Massachusetts has long emphasized the necessity of addressing the needs of the “whole child.” For years, advocates, educators, researchers, and policymakers have advanced “whole child” policies and practices, including social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, school-based mental health, multi-tiered systems of support, and safe and supportive schools. One of the ways many Massachusetts schools are supporting the whole child is by implementing City Connects.
City Connects is a high-impact, cost-effective, evidence-based approach to addressing the out-of-school factors that can impact learning by integrating education with existing community-based resources to enhance opportunity and a child’s readiness to learn. City Connects Coordinators get to know each child and work closely with teachers, school staff, and families to develop individually tailored plans of supports and enrichment opportunities. They also coordinate with community partners to help get the right resources to the right child at the right time, over time.
Facts
Est. in Massachusetts: 2001
In the 2023-24 School Year:
Schools: 83
Grades: Pre-K – 12th
Students: 26,156
Services and Enrichments: 258,788
Community with City Connects
Last year, City Connects was implemented in 81 Massachusetts schools, including public or parochial schools in Beverly, Brighton, Brockton, Chelsea, Dorchester, East Boston, Everett, Framingham, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Milton, Roxbury, Salem, Somerville, Southbridge, and Springfield.
One of those schools is the Shore Collaborative, located in Chelsea, which hosted a back-to-school event last September. The Shore Collaborative “educates & inspires children and adults with disabilities to reach their full potential.” In a fun back-to-school event organized by City Connects Coordinators Antonio Martinez and Brianna Mancino, students were able to compete in Olympic-style games while enjoying food and ice cream. Spalding, the sporting goods company, was on hand to help with events. It was also an opportunity for families to meet teachers and see classrooms.
Another community where City Connects has been implemented since 2017 is Salem, which has recently reported success in increasing its graduation rates, while decreasing its dropout and chronic absenteeism rates.
Community Partners in Massachusetts
Connecting students with community partners is an integral part of City Connects. It allows students to access opportunities that address their needs, build on their interests, and, importantly, build relationships with caring adults and peers in their communities.
One example is how the YMCA helps students in Salem and Brighton.
“When the YMCA identifies a child or family in need of specific services, we communicate these updates to the City Connects Coordinator to ensure that the school is aware and can prepare any services that the student may need at school the next day,” said Charity Lezama, Executive Director of the YMCA of the North Shore in Salem.
In Springfield, Coordinators saw the need for clothing options for their students and partnered to bring Catie’s Closet to their schools. Catie’s Closet is a nonprofit organization that provides students with donated clothes by setting up spaces in schools where students can go to get these clothes.
Other partners that City Connects works with in Massachusetts include Boston Bruins BFit, Boston Public Library, Lynn Police Department, Historic New England, Malden Fire Department, Scholastic Book Fairs, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Olive Tree Books-n-Voices, Holyoke Children’s Museum, and more.
When City Connects brings community partners, students, families, and schools together, it helps to build relationships that allow for collaboration and support for each of the 21,793 Massachusetts students in a City Connects school.
