by Sophie Siebach Glover
James E. Moss Elementary Community School Director
In May of this year, James E. Moss Elementary School became a United Way Community School. With the addition of Moss Elementary, the South Salt Lake pipeline is complete. This means that a child in South Salt Lake will attend a Community School through elementary, junior high, and high school. Being able to access the support services that Community Schools provide, as well as having teachers and staff dedicated to their success throughout their educational career, will be hugely beneficial to changing the odds. Moss Elementary serves approximately 600 students and is a Title I school. Ninety-four percent of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch. Moss Elementary has a diverse population comprised of many immigrant and refugee families. Over 35 languages and 51 countries are represented in the school.
Since May, Moss Elementary has been able to build on partnerships with the help of United Way of Salt Lake. For example at Back to School night, Community Nursing Services (a partner with United Way) provided immunizations for free or low cost to those children who were not up to date on their shots. Similarly, this past week at Parent Teacher Conferences, Community Nursing Services provided flu shots for free or lost cost. Over 100 children were able to benefit from those flu shots alone! This will help students stay healthy and ready to learn. Additionally, Moss Elementary is partnering with Americorps to provide a mentoring program for students who were identified as being chronically absent. This has been a great benefit to the students because it allows for a dedicated staff member to mentor children, communicate with teachers and other partners regarding the children, and provide additional support.
Moss Elementary, in close partnership with United Way of Salt Lake, is excited to work together to break down barriers that prevent children from coming to school ready to learn. United Way is committed and excited to support the hard work that Moss Elementary staff has already been committed to, and looks forward to building the partnership.
