[EdTalks] Scaling Student Success: Community Partnerships in Education

Education doesn't happen in a vacuum, and a large school district cannot thrive without the support of its neighbors. Host Catherine Schumacher sits down with Anne Lee O’Brien, the Coordinator of Community Collaboration for Greenville County Schools, to discuss why community partnerships in education are the lifeblood of a successful school system. As the 43rd largest district in the nation, Greenville relies on over 600 organizational partners to turn good intentions into measurable results for students and teachers alike.

Anne Lee explains how the district’s Graduation Plus initiative prepares students for the future by connecting them with real-world career exposure and vital resources. We explore the wide variety of volunteer opportunities available, ranging from high-impact corporate mentorships and career-readiness modules to simple acts of teacher appreciation that make educators feel seen. By aligning local business goals with specific school needs, these collaborations provide the human capital and basic necessities required to ensure student success across the entire county.

This conversation is a blueprint for building a collective future where every student is prepared to enter the workforce or higher education. Whether you are a business owner looking to mentor the next generation or a community leader wanting to address local inequities, this episode offers a clear roadmap for getting involved. If you are looking to understand how strategic collaboration fuels workforce development and strengthens the heartbeat of our neighborhoods, this episode is for you.

Introduction to Community Partnerships

Catherine Schumacher: With 77,000 students and 12,000 employees, Greenville County Schools relies on community partnerships to ensure that all students have access to extraordinary resources and opportunities, both inside and outside the classroom.

But how do you leverage partnerships for measurable outcomes? I'm Catherine Schumacher with Public Education Partners, and on today's episode of Simple Civics Ed Talks, I speak with Anne Lee O'Brien, the Coordinator of Community Collaboration for Greenville County Schools.

We learn more about how the district builds intentional partnerships with hundreds of businesses and community organizations to positively impact students, teachers, and schools. I'm happy to be here with my friend, Anne Lee O'Brien. Thank you so much for joining me and having a conversation about your really unique and cool role at Greenville County Schools.

Anne Lee O'Brien: Yes, I'm so excited to be here. And thanks for all that you do to highlight education and the importance of community. I like to joke that I have the most fun job in the district. It's an amazing role and allows for a lot of flexibility, creativity, and support of others.

The Evolution of the Coordinator Role

Catherine Schumacher: Public Education Partners was founded 40 years ago because the civic leadership in Greenville knew that a big school district can't do it alone. I think the creation of your role really signals how seriously and how much value and weight Greenville County Schools puts on community collaboration and support. Tell us about what you do, the position, when it was started, and how it's evolved over the last couple of years.

Anne Lee O'Brien: This position was started about nine years ago in the realization that Greenville County Schools cannot do the work that we do alone. We can educate students very well, and we do a great job at that. But what we recognized was the importance of making sure that the community is a part of the education and, reciprocally, that our students, schools, and families are part of the community as well. It's important to make sure we are an integral part of the community. My role focuses on the district as a whole, working with the district leadership team, our superintendents, and assistant superintendents to look at the big picture across the district. Where are there gaps? Where are there needs? Where are there opportunities for enrichments for students, families, teachers, and schools in general? How can we work as a collaborative alongside the community to develop processes and integrate the community within the schools and our schools within the community?

The Scope and Impact of District Partnerships

Catherine Schumacher: Yeah, and really build those connections. We talk all the time about schools being the heartbeat of neighborhoods and they really do sit inside of community. To that point, scope and scale—if you're a listener to this podcast, you have heard me reference Anne Lee a gazillion times because we work really closely together and we communicate a lot. Talk about the scope and scale of partnerships, all the different organizations, and some of the highest impact initiatives that fall under your umbrella.

Anne Lee O'Brien: I like to say that a lot of what I do is serve as a connector. My role is really turning good intentions into real impact for students, schools, and families, all in line with Graduation Plus. Graduation Plus is the district's overarching initiative to ensure that students graduate not just with a high school diploma, but with college and/or career certification. In order to do that, we have to make sure that we have partners working alongside us that can provide those opportunities for real-world experiences for students and can reduce any barriers the students' families might be facing. Big picture, we have 600-plus organizations.

