Partners

Partnerships at Lea

As part of its community school strategy, Lea has cultivated a diverse network of partnerships with community-based organizations and local institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania. As of the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year, Lea is in active partnership with 42 partner organizations that are responsible for facilitating 53 distinct partner programs with our school––making Lea arguably the most unique school in Philadelphia in regard to school-community partnerships.

For more information about Lea partnerships, please go to the Partnerships at Lea page by clicking here.

 

Partner Information for Families

At Lea, we believe that the parents and families of our students are our primary partners in the education of our students. We believe that our students’ parents and guardians are their first and forever teachers, and that we cannot be successful in guiding our students’ learning and development unless we have developed strong relationships with their families. We also believe that our students’ parents and families have interests and skills that can benefit our school community, as well as goals and needs that we must take responsibility for supporting. Thus, our engagement with every child’s family and our wider school community are based on the principles of mutual trust and respect, and a recognition that building trust takes time and effort.

Enrolling in Partner Programs

There are two ways that an individual Lea student, family member, and/or staff member can enroll in partner programming:

  • Program participation is assigned or determined by the school (e.g., the Principal assigns a partner program to work with a particular grade level or students with particular interests), or
  • An individual student, family member, and/or staff member can enroll themselves in a program, or be enrolled by a parent/guardian. Enrollment information can be found in the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Office in Room 125 (next to the Visitors Entrance stairwell on the first floor) or by contacting Lea’s Community Partnerships Coordinator (Mr. Rich Liuzzi, rjliuzzi@gse.upenn.edu, 215-400-7660).

NOTE: Some partner programs are designed only for students, while some are designed for parents/guardians and family members, while others are designed for school staff.

Partnerships Overview

The document linked below provides an overview of many (but not all) of the partner programs at Henry C. Lea Elementary School. Programs are divided into sections by grade level, with each section providing a description of the partner programs, as well as an indication whether students and/or families can enroll themselves in the programs or whether participation is determined by the school.

For a complete list of Lea’s partner organizations and programs, including program descriptions, please go to the Partner Directory page by clicking here.

Questions, Concerns, Feedback

If you need any information or have any questions, concerns, or feedback related to partnerships at Lea, please contact Lea’s Community Partnerships Coordinator (Mr. Rich Liuzzi, rjliuzzi@gse.upenn.edu, 215-400-7660).

 

Partner Information for Staff

Coordinating partnerships of any kind is a complicated process. In a public elementary school where there are over 40 partner organizations responsible for over 50 partner programs that mobilize nearly 400 partner staff members every academic year, coordinating partnerships is especially complicated.

In order for these partnerships to be successful––and for our students, families, and colleagues to best be able to take advantage of the opportunities that these partnerships provide––every one of us, the staff of Lea Elementary School, must commit ourselves to supporting all of our school’s partners to the best of our ability. In doing so, we must focus on ensuring that our partners, in turn, are able to give the best of themselves to the students, families, and communities we serve. Thus, we always maintain high expectations for those partners, while at the same time recognizing that their service to our school is an opportunity for them to learn and grow as educators, professionals, and human beings.

With this in mind, the Community Partnerships Coordinator (Mr. Rich) asks that all Lea staff members read Appendix A of the Lea Partner Handbook––”Partnering as a ‘School-Based Collaborator’“––so that they are well-informed about our school’s partnerships, and thus best prepared to collaborate with our partners.

With this in mind, if you feel like you need additional support, or if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback, please do not hesitate to speak with the coordinator of your partner program, your school-based collaborator(s), and/or the Community Partnerships Coordinator (Mr. Rich Liuzzi, rjliuzzi@gse.upenn.edu, 215-400-7660).

Partnering as a ‘School-Based Collaborator

In the spirit of supporting our partners, the Community Partnerships Coordinator asks that all Lea staff members read Appendix A of the Lea Partner Handbook––”Partnering as a ‘School-Based Collaborator“––so that they are best prepared to collaborate with our partners.

Partnerships Overview

The document linked below provides an overview of many (but not all) of the partner programs at Henry C. Lea Elementary School. Programs are divided into sections by grade level, with each section providing a description of the partner programs, as well as an indication whether students and/or families can enroll themselves in the programs or whether participation is determined by the school.

For a complete list of Lea’s partner organizations and programs, including program descriptions, please go to the Partner Directory page by clicking here.

Questions, Concerns, Feedback

If you need any information or have any questions, concerns, or feedback related to partnerships at Lea, please contact Lea’s Community Partnerships Coordinator (Mr. Rich Liuzzi, rjliuzzi@gse.upenn.edu, 215-400-7660).

 

Partner Registration

Over the past three years, Lea has gradually developed and implemented a Partner Registration Process in order to ensure that every partner organization, partner program, and partner staff member has shared mandatory information required by the school’s Principal and Community Partnerships Coordinator. This information is necessary for the following purposes:

  1. To ensure that partner programming is aligned with school goals and priorities.
  2. To ensure that all partner staff are adequately prepared to fulfill their role and responsibilities.
  3. To guarantee the safety and security of every member of the Lea community.
  4. To make information about partnerships easily accessible for the entire school community, such as through the Partner Information Database and the school website.
  5. To ensure that all partner programming is formally registered with and approved by school leadership.

For more information about the mandatory Partner Registration Process that every Lea partner must go through, please go to the Partner Registration page by clicking here, and refer to the related resources linked below:

 

Community Partnerships Coordinator

The Community Partnerships Coordinator (CPC) is responsible for supervising and supporting school-partner coordination, collaboration, and communication at Lea, and thus serves as the primary point of contact for all school partners. For more information about Lea’s Community Partnerships Coordinator, please go to the Community Partnerships Coordinator page by clicking here.

 

Partner Directory

For a complete list of Lea’s partner organizations and programs, including program descriptions, please go to the Partner Directory page by clicking here.