Washington Elementary School in Moline is unique in many ways. It is a place full of heart that provides a supportive and loving environment for a diverse student body. Further, Washington Elementary serves a neighborhood with a high number of low-income students and faces specific challenges meeting the needs of its families.
But Washington has something many schools don’t have — the focused attention of both John Deere and our United for Schools partnership.
Some at John Deere refer to the combination of money and volunteers invested in local schools as their “special sauce.” By adding United Way to the recipe, the sauce packs more punch.
“It’s huge,” said Anne Ryerson, a John Deere Engineering Manager and co-lead for John Deere’s Inspire Partner School support at Washington. “John Deere being a leader in the community, getting in front of these kids and showing them possibilities — to inspire them to work hard and grow — these kids can start to visualize their future and have opportunities become more real.”
A unique opportunity to help kids
According to Pat Barnes, Global Social Responsibility Lead, Education & Equity at John Deere, “We thought it would be really special to have us and United Way supporting the same school.”
“It’s easy to present money, but having an impact is being there.”
Barnes is the vice chair of United Way QC’s Education Council, which is made up of superintendents, business leaders, skilled trades representatives and funders. He and the John Deere Inspire partnership saw potential in helping students at Washington meet their specific challenges, thus a new partnership was born.
John Deere has invested time and money in schools through its Inspire program for more than a decade. Its investment of resources to help students at Washington complements our community school partnership with the Moline elementary school, part of our United for Schools initiative.
This makes Washington Elementary the first school to have both John Deere’s Inspire and United Way working together to close gaps and bring new opportunities to young students.
“It’s easy to present money, but having an impact is being there”
—Pat Barnes, Global Social Responsibility Lead, Education & Equity, John Deere; Co-Chair of the Education Council
The potential of partnerships
United Way launched programs at Washington nearly a year ago and quickly saw the impact of its presence.
Small things, such as free books and haircuts (Books & Barbers), surprised Washington’s staff and United Way for its immediate impact. They didn’t expect the young boys, especially, to find so much self-confidence in a simple haircut and the positive attention it brought them.
In their first few months of meetings, school and John Deere leaders are considering new programs and projects to focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math), both in instruction and bricks-and-mortar, while supporting United Way programs.
“It’s a matter of walking alongside the school and figuring out together what’s best for them, because it’s not a one-size fits all, and it’s very new,” said Kate Horberg, Director of Education Innovation at United Way and facilitator for the Washington partnerships. “With these two new partnerships, it’s bringing a ton of resources to the school.”
And there is no shortage of ideas.
“With John Deere Inspire, a key thing is customizing support for Washington,” said Ryerson. “There’s not a playbook to go by. We’ve thrown a lot of ideas out there. There are so many opportunities, it’s a little overwhelming.”
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Infusing resources where they’re needed most
In addition to bolstering academic achievement, the partners can help with bricks-and-mortar improvements. Volunteers could spare considerable expense on renovation projects approved by the Moline-Coal Valley School District.
Volunteers could help, for example, with physical improvements to the school basement, which would supply much-needed space for a multitude of uses.
“We love doing projects like that,” Barnes said of John Deere volunteers.
“We’ve talked about book clubs, after-school STEM, getting John Deere engineers involved,” Ryerson said of needs at Washington. “There is grant money available for things like robotics kits.
“Having the population of John Deere employees we have, getting them in front of the kids is just huge. We want these kids to dream big,” she added.
“When I look at schools like Washington, I see so much opportunity there.”
School leaders see potential in the partnership too.
Washington’s principal, Brenda Bussard, says her community is especially grateful for Deere’s partnership and United Way.
“Anne Ryerson, Laykin Mlekush and Pat Barnes from John Deere, and Kate Horberg from United Way, have jumped right in as true community partners helping to implement numerous programs, supply Lego Kits for our Tech Stars Club, coordinating volunteers for family events, attending community partner collaborations and helping to brainstorm ideas to help us reach our goals. It is so impactful to have such important parts of our community supporting our students, families and staff. We are so excited about all of the possibilities to come!”
Moline’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Rachel Savage echoed this enthusiasm for the added resources that partners like John Deere and the United for Schools initiative brings.
The Moline-Coal Valley School District is excited for the opportunities that the United for Schools program brings to Washington Elementary students. As community partners, we join in support of our common goals of improving educational outcomes and removing barriers to academic success
“Through United Way programs, such as Books & Barbers, Girls Mentorship, and Born Learning, just to name a few, together with the support of another community partner program, John Deere Inspire, we will continue our focus on encouraging good attendance, academic achievement through reading proficiency, increasing family engagement and supporting the social and emotional well-being of students.”
Education for kids is the cornerstone of a bright future. We stand united to ensure that every kid in the Quad Cities has the opportunity to reach their highest potential.
Explore more about our community schools initiative.
Washington Elementary School in Moline is unique in many ways. It is a place full of heart that provides a supportive and loving environment for a diverse student body. Further, Washington Elementary serves a neighborhood with a high number of low-income students and faces specific challenges meeting the needs of its families.
But Washington has something many schools don’t have — the focused attention of both John Deere and our United for Schools partnership.
