At Del Rey Woods Elementary School, Community School Coordinator Gwynne Cropsey is focused on creating more opportunities for students and making sure families have a voice in their school community.

Cropsey came to MPUSD after a career that included working in domestic violence prevention, spending 25 years touring the West Coast with the water education music group ZunZun, and working as a director of finance.

“When I read the job description, it is literally everything I want to do with my time all encapsulated in a job to try and create more opportunities for kids, to try and listen to student and family voices, for them to decide what they’re looking for,” Cropsey said. “It’s exactly what I had been hoping I would get to do.”

At Del Rey Woods, that work includes connecting students and families with resources, community partners, clubs and activities. After asking students what clubs they wanted this year, Cropsey said about 60 students expressed interest in soccer alone.

Now, Cropsey is focused on making those opportunities sustainable and empowering families to help carry the work forward. She says she has two “North Stars” this school year.

“One is bring math into everything we do. I’m really loving that. We’re working it in everywhere. But also to work on families starting to bear the torch for the upcoming generation,” she said.

Cropsey is also one of seven Community School Coordinators serving MPUSD schools in Seaside. The coordinators regularly collaborate, share resources and learn from one another.

“We keep sharing everything just so no one’s reinventing any wheels,” Cropsey said. “So we’re a really tight crew that we inspire each other and we help each other and we problem shoot together.”

For Cropsey, building a strong community means creating a school where those connections and opportunities continue to grow together.

“I feel very blessed to get to work together. It’s a great crew,” Cropsey said.