The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners received an overview of the SUN (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) Service System Tuesday, Aug. 20, as the program celebrates its 25th year of ensuring families are healthy so they can champion and support their children.
Many people may know SUN Community Schools as neighborhood hubs that serve students and families. But the work goes much further than that. Alongside after-school programming with quality instruction and enriching extracurricular activities, SUN Community Schools connect families to food, shelter and energy bill resources, health and mental health services, and family activities and events.
“This school year marks 25 years of SUN Community Schools,” said Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, who opened Tuesday’s briefing. “These very momentous 25 years have taken us from eight community schools, back when it started in 1999, to 94 schools across six school districts today. The growth and development of this program over time is so inspiring, and it has such an impact on young people, on families and on our communities.”
SUN Community Schools have been highlighted by the National Coalition of Community Schools as an example of collaboration and funding from different sources over time. And in 2023, the United States Department of Education noted a study by research organization RAND that found improved attendance and student achievement thanks to community school programs.
“This program is a shining example of shared ownership and collaboration," said Vega Pederson. “This is not just the County’s effort, but a true partnership with school districts, the City of Portland, the State of Oregon, community-based organizations, schools, facilitators and the young people who truly make the SUN program what it is.”
The briefing also offered the Board an update on the SUN procurement process, which was delayed last year to foster a more coordinated and intentional response to the needs identified by schools, the community and providers.
“Over the last nine months, school district representatives, the City of Portland and the County have met regularly and explored options for collaboratively meeting the needs and how we’re moving forward," said Chair Vega Pederson.
“I’m pleased to share that we have strengthened our commitment to the SUN partnership and identified a way forward for the SUN procurement that will help this program move forward strategically and well. It’s very important that as we look for the next 25 years of the SUN Service System, that we’re starting from this place.”
The briefing included overviews from Walter Rodriguez, the County’s SUN Service System manager, and Rachel Pearl, deputy director for the Department of County Human Services, which oversees the SUN system.
“This is a model program for this county,” Pearl said. “We’re really proud of our SUN Community Schools and service programs in general.”
The SUN system includes a series of programs and services that support families and youth in their neighborhood schools. Those services and resources are provided through either specific community schools sites or “linked services,” which are not necessarily tied to a specific school site.
“We focus our services and programs through three key areas: youth and family advocacy, family stability support (connecting families to programs and resources that address basic needs) and early learning support (connecting families to early childhood development services and ensuring they are prepared for school),” said Rodriguez.
The system provides overall enrichment opportunities for families and students. But some schools offer additional, layered services. For example, an early kindergarten transition program that runs from two to three weeks helps kids and parents as they enter elementary school. Family navigators provide one-on-one support to families and connect them to resources in the community.
Food pantries and free food markets operate at 31 community schools. SUN Community Schools works with seven community-based organizations, said Rodriguez.
Linked services include the SUN Youth Advocacy program, which provides one-on-one support to middle and high schoolers. The Multnomah Stability Initiative, which operates in neighborhoods as opposed to inside school buildings, supports case management and helps prevent homelessness and economic instability. The Energy Assistance program helps families with the cost of utilities.
“Not only have we grown, but this initiative of community schools has grown nationally,” said Rodriguez.
By the numbers
The numbers of families and children served speaks volumes, Rodriguez said.
In fiscal year 2023:
- 16,603 students participated in a SUN Community School program.
- 70% of participating youth identified as a person of color or from a culturally specific community.
- 2,239 households engaged with school-based food pantries every week.
- 29,494 households received help with their energy costs.
- 10,710 people connected with a family resource navigator.
Partnerships that center families and youth serve as a foundation for the SUN system, Rodriguez said. Partners include:
- Portland Parks and Recreation
- The Portland Children’s Levy
- Centennial, David Douglas, Gresham-Barlow, Parkrose, Portland Public and Reynolds school districts
- Multnomah Education Service District
- All Hands Raised
- Coalition of Communities of Color
- Early Learning Multnomah
- Oregon Department of Human Services
- United Way
- Multnomah County Health Department
- Multnomah County Library
The system also benefits from the input and guidance from advisory groups, Rodriguez said:
- The Sponsors Group includes executives from organizations and institutions that directly fund or support core programs.