Catherine Schumacher: That's crazy.

Anne Lee O'Brien: It's a lot. It's gigantic.

Catherine Schumacher: There need to be nine of you. The level of what you accomplish given how many partnerships you're trying to organize is really amazing.

Anne Lee O'Brien: While I say 600, our schools and our principals are amazing. The staff within the buildings really recognize the importance of opening the doors to the community, but also bringing the students out into the community and providing those real-world opportunities. We look at big-picture collaborative community partnerships with businesses, corporations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and higher education. Public Education Partners is a great example of that. We work very closely with you all. As you know, I think we talk almost daily.

Catherine Schumacher: There's a lot of texting, a lot of communication. That's the key to strong collaborations there.

Anne Lee O'Brien: Absolutely. With so many, I couldn't necessarily name them all, but a lot of the big picture work is looking across the district. We work with Greater Good Greenville and the Greenville Drive, who do a lot with us throughout their season and outside of their season. We're working a lot with USC and YES Lab. Looking at mentors is a huge need in the district. We are working to understand the best way to integrate mentors in a way that is feasible and fits within the capacity for staff within a building who are very busy, but also makes a real-world impact on students. That project in particular is student mental health. We work with the Chamber a lot on multiple different initiatives, United Way, OnTrack Greenville, and Greenville Federal Credit Union is a huge supporter. I could sit here and spend the next six hours naming the high-impact pieces that we do.

Catherine Schumacher: We've talked about ScanSource as one example and the Rotary. I know that different Rotary clubs are very involved with some of our schools. LEO Santa is a big one. We're recording this in January, so LEO Santa was a huge success this year getting toys into the hands of families across Greenville County. Kudos to you because I know you herded that cat.

Anne Lee O'Brien: Our students worked really hard. We had 42 schools that collected toys for LEO Santa and law enforcement this year. Then on the other side, we had students who were served by LEO Santa. It's a good example of how partnerships can and should work both ways.

Pathways for Organizational Involvement

Catherine Schumacher: That's a great example. You talked about mentoring earlier. Where are the biggest opportunities for involvement? What advice would you give to organizations or individuals that want to get involved? Talk a little bit about process and best practices.

Anne Lee O'Brien: One of the biggest things I talk about with community partners is understanding what they are interested in doing. What fits within their scope? What kind of capacity or time do they have? What input would they like to make? What matters to them as an organization? I really pair those things with the needs that we have across the district. That's a lot of the connection pieces and juggling that I do. I work with organizations that say they really want to make an impact, but our district is very large and they're not sure where to start. I work closely with district leadership and principals to know where the needs are within the buildings and help make that connection fit. For organizations really wanting to make an impact, the biggest suggestion is to decide what your goals are. Is it big? Is it small?

Catherine Schumacher: Is it money? Is it time? Is it training? There are so many different pots.

Anne Lee O'Brien: Yes. Organizations can reach out directly to schools, or if they don't know where to start, they can call me and I can help them navigate what that looks like. Over the years, one of the parts of building the plane while we fly it is working on the processes around community partnerships across the district. This role is unique. There are districts that have community partnership leaders, but everyone looks a little bit differently. For us, we put it into different buckets. Is it human capital that organizations can provide? Do they need volunteers, guest speakers, or mentors? Do they need teacher supports or leadership development? Is it programmatic? Do we need support for career days and having professionals come in and share real-life experiences? Do we need academic enrichments that fit with what they're learning in the classroom? Is it field trips or career exposure through CTE, internships, or work-based learning? Is it financial supports? It's not always about financial supports, though sometimes that's what folks think. It could be grants or even teacher appreciation. Taking candy bars to teachers is a huge thing.

Catherine Schumacher: It always amazes me, especially if you don't have a PTA that has a lot of resources, the granola bars and coffee sometimes makes a huge difference in how teachers feel seen and supported.

