All three are Community Partnership Schools, which offer free resources for students, their families, teachers and the community to enhance the learning environment in an otherwise deprived area. Giving students more tools help break the cycle of poverty, hunger and lack of opportunities.  

At Wilkinson, that means offering free washers and dryers, clothes, food and telehealth. By improving their lives outside the classroom, the school saw a dramatic increase in attendance and grades.  

Before Wilkinson added two washers and dryers and a free clothes closet, students often stayed home because they only had one or two outfits, and they were too dirty to wear.  

“I remember they were finding out laundry was a huge barrier,” said Children’s Home Society’s Family and Community Engagement Coordinator Sheila Walker. “We had a principal at Wilkinson Junior High a couple of years ago [Christina Cornwell], and she would take them home herself and wash clothes and bring them back to the students, mostly because she noticed that was a huge barrier for students.”  

Food insecurity is another issue for students at all three schools. All offer food and clothing pantries and send students home with food for the weekend.  

All three schools have a community engagement coordinator, a wellness coordinator who handles all things wellness, like behavioral health and mental health, and an ELC, which is a learning coordinator who coordinates tutoring.  

The Community Partnership Schools is a program offered by UCF. Each school must base its participation on four pillars: tied to a college or university (St. Johns River State College), a nonprofit (Children’s Home Society), a healthcare provider (Baptist Medical Center Clay, Azelea Health, and HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital) and the Clay County District Schools.  

At Wilkinson, the program has made a significant impact on the Middleburg/Clay Hill area. In 2022 alone, 81 students and teachers received medical care, 768 people received vision care, 792 received after-school tutoring totaling more than 9,000 hours, 160 used the laundry service, 4,500 families participated in the monthly food distribution, 400 students received mental health counseling, nine students got free dental care and 2,400 supplemental food bags were given out for the weekend.  

Wilkinson even has a shower for those who don’t have hot water.  

Equally important, all three schools received “B” grades from the Florida Department of Education in 2024.  

Those numbers have only increased since. So has the school’s success, Walker said.  

“We have a 96% rate of better attendance than before,” she said. “And disciplinary actions have gotten a lot better. It's been a huge difference for students, families and the community. I mean, students come to us weekly for school supplies and that sort of stuff. I have families reaching out, one to three times a week, on average, and between 300 and 500 individuals monthly.”  

The lessons at Orange Park, Keystone Heights and Wilkinson continue to be far more encompassing than the classroom and reach far into the community.