Biddie Clive ’27 works with Saranac Lake Central School District students this summer during her Upstate Institute Field School Fellowship.
Well-being requires more than adequate health and safety—it includes the ability to thrive and contribute. Community schools support all aspects of their community’s well-being to enhance students’ lives at home and their capacity to learn at school. Over the past two summers, I have experienced, studied, and contributed to the ways Saranac Lake Central School District (SLCSD) exceptionally supports its community.
SLCSD is a rural community, bussing 639.7 square miles with just over 1,000 students. Its declining enrollment rate—a 2024 graduating class of 90 and kindergarten class of 53—illuminates the difficulty families face trying to stay or move to the area. Limited access to housing, child care, dental/health providers, and other community support is a major complication to sustainable life in the Adirondack region. For Saranac Lake, the most prominent barriers include cost, number of providers, and transportation. SLCSD works to alleviate many of these challenges through its one-stop shop model: a community school initiative that has established access points to free, essential services on the district’s campus. These resources include two food pantries, Department of Social Services (DSS) and Joint Council for Economic Opportunity (JCEO) offices, a hygiene closet, mental and family health advocate/support, and a community school liaison who coordinates an abundance of other services.
Although SLCSD community school assistance extends far beyond its campus hub, this idea of a single, convenient access point inspired my project. My role this summer was to identify social determinants of health and agencies with services that fulfill these conditions. I organized my final 80 resources into at least one of nine categories: community/environment, education, family, food, healthcare, housing, safety, spirituality, and transportation. I then contacted each agency to ensure the information is current, but any future changes made to the document will automatically update in the public view link located on the district website. My document consolidates the services SLCSD and other community organizations provide, easing the burden on families to find and access these essential resources. Printable flyers for each category are also available to ensure this information is accessible in both digital and physical form.
Apart from this project, my daily work included program planning, sitting in on meetings, helping my supervisor, Erika Bezio, with anything she needed, and even a few mornings of paddleboarding on Mirror Lake with students! I am endlessly thankful for this opportunity to learn and contribute to an organization I have developed so much love for. Everyone I worked with brings such light to this community , and it has been incredible to witness! I study English and international relations at Colgate, and my experience at SLCSD has not only strengthened my interest in education, but also exposed me to the diverse and essential work of nonprofits. — Biddie Clive ’27