City Connects released its newest biennial Progress Report, detailing new evidence of positive impacts on students and the program’s continued growth. It also describes how the City Connects Coordinators, Program Managers, Community Partners, and educators work together to construct comprehensive, customized, coordinated, and continuous support for children to thrive and grow.
Recent Growth
As the report details, City Connects in the U.S. “was implemented in 165 schools across five states, totaling 47,976 students, in the 2022–23 school year.” The students are based in Massachusetts, Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio. In addition, The Irish Ministry of Education launched the National Centre for City Connects Ireland in partnership with Mary Immaculate College in Limerick and other government agencies, including The North East Inner City (NEIC) and Tusla Education Support Services.
About 70 percent of City Connects’ students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, while almost one-fifth are English-language learners.
Evidence of Impact
As the report summarizes, City Connects pupils, when compared with their peers over time:
- put in stronger academic effort, as evidenced by teacher ratings.
- earn higher scores on their report cards.
- attend class at higher rates.
- perform higher on statewide tests.
- experience improved non-cognitive outcomes (e.g., better behavior).
- outperform on indicators of educational success and life chances (e.g., retention in grade level).
- are less likely to repeat a grade.
- are less likely to be chronically absent.
- are less likely to drop out of high school.
- are more likely to enroll in and graduate from postsecondary institutions.
New evidence shows that City Connects also helps students and schools with a perennial challenge: over-identification of students for special education, an issue with significant implications for racial equity and school finances. A recent study shows that City Connects improves the accuracy of special education referrals, ensuring that limited resources go to the students who truly need them while providing improved support for students who don’t have underlying special educational needs.
Another new study examined whether comprehensive student support mitigates the adverse impact of school changes in middle school. The study found that students who receive the City Connects intervention after moving to a new middle school have better achievement and less chronic absenteeism than students who never receive the City Connects intervention after changing schools.
A third new study in the report looked at whether strong family relationships can serve as a protective factor for students with behavioral challenges. Every year, students in City Connects schools are assessed for their strengths and needs across four domains: academic, social-emotional, physical health, and family. Students who had two or more strengths in the family domain and behavioral challenges showed better attendance and higher test scores than those with those same behavioral challenges but fewer family strengths. The conclusions of this study suggest that family support can make an important difference for students in City Connects schools who experience behavioral issues.
We’re also proud of the positive feedback that we’ve received from principals, teachers, and community partners. As one teacher at a City Connects campus in Indiana puts it:
Not only does this program help meet families on their terms to provide support for struggling family needs or student needs, but the ISR [Individual Student Review] meetings bring everyone onto the same page in a safe, supportive environment. This is most helpful for the students who struggle to follow through; there is a mechanism by which teachers, parents, and the Coordinator can all work together to hold students accountable — or provide additional support should they continue struggling!
Such feedback dovetails with our goal of providing ongoing, tailored support for students’ learning and development. “City Connects makes a difference for children throughout their lives,” write Dr. Walsh and Dr. Eric Dearing in their introductory letter to the report, “helping them to achieve and thrive in their classrooms and their communities.”
Check out the report to learn more.
