“We cannot expect our children to succeed academically if they come to school hungry, sick or too traumatized to learn. Expanding the community schools approach is one way that we will better address the needs of students and families.”
—Mayor Jim Kenney
Community Schools are public schools where a full-time coordinator works with the entire school community—students, parents, teachers, administrators, service providers, and neighbors—to identify the community’s most pressing needs, such as expanded medical services, after-school programming, and job training. The coordinator then works with service providers and City agencies to bring these targeted resources directly into the school.
Over the next five years, the City will invest nearly $40 million to transform 25 existing public schools into community schools. Successful community schools leverage public, private, and philanthropic resources to help schools become neighborhood centers, improving access to programs and services for students, families, and neighbors.