One effort to build the parent-teacher organization at Emily Brittain Elementary School recently involved raising money by selling hoagies. The participating students were entered into a raffle to be Principal Cassandra Pencek's helper for the day, and Taylor McLachlan, 7, won. The money raised will help pay for the school's entire student body to participate in field trips.

Butler's downtown elementary school is busy reimagining itself to help its students' families thrive.

The first semester of Emily Brittain Elementary School's transformation into a “community partnership and demonstration school” already is turning out results. The program's end goal is to create a model other schools in Butler County can follow to lift up families, some facing the effects of addiction, who could use a hand.

The effort, as described by the school's new Principal Cassandra Pencek, is specifically about leveraging community resources to help parents of students at the elementary.

So far, their biggest win has been dramatically increasing the size, composition and fundraising ability of the school's parent-teacher organization.

“We have increased our membership to 90 members,” Pencek said. “It was less than 30 in prior years.”

The group's fall festival fundraiser hoped to raise about $300, but brought in around $2,300. A recent hoagie-sales fundraiser brought in another $2,495.

All that cash, Pencek said, is going to cover the costs of sending every student at the school on field trips this year, without their parents having to chip in.

Another change has been upping the number of Slippery Rock University education students brought in for job training. There are 10 to 12 SRU students in the building regularly, and Pencek said the extra help has soothed some student behavioral problems.

Other efforts are underway. The school is hoping to eventually start offering a free community meal for families, and they want to establish paths to connect parents with employment opportunities and the transportation needed to start new jobs.

Pencek said administrators are in talks with some organizations to bring a mental health specialist in the building to address needs as they crop up. Those situations are often related to past trauma, Pencek said.

“I'm doing a lot of that myself right now,” she said. “Case after case.”