- The Coordinating Council includes not only representatives from the Sponsors Group, but also partner organizations that contract and deliver services, and other community-based organizations that provide guidance, support and accountability for the SUN system.
“Multnomah County plays the system backbone,” Rodriguez said. “We are the ones who actualize the recommendations of the coordinating council and sponsor table and manage the partnership and collaborative services.”
Services for the next 25 years
In 2022, the County began gathering feedback about the SUN system from community members, service providers, school districts and families who access services, Rodriguez said.
“A lot of the feedback was ‘we really love this and we want more of it,’” said Rodriguez, who noted the feedback led to efforts to add services and stabilize the SUN system workforce.
In September 2023, the County paused a procurement process for SUN service providers to accommodate requests from school district superintendents to ensure that “we are collaboratively and strategically responding to community needs,” Rodriguez said.
In December 2023, advisory groups and work groups met to further address the feedback and needs.
After months of work, the County resumed its procurement process with a new blueprint that both addressed wages to prioritize workforce stability and ensured regular meetings to stay on top of emerging SUN community school needs.
“There’s been a lot of turnover in community schools, and we need to stabilize that workforce,” Rodriguez said. “We’ll continue to convene and share ideas around system improvements, ways the programs are being implemented; finding additional resources; and collaborating to advocate for stable future funding.”
The SUN Service System takes two approaches to contracting: contracts for services provided to a geographical region and contracts for culturally specific services.
Sixty percent of resources go to contracts for services tailored to culturally specific communities identified through federal Census data: Latinos, African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, Slavic people, and African immigrants.
Requests for Programmatic Qualifications
On Friday, Sept. 6, Multnomah County will launch a procurement process (formally called a Request for Programmatic Qualifications, or RFPQ) seeking applications from community-based organizations that want to provide SUN services in their communities. Chosen providers will ultimately sign five-year contracts that start next fiscal year, beginning on July 1, 2025. Taking this procurement approach prevents organizations from duplicating work when applying for multiple programs; offers more flexibility than a winner-take-all approach; and establishes a pool of organizations that can step in if one is ever unable to continue, Rodriguez said.
Stage 1 of the procurement process, starting in September, will screen applicants based on their organizational capacity and community experience. Stage 2, which follows in November, will screen applicants' programmatic abilities, skills, and experiences, with a minimum threshold/score of 70% needed to advance. The phase closes in January.
“It’s possible community-based organizations that we currently partner and contract with might not be the same community-based organizations currently running sites,” Rodriguez said.
Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards asked whether any focus groups offered students a chance to share about the services they would like to see.
“We held three town halls with youth to inquire about youth advocacy and community schools,” Rodriguez said. “Food was the most discussed topic, along with specific requests for after-school programs. Much of the feedback we received was very site-specific, which was incorporated into the procurement process. We also shared feedback with folks who were providing services.”
Commissioner Jesse Beason asked about wage discrepancies among SUN providers and whether providers are involved in discussions about wage frameworks.
“We’ve definitely been listening and hearing about our community-based organizations, and there wasn’t too much variation across community-based organizations,” Rodriguez said. “But we’ll be continuing to work with the procurement process and how they’re supporting staff.”
Chair Vega Pederson said her experience with the SUN system dates to before she was even a County commissioner, when she served as interim executive director for an organization involved in the SUN community school procurement process.
“I just want to say how much I appreciate the really thoughtful way this process has gone forward — the inclusive way of bringing folks to the table across the board,” she said. “And really having tough conversations and making important decisions about how we are going to prioritize this work and this program going forward.”
Find a one-sheet resource with more information about the SUN Service System here.