Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: The future strength of the Nation’s democracy, as well as the Nation’s economy, is dependent upon the investments made in children and youth today. Evidence demonstrates that effective partnerships among schools and communities increase student achievement by addressing the academic needs of students as well as the challenges the students face outside the classroom. For example: Chicago Public Schools leads one of the Nation’s largest community school initiatives and found that students in grades 9 to 12 who attend a community school have 61 percent fewer school-day absences than their non-community school counterparts.
When compared to non-community school counterparts, students in grades 9 to 12 were found to have more positive educational experiences; students in grades 4 to 8 had higher Emotional Health scores on the survey; and students in grades K to 3 had 53 percent fewer suspensions and 55 percent fewer misconducts. In a 7-year study of 200 Chicago public schools, sociologist Anthony Bryk found that in schools where grassroots organizations forge strong connections with their schools, trust levels and parent involvement are greater.
United Way of Salt Lake’s Promise Partnership, an initiative across multiple school districts in the Salt Lake, Utah area, has helped increase student achievement and graduation rates. At one of United Way’s partner schools, Granite Park Junior High, the percentage of students completing 9th grade and on track to graduate has more than doubled in 2 years. Their efforts also have increased preschool opportunities in their poorest neighborhoods so that 1,000 additional low-income students attend high-quality preschool.
Third grade reading proficiency scores rose 15.5 percent from 2013–2014, and chronic absence decreased from 21 percent to 14 percent from 2013–2014. A Promise Partnership Regional Council, which was formed in 2014, includes education, business, government, and nonprofit leaders, guides the initiative and focuses on keeping the work aligned. In Wisconsin, where formal partnerships with community agencies are required for grant programs, non-traditional partners have proven to be instrumental for smaller communities to enrich after school programs.
Those partners have included local trucking companies, statewide nonprofit organizations like the Grange, Farm Bureau, small retailers, and retirees. Union City Public Schools (New Jersey) school district proves that by breaking down institutional silos and creating deep partnerships, through collaboration and municipal involvement, schools can be vibrant places of hope despite poverty, unemployment, and lack of affordable housing. Social Justice Humanitas Academy in Los Angeles, California, enrolls approximately 500 students with 88 percent eligible for free or reduced school lunch.
Students are supported by Individualized Pupil Education Plans
(IPEP)that determine how teachers and partners involved in the Community School can best help struggling students and reflect the close relationships between students and teachers. At the conclusion of the 2013–2014 school year, the graduation rate rose from 83 percent to 93.9 percent, and 99 percent of those graduates enrolled in college. The suspension rate was 0.02 percent, compared to 1.02 percent across the Los Angeles Unified School District. By meeting the comprehensive needs of students, Communities In Schools, a national dropout prevention organization, found that 99 percent of participating students stayed in school, 78 percent of participating students met or made progress toward their attendance goals, 90 percent met or made progress toward their behavior goals, and 88 percent met or made progress toward their academic improvement goals. In adopting the Every Student Succeeds Act ( Public Law 114–95 ), Congress recognized community schools as a strategy to significantly improve the coordination and integration, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for children and families, particularly for children attending high-poverty schools, including high-poverty rural schools. Approximately 84 percent of 9th graders graduate from high school within 4 years. Of students who graduate from high school, 69 percent enroll in a 2- or 4-year college in the fall after completing high school. Only about half (58 percent) of first-time, full-time college freshmen seeking a 4-year degree receive a bachelor’s degree within 6 years or less. Over the past 4 decades, the United States has slipped from being first in the world in high school and college graduation rates to 21st and 14th, respectively, putting the Nation at a growing competitive disadvantage with other countries. In a study conducted by Hanover Research, data showed that quality partnerships between schools and their communities can result in improved attendance, motivation, conduct, and academic achievement. Community-level strategies like focusing on parental involvement, community building, and cultural competence were shown to contribute to decreases in the achievement gap between lower- and upper-income students. Research from the Government Accountability Office found that students who change schools less frequently are more likely to perform at grade level and less likely to repeat a grade than their less stable peers. In research studies in psychology, health, and education by Teachers College, Columbia University, school connectedness is identified as important to student learning, achievement, and well-being. When students feel a sense of connection with the larger world and community institutions, they are more engaged in instructional activities and express greater commitment to school. It has been learned from successful experiences that hundreds of thousands of arts, cultural, service, sports, colleges and other youth organizations, as well as civic and faith-based groups want to partner with schools and educators to reinforce learning, but far too often, neither the school nor the community know how to effectively connect with each other. In order for the United States to compete in a global economy, the co-partnering efforts of government, social services, business, arts, home, community-based organizations, and philanthropy need to concentrate their efforts where they are most needed: in our schools. Research from Johns Hopkins University has shown that access to summer learning opportunities leads to significant student learning gains not experienced by students who cannot access summer learning opportunities. A 2011 study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that students who attend summer learning programs, particularly those featuring individualized instruction, parental involvement, and small class sizes, experience clear benefits in overcoming the achievement gap between low- and upper-income students. Research from the Community School Partnership finds that community schools see a return of $7.11 for every dollar of investment in community schools coordinators.
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Sec. 2
Findings
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