Community Builders 📍 Region 1

Petersburg’s Community Builders program at Vernon Johns Middle School created the Family Engagement University (FEU) to remove the barriers that keep families from participating in school events. Each session provides childcare, food, and transportation so that families can attend as learners themselves, gaining knowledge and tools to support their children while connecting with each other and community resources. Branded as “A Different World,” a name that carries cultural weight in an HBCU-adjacent city, FEU is the division’s primary vehicle for connecting families to the school community, organized around Superintendent Brown’s 4 E’s framework: Enrolled, Enlisted, Employed, and Entrepreneur. The annual 4 E’s Expo drew nearly 400 attendees in a single evening.

The Builders Hub 8th Grade Edition extends the same 4 E’s framework to students. Thirty-three Vernon Johns eighth graders participated in an after-school program and a four-day summer experience organized around career pathways. Beyond the sessions, FEU’s reach extends to community events and neighborhood outreach, including hygiene kit distribution where staff meet families where they live.