Dear Friends and Family,
As the 2025–2026 school year comes to a close, we’re proud to share the eighth edition of The Community Schools Chronicle — a special edition, and the final issue of our first volume.
This issue — Nothing About Us Without Us — is a look back at an entire year of community schools at Lanier. Not a highlight reel, but a year in the life of a school that has been steadily becoming what its community always knew it could be. Programs running Monday through Friday, every cohort full. Students earning certifications. Parents stepping into leadership. A Resource Center that became one of the most visited rooms in the building.
Inside, you’ll find the programs, partners, and people who built this year:
- This Year at Lanier — A look at the scale of the work: the cohorts, the programming, and a school built around what students and families need.
- The Programs — Strong Arms of Mississippi, Metro Booming Training Academy, Girls and Grits, Restorative Justice Circles, the Student Empowerment & Resource Center, and Pathways to Success with Alcorn State University.
- A Message from Lanier Principal Dr. Stacey Webb — An end-of-year reflection on the growth, promise, and impact of community schools at Lanier.
- Who Made This Year Possible — Appreciation to the partners, funders, and families who made all of it real.
This issue is also a thank you — to every student, family, teacher, administrator, partner, and funder who poured heart and soul into this work. Lanier sits in a neighborhood that the rest of the country tends to write about only when something terrible happens. What’s happening here every day is a different story. And it’s a story worth telling.
The full Chronicle is included below, and you can also click here to view the PDF version.
📬 Want to receive future editions directly in your inbox? Sign up here for The Community Schools Chronicle mailing list.
The Community Schools Chronicle is produced by IDEA in partnership with Jackson Public Schools and community partners across Mississippi. We’re telling the story as it unfolds. Thank you for being part of it.
