Groups Team Up To Improve Pub. Schools
Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and Deputy Mayor Richard Buery announced on Monday, Dec. 1, that the first 45 Community Schools launched under the de Blasio administration have been matched with 25 local community-based organizations and approved to provide a slate of new services to help students develop and learn.
Under the $52 million fouryear Attendance Improvement and Dropout Intervention (AIDP) grant administered in partnership with the United Way of New York, New York City will launch more community schools than any other city in the nation. Community Schools are a pillar of Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Fariña’s education agenda, supporting social, emotional, physical and academic needs of students to support learning.
The AIDP-funded community schools will include a specific focus on chronic absenteeism and drop-out prevention.
The research-based community sSchool model has a track record of improving academic achievement. It creates partnerships between schools and experienced community partners to provide social services, counseling and mental health supports, targeted academic interventions and engage entire families and communities as part of a holistic approach towards elevating educational outcomes.
Each of the 45 community schools has been matched to an effective community-based organization and a full-time inschool community school coordinator. The coordinator’s role is to customize and organize the delivery of supports to students such as mentors, mental health professionals, academically enrichment services during and after the school day, optometrists and dental services, as needed.
“We believe in investing in the whole child,” de Blasio said in a statement. “Every student comes to class with different challenges that can make it difficult to learn. Community Schools respond to families’ needs in innovative ways so that students become more likely to attend class, and better able to focus and succeed. We know that when this model is done right, it has a proven track record of strong academic results.”
“For our students to succeed they must be in school learning, and within the community school model, the whole needs of students are addressed,” added Fariña. “Not only can there be an eye clinic or additional guidance counselors to address the social and emotional needs of our students, but parent involvement and engagement happens every single day. When I visit schools and see parents volunteering in the classroom, sitting in a communal room having coffee and discussing how to support their kids, I know these schools will become anchors within their communities and our students are the winners.”
Dozens of studies from the past two decades have demonstrated the positive impact of community schools on academic achievement. An analysis of 11 of Boston’s K-5 City Connects schools found students had significantly outperformed peers in comparable schools in academic work across grades 3-5.
Students in Tulsa, Okla.’s most successful community schools significantly outperformed their peers in math by 32 points and in reading by 19 points, with poor students in those community schools erasing the achievement gap with students from more affluent families.
Across New York City, community school development is in full swing. Community school coordinators are being hired this month to oversee school-by-school planning. Parent, staff and community forums to solicit input will begin early in the new year, with each school’s service plan developed in March and most services beginning subsequently. Some services such as mentoring for chronically absent students and on-campus counseling may begin by January 2015.
Among the programs announced is Rockaway Collegiate High School, which will partner with Family Health International to provide adult mentoring for students, staff professional development and mental health services on campus.
“(The Coalition for Educational Justice) CEJ is pleased that this administration recognizes the critical role of community-based organizations in supporting school success and combatting challenges like absenteeism that NYC schools have faced for a very long time,” said Zoraida Conde, a parent leader from the CEJ and Make the Road New York. “The deep local roots and expertise in community engagement and leadership development that neighborhood organizations like Make the Road NY bring to the Bushwick Campus high schools will be invaluable in creating Community Schools that build on neighborhood strengths and address challenges. These types of true community partnerships are the backbone of the community schools model.”
In addition to these first 45 schools, the city will launch another 83 community schools as part of its Renewal Schools plan to address historically low performing schools. Eleven of the newly designated AIDP community schools are also renewal schools.
The Department of Education is in the process of contracting with a third party evaluator for the AIDP Community Schools initiative and the administration is committed to studying the efficacy of the model over time.
For a full list of new Community Schools and to learn more, visit schools.nyc.gov/communityscho ols.
