Making a Sustainable Impact at Reid Park Academy

by Ty Chandler

Barb Pellin’s attempts at retirement just never seem to work out. She always finds more to do or maybe it’s the work that finds her.

“Oh gosh, I retired twice,” she laughed.

In 2010, Pellin decided it was time to end her tenure as Assistant Superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), but the break would be brief. “I was approached by the County,” Pellin recalled.

Less than a year into her retirement, the Mecklenburg County Manager and CMS Superintendent asked Pellin to head up a special project that would work with students and their families at Reid Park Academy in West Charlotte. The assignment was a good fit for Pellin. She started her career as a school nurse, eventually becoming the Program Director for the Parent, Adolescent and Child Health Division of the Mecklenburg County Health Department. As an Assistant Superintendent for CMS, she oversaw support services, which included partnerships, family interventions and violence prevention. “In my career, being able to bring those two entities which is you know education and health and human services together. I’ve been very blessed to be able to do that,” she declared.

That combination had a big impact on her approach at Reid Park, where 98 percent of students are eligible for free lunch. She performed extensive research to build the program’s framework, which included visits to the Harlem Children’s Zone and a program in Cincinnati. “What I learned through all that research was that family case management is critical. I think before we had focused on just case management for children, which was okay, but unless you focus on the family as such, they’re not going to get the sustained outcomes that you really need,” she explained. Pellin knew this program would need help from several community partners. As a Sustainer herself, she found great pride when the Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC) stepped forward with financial and volunteer support. Reid Park Academy became the JLC’s Cornerstone Project from 2013 to 2018 with $300,000 provided in funding and $500,000 donated in volunteer time. “The funding provided a project manager, a volunteer coordinator and a piece of the evaluation component,” she said.

When the League’s investment was fulfilled, Pelin knew the program was off to a good start and needed to continue. “We understood from the beginning that the Cornerstone Project was a very defined timeline,” she continued. Mecklenburg County has filled some of those funding gaps and the Reid Park Academy program marches on. She says the JLC’s five year investment had a huge impact, but the results in that time period may not have occurred at the rate that everyone had hoped.

“Research tells you that it takes at least fifteen years to really begin to see any very specific outcomes,” Pellin explained. “So that’s been one of the challenges I think in working with the program, whenever you have a lot of changes you have a lot of challenges, but we survived which is the good news,” she continued.

Even with having to adapt to multiple changes, Pellin says over the last seven years, Reid Park families are starting to do a lot more than just survive. “Our families are certainly more stable,” she said. Pellin says her team’s collective impact approach has tackled issues such as evictions and substance abuse that affect the child and family as a whole.

“What we’ve learned is that most, if not all families have a lot of strength,” she said. “And I think one of those cornerstones in the system of care, in the process we’re using is to call upon the strengths of families and actually work with them. So rather than moving out of the area because there was a high mobility rate,

we see families now choosing to stay within that area. For us, that was a win because, if you can keep families a stable unit, in a geographic area, you have a better chance to work with them and to continue the work that you’re doing...these were our goals from the beginning,” Pellin declared. She says family employment rates have improved, student attendance is up and the number of suspensions have gone down. Mecklenburg County is rolling out Community Resource Centers countywide modeled after these efforts.

Asked why she still does this at 82 years old, Pellin says, “I guess it’s my love for my family. So often we think that some children can’t succeed, but I’ve learned through my years that every child can succeed. It’s just what you give them to work with and families are the same. I mean, you know people say, oh those families they don’t care. I’ve never met a family that really didn’t care. I met a lot of families who didn’t understand the school system or understand the system out here they have to work with.”

“I guess that’s why I’m so proud of the League because the JLC took a leap in becoming involved in this and I’m grateful they’re still invested in the school community,” Pellin concluded. This past November, thanks to Pellin’s assistance, the JLC’s Service Saturday Task Force partnered with the school and others to provide a full Thanksgiving meal to seventy-five Reid Park families.

Candace L. Thompson MBA, Realtor®, Licensed NC/SC 704-778-0779 Candace.Thompson@CBCarolinas.com www.CLTRealtyGroup.net CLTRealtyGroup

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Thank you

to the JLC Legacy Foundation

The JLC Legacy Foundation is a critical part of the JLC’s ability to sustain financial giving to community and special program needs. Active members and sustainer trustees are appointed to sit on the Foundation Board and have a critical role in managing the health of the current endowment funds, as well ensuring the long-term strategy and growth of these dollars to support the JLC.

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