What results have Community School achieved?

A recent synthesis of the work of mature community schools initiatives, conducted by the Coalition for
Community Schools, found multi-faceted gains:

• improved academic performance in both reading and math;
• improved student and teacher attendance;
• reduced dropout rates and improved graduation rates;
• improved behavior;
• gains in indicators of positive youth development, such as leadership and conflict resolution skills;
• greater parent involvement;
• community benefits, such as better use of school buildings and safer neighborhoods

The Children’s Aid Society has contributed to this developing knowledge base through a variety of external evaluation studies conducted since 1992 by teams from Fordham University, the Education Development Center, ActKnowledge and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Taken together, these studies show a variety of positive results from implementation of the Community Schools strategy: improved student achievement; increased parental involvement; higher student and teacher attendance; improved school climate; decreased special education referrals; and improve mental and physical health.