Working with schools and units across the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, Carolina Community Academy seeks to bring the best of what Carolina has to offer to Roxboro and Person County. During the 2023-24 academic year, Carolina Community Academy partnered with faculty members and students in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health to deliver invaluable resources for and deepen connections with students and their families in Person County.
Amy Richardson, director of Carolina Community Academy and the UNC School of Education’s director of PK-12 partnerships, and Carolina Community Academy staff collaborated closely with four Master of Public Health (MPH) students who spent the year working toward the completion of a capstone project, which all MPH students complete as part of their program. That capstone project ultimately sought to enhance kindergarten readiness and improve the school’s responsiveness to family needs through comprehensive asset mapping, creating a sustainable model of engagement and support that could serve as a foundation for future initiatives and partnerships.
“This was our first collaboration with a team of Carolina students,” Richardson said. “Entrusting them to be excellent representatives of the University and Carolina Community Academy was a big step for our role in the community. They did just that, exceeding all of our expectations and bringing valuable insights to our work with families.”
The team of recent MPH graduates that worked with Carolina Community Academy include Tatiana Aguilar, a 2022 graduate from the School’s Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) program who pursued an MPH concentration in health behavior and is now a doctoral student at Emory University; Olivia Glaser, who specialized in health behavior; Shane Harinxma-Toelg, who specialized in Health Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights; and Sarah Perry, who also specialized Health Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights.
Key deliverables for the capstone included a data collection tool, an asset map of the county, a family feedback report, and a communication plan. The team conducted a windshield tour, interviews, and surveys which achieved a 60% response rate.
Interviews with Carolina Community Academy parents revealed six key themes: positive perceptions of the academy; utilization of its resources; family orientation — describing the family’s residency in Person County, including their length of stay, financial stability, and health; community strengths; available community resources; and unmet community needs. Parents also emphasized their use of resources such as the Carolina Community Academy resource room, the school nutrition program, and referrals to external services.
“Our engagement with Carolina Community Academy staff underscored their invaluable role as trusted intermediaries in the community,” Perry said. “By leveraging existing relationships, we tapped into a wealth of insights and support. Deepening engagement with staff and community leaders will be crucial.”
“Beyond the community-building process was the capacity-building,” Richardson said. “Their work enabled our staff to learn more about our community from our community, to understand perceptions of available resources near the school, and to consider those pieces of information as we work with our families to support the whole child.”
The asset map deliverable, developed using survey results, staff input, and a windshield tour of the community, showcased 60 mapped assets within Roxboro and Person County through an interactive Tableau map.
A perception report was also created to capture CCA families’ feedback during the research process, informing the communication plan. The plan emphasized effective communication strategies and highlighted that digital communication might not always be the most effective medium for engagement.
“These insights showed the importance of proactive engagement, strategic communication, and building upon existing community resources,” Perry said. “By integrating these lessons into future endeavors, Carolina Community Academy leadership can foster more inclusive and impactful collaborations.”
According to Richardson, building upon the success of their experience with the Gillings team, Carolina Community Academy has two capstone teams from the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) during the 2024-25 academic year. While these programs differ in design and specific outcomes, Richardson noted that the foundational work with the Gillings team has positively and proactively shaped their collaboration with the SILS teams.
“As a result of their work, we’ve shared critical information with Person County Schools’ leadership, and it serves as an exemplar for future capstone teams,” Richardson said. “Equally important is that the design of their deliverables was buildable, so as our community’s resources and perceptions shift, so can the products the team created.”