About School District of Philadelphia—Office of Student Support Services Special Projects Coordinator

PHENND is entering the second year of an innovative project that seeks to improve and expand the infrastructure for community partnership development across the School District of Philadelphia. This year PHENND is placing 16 AmeriCorps*VISTA members in resource-challenged public schools in Philadelphia and in key School District offices to serve as Community Partnership Coordinators.

Through the combined efforts of the school-based and District-based VISTAs, PHENND will facilitate the development of a database of community partners that will lay out the landscape of community partnership in Philadelphia and be accessible at different levels for use by the School District, schools, community partners and families.

The Office of Strategic Partnerships and the Office of Student Support Services VISTAs will achieve:

· Improved communication between the School District and outside partners, with a specific emphasis on University Partners that comprise PHENND’s member campuses

· Improved capacity for the School District to understand the landscape of community partnership in Philadelphia which is extensive.

· Improved internal communication between the Office of Strategic Partnerships and Office of Student Support Services at the School District.

· Improved capacity to serve as a clearinghouse and matchmaker of community partners and volunteers to schools.