De Blasio continues on ‘community schools’ promise with $52 million project pairing city schools with organizations
The schools will seek to boost attendance and student achievement by bringing social workers and literacy classes, among other things, into city classrooms. The new project is part of de Blasio’s plan to fulfill a campaign promise to create 100 of the so-called community schools by the end of his first term in office.
Mayor de Blasio, seen at his Nov. 3 education policy speech, has vowed to create 100 ‘community schools’ by the end of his first term in office.
The city has paired 45 public schools with 25 community-based organizations to provide a slew of new social services for students, city officials said Monday.
The schools will seek to boost attendance and student achievement by bringing social workers and literacy classes, among other things, into city classrooms.
The $52 million project is part of Mayor de Blasio’s plan to fulfil a campaign promise to create 100 of the so-called community schools by the end of his first term in office.
“Every student comes to class with different challenges that can make it difficult to learn,” said de Blasio.
“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.”
The dozens of community school programs announced Monday will be created in every borough and paid for with a mix of state and city money.
They join an additional 83 community school programs that were announced in November by de Blasio in his first major education policy speech as mayor.
Howard Simmons/New York Daily News
Chancellor Carmen Fariña said the initiative will help kids outside of school as well.
Education officials said some services at the community schools, such as mentoring for chronically absent students and on-campus counseling, may begin as early as January.
Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said the citywide initiative aims to help students thrive in school by improving their lives outside of class.
Each community school will get a dedicated staffer to organize programs such as high school equivalency courses for parents, health clinics and financial literacy classes.
Fariña said she expects to see improvements soon in student achievement at schools with the added programs. The city has also hired an outside auditor to review the initiative’s progress.
Each community school will offer slightly different services. School leaders will hold community forums to solicit input on the programs in early 2015.
The city has collaborated with the United Way of New York to select a mix of big and small organizations to provide services in community schools. Some of the participating outfits include Teachers College, Catholic Charities and Global Kids.
