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The Bangor Farm Stand is open every summer and gives students from DeFranco Elementary and Bangor Area Middle  School, United Way COMPASS Community Schools, the opportunity to learn the fundamentals behind running a business and working with produce. This prospect is given to students participating in the “Exploring Your Future” summer program.
 
The Bangor Community Partnership was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the State Farm Foundation to further support the BASD Young Farmers’ Market. A special thank you to Brian Witmer, a local State Farm agent, who sits on the COMPASS Community School Leadership Team for DeFranco Elementary and the Bangor Area Middle School, and Merchant’s Bank who played a valuable role in this collaboration between the school and the Bangor community.
 
James Harvat a student from Bangor Area Middle School wrote the following article about his experience working at the Bangor Farm Stand.
 
“This summer I had the opportunity to run a farm stand with other students. I was in the ‘Exploring Your Future’ summer program along with other students in the Bangor Area Middle School and DeFranco schools. We accomplished three things. First, we ran a small business and sold all kinds of vegetables, fruits and breads. We learned to give correct change and work with customers. We also supported our local farmers and bakeries. This all occurred on North Main Street in downtown Bangor on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from June to August. We were supported by Merchants Bank, State Farm and the Bangor Partnership. The farm stand helped support the local economy farmers and promoted the idea of healthy eating. I look forward to being in the program this year.”
 
COMPASS Community Schools
United Way’s Community Partners for Student Success (COMPASS) partnership links 10 area schools with their communities in ways that are giving public education in the Lehigh Valley resources and support that is crucial during these tough economic times. COMPASS provides funding, convenes partners to identify systems-level strategies to support youth succeeding in school, connects resources and programs to school sites to support enhanced school day learning, assists with on-site coaching and training to support implementation of the Community School model and collects and analyzes data to monitor progress of this systems level work. COMPASS Community Schools have experienced tremendous growth in family and community involvement, improvements in academic performance for individual students, and improved school climate.
 
On the national level, the Community School model has garnered significant attention following the appointment of Arne Duncan as the U.S. Secretary of Education. As the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Secretary Duncan utilized the strategy to create more than 150 Community Schools in high need neighborhoods and has since championed the strategy as an innovative approach to supporting schools across the country. Endorsement of the Community Schools model via the national Coalition for Community Schools has been received from more than 170 national, state, and local organizations, including the two largest teacher unions, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.
Community Schools seek to organize programs and services into one place, creating “one stop shopping” for students and families. These programs and services are designed to remove barriers to learning, create positive youth development opportunities, empower parents to strengthen their role as partners in education, and to use the community as a living textbook.
 
To learn more about Community Schools, visit http://www.communityschools.org

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