Anne Lee O'Brien: It does. I know ScanSource and Wendy Thacker talked a lot about that on her episode. Two other buckets I wanted to mention are in-kind supports and basic needs. In-kind supports involve donations of equipment, school supply drives, clothing closets, or helping us celebrate the good work going on across the district. Then there are basic needs. We have students and families in every single building that need support with food, clothing, shelter, or school supplies. Most of our schools have emergency food closets, and we have partnerships providing weekend food backpack programs with Live Well.

Catherine Schumacher: Big shout out to Live Well Greenville because they serve as the point person coordinating that work in food insecurity.

Anne Lee O'Brien: I can help organizations navigate where within all those buckets of needs they fit. Greenville is an incredibly collaborative community. I'm really grateful for that, and helping connect all those pieces together is a fun way to spend every day.

Creative Solutions and Student Outcomes

Catherine Schumacher: You certainly see it all the time. But in times of crisis—I'm thinking about recent anxiety about SNAP benefits—all of us in this space tried to leap in and figure out the best way to help. Figuring out the best way to do that through the channel of the district is important because you have direct access to those students and families. It was fascinating to watch that play out. Speaking of small-scale and large-scale wins, what are some of your other favorites? What are some things you do that maybe people don't realize are part of this role?

Anne Lee O'Brien: There are so many large-scale and small-scale pieces. There's never a one-size-fits-all. The beauty of it is the ability to have conversations with folks in our community. Making sure the district has a seat at the table is such an integral part of our current and future community. We look at the large-scale, long-term role the district plays in making sure that Greenville is what Greenville wants to be. I don't know that I can name a favorite because there are just so many organizations doing creative things. I actually just went to Berea Middle School. We have several schools, Berea Middle School in particular, supported by The Cliffs. It's just a group of neighbors who provide huge support for our schools. They purchased some Paxton Patterson modules, which are career exploration models. Walking into a classroom and seeing students doing sutures, testing blood pressure, cooking pancakes, or doing video editing is amazing. The sky's the limit. It just depends on what organizations are interested in doing and where their passion lies. We can be creative and we will find a fit.

Catherine Schumacher: We know there are all the big well-known corporate names and partners, but I'm thinking about all of our small businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit. There is a role for students to see that. If it's somebody who went through CTE, became HVAC certified, and now they've started a business employing four people, that's an economic boost. Hearing the stories from those people has incredible value. Anyone who thinks they can contribute as a mentor or just by telling their story to students and showing their path—I think that's so important for Graduation Plus. How do we help kids take advantage of opportunities so that we see the economic mobility in this community that we need to have?

Anne Lee O'Brien: That fits perfectly. Students can't aspire to careers and futures that they've never seen or heard of. That's really where Graduation Plus and community partnerships can change things.

Building a Collective Future for Greenville

Catherine Schumacher: To close us out, if there's something that you want listeners to take away from our conversation today, what do you want them to keep in mind as they think about how to support students and schools?

Anne Lee O'Brien: I could talk about this for the next six hours too. The big thing is that everyone can make an impact, whether you have students within the district or you don't. There is space and a role for every organization and every person to help students feel seen, prepared, and supported. Vice versa, we want to make sure students have the opportunity to be a part of our community as well. All of that work ultimately ensures that we are readying a workforce for the future and making a positive impact for Greenville's future. Community collaboration is really about how we as a collective show up together to support students, schools, and families across our community. There's a space for everyone, and we can be creative to find what that fit really looks like.

Catherine Schumacher: It's a great note to end on. Schools matter to everybody because the students in the schools today are our community and the future of Greenville, our country, and our world. I love the work that we get to do at Public Education Partners to support Greenville County Schools and our educators and families. Anne Lee O'Brien, thank you for the conversation today and for all that you do.

Anne Lee O'Brien: I always enjoy getting to share these opportunities and chatting with you about all the things we do to make sure that this community is the best place it can be.

Catherine Schumacher: Absolutely. Thanks so much. Simple Civics Ed Talks is a joint project of Greater Good Greenville, Greenville First Steps, and Public Education Partners Greenville County.