A $500,000 award from the Wisconsin Partnership Program is fueling a major new effort led in part by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to prevent childhood trauma and strengthen family wellbeing in Winnebago County.
The three-year initiative, launched in partnership with Winnebago County Public Health and the Oshkosh Area School District, will embed community health workers in Read and Menominee Elementary Schools to support more than 900 students and their families.
Students at Read Elementary School take part in a school activity. Through a new UW-Oshkosh-supported grant, community health workers will be embedded in the school to help connect students and families with resources that support attendance, wellbeing and academic success. (Read Elementary photo)
The project, Addressing and Preventing Childhood Trauma in Winnebago County: A Community Schools Approach, focuses on two schools facing significant economic and social challenges. At Read Elementary, 69.5% of students are economically disadvantaged, and nearly 28% experience chronic absenteeism. Menominee Elementary mirrors these needs, with 68.8% of students economically disadvantaged and absenteeism around 18%. Both schools also serve neighborhoods facing elevated levels of food insecurity, rent burden, housing instability, and other social determinants of health that can directly affect student performance.
(The average of OASD elementary schools economically disadvantaged students is 51.3% and chronically absent is 12.9%.)
Through this initiative, a Community Health Worker (CHW), hired for their lived experience and ability to build trust, will be embedded at each school. Employed by Winnebago County Public Health but integrated into the school teams, CHWs will connect families with critical resources ranging from food and housing assistance to transportation, behavioral health support, and community-based programming.
UW-Oshkosh leads the evaluation
Samantha Larson
UW-Oshkosh leads the project evaluation through the Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research. Samantha Larson, associate professor in the College of Public Affairs and Education and interim director of the Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research, has partnered with Winnebago County Public Health for nearly a decade on multiple community equity projects.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Winnebago County Public Health on several projects over the past eight years, including with many of my Master of Public Administration (MPA) students and alumni,” Larson said. “I was incredibly honored by their invitation to serve as an academic partner on this initiative, which directly aligns with my research interests in community equity, wellbeing, and resilience.”
Hannah Wainio
Over the three-year pilot, Larson and her team will examine how the Community Schools model improves access to basic needs, strengthens family wellbeing, reduces chronic absenteeism and supports academic achievement. The evaluation will also identify barriers, measure implementation progress and help determine what elements of the model can be replicated statewide.
“Our evaluation will look at how the Community Schools model supports efforts to prevent childhood trauma while improving access to resources, family wellbeing and student success and achievement,” Larson said. “We will also examine how to best support Community Health Workers in connecting families to resources and services. We want to understand what works, what barriers exist and how this model can be sustained in Oshkosh and replicated across Wisconsin as well.”
A highly competitive statewide award
The Wisconsin Partnership Program funded only seven projects out of 51 proposals statewide, making this award a significant recognition of the collaborative work underway in Winnebago County.
“This award is a significant achievement for Winnebago County and for the Whitburn Center at UW-Oshkosh,” Larson said. “It affirms our ongoing commitment to the Wisconsin Idea, connecting with local partners on community-engaged scholarship. This is a shining example of how academic research has real-world impacts.”
Students at Read Elementary School gather during a school activity. As part of a UW-Oshkosh supported initiative, the school will participate in a three-year pilot that pairs education and public health, strengthening support for students and families. (Read Elementary photo)
A community-driven model
Hannah Wainio, community health strategist for Winnebago County Public Health, said the Community Schools model is grounded in evidence and community voice.
“Implementing community schools has been an evidence-based strategy to lower chronic absenteeism and reduce barriers for students and families to be able to thrive at school,” Wainio said. “We chose to embed the Community Health Workers (CHW) into the Community School Model because it addresses systemic inequities by prioritizing lived experience. CHWs already have the trust of students and families due to their lived experience and serve as vital connectors between schools, communities, and resources.”
“Though embedded in schools, they’ll be employed by public health and supported by my team, ensuring a strong feedback loop between on-the-ground realities and policy decisions,” she said.
“Community Schools boost student success by equitably addressing root causes of barriers, like poverty and trauma, through collaborative, community-led solutions,” Wainio said. “The model shifts power to families and students to co-create lasting change. The OASD is fully engaged and enthusiastic at every level about the opportunity to implement the community schools model, knowing they are not doing it alone.”
Menominee Elementary School will serve as one of two pilot sites for a Community Schools model supported by UW-Oshkosh research and evaluation. The three-year initiative will study how school-based public health partnerships can reduce barriers linked to childhood trauma and improve student outcomes.
“We are ecstatic to be partnering with Dr. Sam Larson on this initiative,” Wainio said. “She has been a pivotal partner for Winnebago County Public Health and the Oshkosh Area School District, and we look forward to the continued community change we can create together.”
Throughout the pilot, evaluation findings and community input will shape a long-term sustainability plan. Winnebago County Public Health and OASD aim to secure funding to maintain CHW positions beyond the grant period, with several school districts already expressing interest in replicating the model.
Funding acknowledgment: This project is funded by the Wisconsin Partnership Program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Written by Grace Lim
Link to original story: https://www.uwosh.edu/today/129720/uw-oshkosh-partners-on-500k-grant-to-reduce-barriers-to-student-success-in-oshkosh-schools/