The Community Schools Stories we Share

by Brittany Gregory, ncforum.org

Before I ever knew the words “community schools,” I lived the model.

My great-grandmother, Mary Hallman, was a pillar in the Sandhills of Moore County. She was a church mother, council board member, and champion for children long before the term wraparound services existed. Her house hosted noon-day prayers, her hands helped shape early education efforts, and her belief was simple: the community serves the school, and the school serves the community. That was our way of life. It was embedded, not branded.

I grew up in those red clay roots, a proud product of Moore County public schools. My education there was shaped by teachers who saw potential in every child and by neighbors who showed up for every school event. That experience planted the seed for everything I’ve done since.

After earning my degree in Elementary Education from UNC Greensboro, I began my teaching career in Wake County, in the growing rural-suburban community of Rolesville. From there, I moved into the nonprofit world with Communities In Schools of Durham, working directly with students and families in urban settings. During my time at CIS Durham, I earned my Master’s in Public Administration from NC State University, which deepened my understanding of how systems and policy intersect with daily life in our schools. Later, my path led me to Durham’s Partnership for Children, where I worked to strengthen early childhood systems and local collaborations that prepare young children for success in school and in life.

Through these experiences as a teacher, connector, advocate, and now parent, I have seen public education from many perspectives. I’ve seen its power to transform lives and its struggle to sustain itself under pressure. What continues to inspire me is the way North Carolinians show up for one another, even when resources are stretched thin.

That belief is what brought me to this Storyteller fellowship: a chance to follow and document the stories of North Carolina’s Community Schools over the next year. Across the state, these schools are demonstrating what’s possible when education grows from the ground up. They are hubs of learning, healing, and belonging, where families and educators co-create solutions rooted in local wisdom and shared commitment.

Through the storytelling series, I will travel across North Carolina to capture the beauty and brilliance of this work, from the Blue Ridge to the Outer Banks, from classrooms to farmers markets, from principals’ offices to kitchen tables. These are stories of resilience and renewal, told neighbor to neighbor, the way all good stories are shared.

I invite you to follow along on this journey as we explore how communities are reimagining public education, one relationship at a time.

Dedicated to the public school students and communities of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and to the stories that keep us connected.