Tim NeCastro, who was named CEO of Erie Insurance in 2016, remembers feeling good about his company's longtime sponsorship of Pfeiffer-Burleigh Elementary.
But a tour of the school and a chat with Karin Ryan, the school principal at the time, left him wondering if his company, which had sponsored the inner-city school since 1987, was doing enough.
Erie Insurance and its employees had helped the school in all sorts of ways. But the the effort still seemed to be falling short in a community where many of the students and their families were struggling to meet basic needs and where a lack of dental, medical and eye care sometimes stood in the way of learning.
"We were doing work that we felt good about, but not necessarily what they needed," NeCastro said in an interview with the Erie Times-News. "We were missing the mark."
The company remains a sponsor of Pfeiffer-Burleigh, but signed on to expand its efforts in 2016 as an initial corporate sponsor of the community schools initiative launched that year by the United Way of Erie County.
The effort was designed to remove barriers to education as a means to break the cycle of poverty, United Way President Laurie Root said.
Against a backdrop of widespread child poverty, particularly within the city of Erie, proponents of community schools say they have been shown to decrease absenteeism, improve staff retention and improve family engagement.
Root said she has no doubt that the community schools model, which places at least one paid director into each school, are working. According to the United Way, Erie's public schools rank among the top 10 schools in the state for academic growth.
The community schools program, which already includes 16 schools, faces one of its biggest financial and logistical hurdles this fall when Erie High School, which has an enrollment of about 2,000 students, becomes a community school that can provide direct access to social services and after-school programs.
Sustainable growth for community schools
The United Way is in the midst of a $15 million capital campaign that's designed to both launch the community school program at Erie High and to build an endowment to help make the program sustainable for years to come, Root said.
Erie Insurance is pledging $1 million toward that effort, said NeCastro, who serves, along with his wife Lisa, as co-chair of the United Way fundraising campaign.
The company was expected to publicly announce its gift Friday afternoon.
The NeCastros have a track record of success in the area of nonprofit fundraising. While some high-profile capital campaigns struggle, they jointly chaired the capital campaign for Erie's Experience Children's Museum that helped fund an $18 million expansion and renovation of the museum.
The goal is different, but the process for raising money will be similar this time around, NeCastro said. It begins with assembling a list of potential donors and figuring out who's in the best position to contact each individual.
NeCastro said he's prepared to sell people on the value of the cause and to outline its track record of success. Companies like his own want the same sort of accountability, he said.
NeCastro is ready, willing and able to sell would-be donors on the merits of community schools. But the hard sell doesn't always work. NeCastro said he settles for a modest donation if the potential donor doesn't appear to be engaged.
"You can usually see it in their eyes," he said.
Over the long haul, however, NeCastro expresses confidence that the fundraising goal will be met.
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Root shares that confidence and the hope that a sustainable funding source can be established that will pay for community schools in the long-term.
Investment in Erie High
For his part, Erie Schools Superintendent Brian Polito said he's looking forward to seeing what effect the investment can have on Erie High.
"We are thrilled that Erie Insurance is helping us to expand to expand the community school model to Erie High," he said. "The supports the model will bring to the school are desperately needed and will help us to accelerate student growth and achievement.“
Improving Erie High:More help is on way for Erie High. United Way aims to make it a community school
NeCastro said improved schools are a tangible benefit to Erie Insurance and other employers as they look to recruit employees.
Root sees a benefit for the community as a whole.
"This is not a 'you' problem," she said. "This is an 'us' problem."
NeCastro credits his wife, Lisa, who is on the board of directors forUnited Way and is a founding member of Women United for Community Schools, for speaking to their shared motivation.
"My wife always says we have to level the playing field so that everyone has a fair chance," he said.
To donate, visit: https://www.unitedwayerie.org/give-now/
Contact Jim Martin atjmartin@timesnews.com.
