For 17 years, Reverend Phyllis Harris has been supporting families in West Powelton. As a reverend at Mount Pisgah AME Church, she is focused on serving her community in ways that extend beyond spiritual wellness -including education, health, and economic.
“The children are our future, but they are also our right now. They need to be supported from grade school all the way through their life,” said Reverend Harris.
To live out this mission, Reverend Harris began volunteering at Alain Locke, one of the City’s 17 Community Schools at the end of 2017. She started by helping Community School Coordinator Pam Evans with the school’s holiday toy distribution. Since then, she has become a fixture at the school.
“[Reverend Harris] has done so much for our school and community,” said Pam. “It’s been wonderful having her support. Her passion has lifted the entire community up. She has been a nonstop force for positive change in this community, both at the school and outside.”
Reverend Harris does a little bit of everything at Locke. She volunteers in classrooms, providing students extra attention and support with challenging lessons. In addition, she connects parents and community members to resources that the school offers.
With her help, the Mount Pisgah church also hosts job fairs, tax filing events, and clothing drives. Last September, Reverend Harris worked closely with Pam to host a Community Health Fair at Locke.
Reverend Harris understands that student success requires supports in and beyond the classroom, which is why she’s supportive of the Community Schools initiative. “The system they have at Locke where parents and partners from the neighborhood are working alongside the City – that’s the key to truly supporting a child,” said Reverend Harris. “These kids are taken care of so deeply, success isn’t only a possibility, it’s the most likely outcome.”
At the end of each school year, Community School Coordinators select a community member to honor in recognition of their support for the Community Schools initiative.
For Pam, Reverend Harris was an easy pick to receive this year’s award for her work at Locke!
Pam invited Reverend Harris to this year’s award ceremony at the Parkway Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia – but didn’t mention the awards. Reverend Harris was happy to attend, but didn’t realize she was there to be recognized.
“People were getting called up and getting these awards, and I was sitting there none the wiser. In fact, I was looking around to see who from the Locke community was there to get their award,” said Reverend Harris.
It wasn’t until after Pam began her speech that Reverend Harris realized she was the recipient.
“When Pam got up and said my name, I was completely shocked.”
“Reverend Harris is always at our Community School meetings, and she is always at our events and school celebrations helping and being a positive presence for students and adults to look for,” said Pam. “I am so grateful to have her in this community, and even more grateful to have her in Locke’s corner.”
Reverend Harris looks forward to continuing her work at Locke next year. In fact, she plans to spend even more time at the school. As long as students and the community need support, Reverend Harris said she will be there for each and every one of them.
“No students leave Locke thinking that they are alone. I love supporting this school, because it does so much for the community,” said Reverend Harris. ”I love to be here because I love the work that Pam and the school team does for the entire community. It’s such a blessing for everyone.”
Congratulations again Reverend Harris, and thank you for all you do to support our Community School students!
The Community Schools initiative is a collaboration between the School District of Philadelphia, the City of Philadelphia, and community partners, and is central to Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s vision for public education. Philadelphia currently has 17 designated Community Schools, where a Community School Coordinator supports added school-based programs and services for 10,000 students and their families and neighbors.
Locke is one of 17 City-designated Community Schools, and is supported by the Promise Neighborhood.
