BCS Pirate Partners

The goal of Full-Service Community Schools is to provide comprehensive services to its students, and wellness is an important part of that. Three community partners have helped FSCS-Berea offer programs that focus on creating healthy students with food and exercise choices: the Berea College Forestry Outreach Center, Berea Kids Eat and Berea Parks & Recreation.

The Forestry Outreach Center has partnered with the middle school beginning with the Outdoor Adventures afterschool program in spring 2019. Their programs have increased curiosity about the natural world in Berea, whether at the Pinnacles or at the city park next to the school. Students have explored creek biodiversity, the subtleties of snails, the importance of the watershed and pollinators, bird migration, cloud types, and so much more.

In addition to middle school afterschool programs, the Forestry Outreach Center staff has provided enrichment during summer school, presented for the careers classes about opportunities in forestry and related fields, and been a engaged representative on the partnership council.

During the pandemic, we learned it was important to provide families flexibility. From that came the Cook Together program in the fall of 2021. With the support of Berea Kids Eat, each participating family received a kit with all the materials needed to prepare a recipe. Berea Kids Eat developed the recipe for each month’s theme and connected with farms to provide locally sourced ingredients. Monthly themes have included dips and spreads, pasta, pies, salads, stir fry, soups and waffles. As April 2023, 10 different kits have been offered, reaching a total of 106 families.

Berea Parks and Recreation was an established partner with BCS before the start of the FSCS grant and has continued to be one of the most consistent and reliable community partners. A key contribution has been offering middle school afterschool programs that engage students with interactive team-building games, helping keep both their bodies and minds active.

A huge thank you to these community partners for helping improve the health of our students!

Full-Service Community Schools Berea offers a range of programs students at Berea Community School, including many that focus on life skills. Two community partners have been a big part of helping FSCS Berea offer students skills that will last their lifetime: Miller's Tire & Auto Care (Tim Miller) and Park Community Credit Union.

Since returning to in-person events in 2021, the automotive repair shop based in Richmond has provided three car maintenance workshops for Berea Community students and their families. More than 30 students and family members had the opportunity to learn how to care for their vehicle, and many students said they learned something they didn’t know about car maintenance before the workshops.

The Park Community Credit Union in Berea has offered several learning opportunities for BCHS students. In addition to financial literacy workshops on popular topics like “the car buying process” and “credit/credit cards and budgeting,” Park Community has provided staffing for a reality fair, which challenges students to balance their monthly budget. Through their programs, the credit union has served every current student at Berea Community High School.

FSCS Berea appreciates the efforts of these partners and the real-world knowledge they have provided our students.