Neighborhood school

A major goal of the Carver-VCU Partnership is to increase the academic achievement of Carver students through increasing parental, community and university involvement in the community’s school activities. Centrally located in the Carver community is George Washington Carver Elementary School.

George Washington Carver Elementary School

Carver Elementary School serves students of the Carver community, as well as students from Gilpin Court, the largest public housing community on the East Coast. Of the approximately 590 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, more than 90 percent qualify to receive free or reduced lunches. Only about half of the students who enter kindergarten have any formal pre-school experience and more than half of the students fall below the state benchmark at the fall testing.

Volunteers

Each year, between 20 and 50 VCU students enroll in service-learning courses from a variety of schools and departments, including the Department of Art Education, Department of Psychology, School of Education and School of Social Work. These students volunteer daily at Carver Elementary School or the Carver-VCU Partnership after-school Homework and Tutoring Assistance Lab. In addition to service-learning, volunteers from VCU’s AmeriCorps and America Reads programs provide intensive tutoring to first-, second- and third-grade students. Tutors also assist with after-school academic and enrichment programs.

The Carver Health Project

Originally funded by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the Carver Health Project was created by an interdisciplinary group of university faculty to provide access to and support for a range of health services at Carver Elementary School. The goals of the program are based on the belief that accessible and efficiently coordinated health care, as well as relevant educational and counseling services, will positively impact children’s overall health and school functioning. Learn more.

Physical education classes

VCU’s Stuart C. Siegel Center fitness facility, which borders the Carver community, is open to all members of the Carver Area Civic Improvement League, including teachers at Carver Elementary School. Carver students visit the Siegel Center as part of their physical education classes.