At Consentino School in Haverhill, one of United Way’s community schools, Jenniffer Cabrera-Vicente has spent the past year as a Community School Coordinator—though she prefers to describe her role more simply: “I’m basically like a bridge builder.” Now in just her second year leading the community school strategy in Haverhill, she has redefined what it means for a school to be at the heart of its community. “I see myself as a thermometer too—constantly checking the climate, how students are doing, what families need, and how we can support our staff and community as a whole.” 

Everything she’s lived through is what grounds her in the realities her students face every day. 

Jenniffer became a mom at 15 and paused her education to focus on her son. “I couldn’t go to college right after high school,” she recalls. “But when I was about 24, I bought my house and thought: I have to go back to school. My son told me, ‘You can’t push me to go to college if you haven’t even finished.” 

She went back to school, earned dual bachelor’s degrees in history and psychology, and worked in the city’s mayor’s office, where she built knowledge of local resources and community-based organizations. Later, she joined the school department as a translator and family liaison before moving into a student support coordinator role. 

“I saw so much inequality, so many gaps in access to resources,” she says. “It was all punitive. And I thought, this can’t be it. I can’t give a kid detention because he’s coming late when he’s dropping off his brother because his mom works at four in the morning.” 

Instead, Jenniffer began using a restorative justice lens. “If a student came in late, I’d say, okay, come help the custodian in the afternoon instead of detention. Or I’d call their mom and see if we could get their younger sibling into a before-school program. It was kind of like what I do now, but I was doing it inside the discipline system—and I was tired of all the negative interactions.” 

While doing that work, she also earned a master’s degree in community social psychology. “We think so Eurocentrically, and we don’t value community or family knowledge. I kept thinking: Why is their knowledge not seen as equal to a teacher’s or a principal’s? They know more. They know what they’re going through. So why aren’t we using that?” said Cabrera-Vicente. 

That mindset is now at the core of her work as a community school coordinator. “Understanding that students and families in the community can be an asset—that’s what I love about the community school's strategy. You’re not looking at them in a deficit or disciplinary way. You’re asking: what opportunities can we build so they can grow their own capacity? Because I can’t take ownership of that. That’s theirs,” said Cabrera-Vicente. 

Jenniffer makes the model tangible by bringing community-based organizations into the school, leading student support groups, helping families access housing, and connecting parents to job opportunities. 

She co-facilitates Thrive, which builds leadership skills among multilingual students new to the country, and Mindful Connections, a support group for students experiencing housing instability. She often meets families one-on-one in evening office hours to accommodate their schedules. “They tell me about their lives, their struggles, their hopes,” said Cabrera-Vicente. “Then I figure out what partners I can strategically connect them with.”  

She recalls helping one father who had been living in his car while his wife and son stayed in a small rented studio. “We worked with him, applied to different places, and he finally got a job, was able to move out, and used HomeBase to pay for the first and last month and security. Now he’s working—he’s good.” 

Jenniffer emphasizes that community schools aren’t just about meeting immediate needs—they’re about addressing root causes and creating lasting change. “I think a lot about the systemic barriers that have held families back. When I look for partners or programs, I want ones that can help chip away at those barriers, because that’s how we create transformative change—not just a bandage for right now,” said Cabrera-Vicente. 

Her approach centers on shared ownership. Jenniffer sees her role not as the sole problem solver but as someone who nurtures capacity within students, parents, and staff. “For a coordinator, you have to have a pulse on the school—but the community too. Our kids are here from 8 to 2:45, but what’s going on afterward? How can I impact the environments they’re in beyond the school walls?” 

This year, she’s especially excited to launch a Parent Advisory Council. “There are so many parents that, once we give them the opportunity, they’re going to run with it. I’ll teach a little—but then I want them to take the lead.” 

She also wants to help break down the long-standing divide between schools and families. “For a long time, it was always separated—the school on one side, the family on another. I want to knock that wall down so they can come in. Because they have so much to bring. They know way more than I do,” said Cabrera-Vicente.  

Jenniffer’s work is a powerful reminder that schools can be more than classrooms; they can be community hubs where students and families are seen, supported, and celebrated. “I don’t just want to service the students—I want to build an environment where students, families, staff, and the community can all uplift each other,” said Cabrera-Vicente.