Parents and Advocates to Work with de Blasio Administration to Propose a Community Schools Policy to the Panel for Educational Policy to Guide Implementation and Ensure Longevity
**Community school parents and advocates are available for on-camera or print interviews** A week after the Mayor announced a long-term vision for public education, 100 parents and community members rally at City Hall in support of community schools. The Mayor’s Community Schools Initiative is the first comprehensive education initiative in almost two decades to focus on the city’s most struggling schools. The city’s 130 new community schools serve large numbers of students who enter school grappling with intense challenges:
- 90% are living in poverty, compared to 78% citywide
- 21% live in temporary housing, compared to 12% citywide
- 24% are students with disabilities, compared to 18% citywide
- 17% are English Language Learners, compared to 13% citywide
- Nearly one-quarter of students are absent for 10% of the school year, and another one-quarter are absent for 20% of the school year
There are successful practices being implemented in community schools across the city to support students in achieving academic success. Parents will testify about some of those practices:
- Gloria Alfinez-Khan from PS 42 in the Bronx
- Yamile Henry, Bushwick High School for Social Justice
- Princess Croneitt, PS 156 in Brownsville
- Paulette Sampson, PS 335 in Bed-Stuy
- Christian Rodriguez, Community Health Academy of the Heights in Washington Heights
As the Community Schools Initiative fully kicks off in the 2015-16 school year, it will be guided by a DOE policy that establishes clear standards for implementation and sustainability. In December 2014, twenty-five organizations came together to propose a draft community schools policy to the Department of Education that will engrave the core components of community schools into city code. Now, the DOE has drafted a version aligned with the Community Schools Strategic Plan and proposed it to the Panel for Educational Policy. Such policies are a core component of efforts to scale up community schools across the country. Marty Blank, the President of the Coalition for Community Schools, explains: “District-level community school policies are a key element of growing a system of community schools such as New York envisions. A policy does several important things. First, it sends a clear message across the school system and the community about what the district wants its community schools to look like. Second, having a policy in place helps to codify and sustain community schools once inevitable leadership changes occur in city government and DOE management. And finally, a community schools policy lends coherence to the development of new community schools, leading to a more consistent definition across schools, and high quality implementation that will get better results.”
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