BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Warren County Public Schools teachers and staff left the classrooms and instead helped members of the community. They volunteered to renovate houses for Habitat for Humanity by installing floors and painting the walls.

Dr. Tracey Young, director of grants and community outreach for WCPS, said, “When they succeed, our community wins. It is a win-win for all of us, to be able to help those in the community that need it the most.”

The project is a part of the school’s initiative to help break non-academic barriers.

Young said, “Housing, food security, mental health support, those non-academic barriers, we have to work on those as a community, and collaborate.”

According to WCPS superintendent Rob Clayton, each non-academic barrier being broken can help students both inside and outside the classroom,

Clayton said, “Our organization has always been committed on trying to determine what those barriers are, and then pulling our resources to try and mitigate those barriers so those students are on a level playing field, and they’re in a position to maximize the opportunities we want to provide them.”