NYC Community School Program Sees Widespread Success: Study

NEW YORK CITY — A new public schools initiative reduced absenteeism improved graduation rates by bringing social services to campuses across New York City, a new study found.

Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated Tuesday the release of the Rand Corporation study which found the Community School system, which addresses poverty in high-risk school districts, had widespread positive results.

"The verdict is in," de Blasio said at a press conference at at P.S. 67 in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. "Community schools work."

Test scores did not see a significant improvement in 113 of the 267 Community Schools analyzed in the Rand impact study. But those schools did see academic achievement beyond test scores, even though the program did not directly change curriculum or faculty.

Under the program, Community Schools provide counseling sessions, eyeglass fittings and dental care, after-school programs for kids and parents.

Elementary and middle school students saw more children advancing to the next grade, high school students' credits accumulated increased, and the number of chronically absent children dropped for all students, the study found.

"What Community Schools do is pretty much everything," de Blasio said. "They look at the whole child and the whole family and figure out how you can support that child and that family."

The $195 million-a-year program follows Mayor de Blasio's project Renewal, which poured almost $800 million into curriculum improvements but was canceled in 2019 after it saw disappointing results.

LaToya Ramjit, PTA president and mother of a third grader at P.S. 67, said the Community School program provided counseling to her shy little girl who had trouble communicating with others.

It also allowed Ramjit to organize bimonthly food pantry at the school where parents can pick up fresh produce and cleaning supplies.

"It's so helpful to be able to get everything I need right here at my children's school," Ramjit said. "You don't need to be afraid to ask for help here."