Sec. 2. Findings
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/bill/114/s/412/is/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Research studies consistently show a positive relationship between family engagement and student achievement. This relationship holds across families of all economic, racial and ethnic, and educational backgrounds and for students of all ages. Educators recognize, on the basis of social science and common experience, that effective family and community engagement is a critical element in children’s academic, social, and emotional development. Poverty, limited English proficiency, and varying cultural expectations are among the biggest barriers to effective family engagement.
Schools with effective family and community engagement strategies provide bridges between families, community-based organizations, and schools to improve communication, information sharing, services, and comprehensive supports for children and families. Educational research suggests that student achievement improves in environments where learning is a community value, and where schools have the ability to address a broad range of needs, both academic and otherwise, for all students, such as in full-service community schools.
Cross-sector community engagement of businesses, institutions of higher education, philanthropic organizations, school boards, child care organizations, family advocates, neighborhood and service organizations, after-school providers, and community-based organizations, is essential if schools are to ensure that all children meet college and work-ready standards. More than 1,000,000 of the students who enter grade 9 do not receive a high school diploma 4 years later and approximately 7,000 students drop out of school each day, including a significant percentage of students with the potential of high academic achievement.
Integrated services and comprehensive supports, such as before school, after school, and summer activities, family engagement, health and mental services, and other services and supports, are necessary components of effective, school-based efforts to dramatically affect dropout prevention rates, increase graduation rates, and improve student achievement. In one national study, 98 percent of students receiving such services and supports stayed in school, 89 percent had fewer suspensions, and 85 percent of such students who were eligible high-school seniors graduated.
Through the Judith P. Hoyer Centers, or Judy Centers , the State of Maryland has operated an integrated services and comprehensive supports model geared towards young children, and their families, and have seen remarkable increases in school readiness among children who enter kindergarten having attended a Judy Center.