on plans to extend the community schools approach throughout the district. Schools will no longer have a direct link to community partners with the loss of the coordinators, he said.

School personnel are 鈥渢oo busy providing direct services to students and families during the school day to build those kinds of relationships the way they want. This (district director) position allowed for somebody to do that,鈥� Benjamin said. 鈥淎nd on the other side, community members genuinely want to be involved in schools. They either just have not been asked, or they haven鈥檛 been presented the right opportunity.鈥�

Benjamin believes school personnel will make their best effort to facilitate engagement.

鈥淓verything we were doing with this grant, we did have an eye on sustainability in the future. The problem is, a year to two years is just not enough to lay that groundwork to keep it going,鈥� said Benjamin.

Perhaps the most important statistic that will determine whether these initiatives will move forward is the nearly 50% increase in community partnerships reported by the committee.

In an email, Maddie Edwards, DCPS public information officer, supported the Prichard Committee鈥檚 statistics.

鈥淭hrough this work, we saw improvements in attendance, academic progress, and student behavior, which reinforced what we know to be true. When schools, families, and communities work together, students are more likely to thrive,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hile funding is not the only factor that drives progress, it does provide the structure that allows collaboration and innovation to take root in meaningful ways.鈥�

While Woosley believes the Guys in Ties program will continue despite the loss of grant funding, other activities, such as in-school transportation, may drop by the wayside.

鈥淎nything that鈥檚 supplemental to normal bus routes is going to quickly be, not impossible, but much harder to do because we don鈥檛 have the capacity with staffing for bus drivers. And then availability of the funding to pay for those extra programs, like our Bobcat Squad going to a nursing home and working with those elderly individuals on a project. Those things won鈥檛 happen,鈥� said Woosley.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Linda Blackford for questions: [email protected].

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