While the blog is on summer vacation, we’re sharing past posts about the many ways City Connects helps students thrive.
This week’s roundup looks at how City Connects Coordinators support the unique needs of students in every season.
Back to School Connections
September 25, 2025
At the start of the school year, City Connects Coordinators are focused on making connections with community partners, teachers, families, and—most importantly—students.
“Relationship building takes time,” said Stephanie Sanabria, City Connects Program Manager in Springfield, MA. “It’s really important that we establish those connections early on so if a student is facing any challenges we already have the rapport that we’ve built with the child or family and they know we are there for support.”
Coordinators spend the hectic first few weeks of school greeting families at arrival and dismissal, getting to know students and teachers through classroom check-ins at breakfast and visits to the lunchroom and playground, and connecting with families at back-to-school nights. Coordinators are also leading or taking part in school-wide support teams, coordinating support for students with critical needs, and conducting student interest surveys to inform individual student plans and whole class reviews.
A Hungry Child Can’t Learn
November 20, 2025
This year, as winter set in and the holiday season arrived, many families were navigating a changing social safety net. With cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), families were making hard choices between food and rent, between food and a child’s winter jacket, between food and a child’s asthma inhaler.
With many students in City Connects schools facing food insecurity at home, City Connects Coordinators and Program Managers worked with community partners—local food banks, mobile food pantries, grocery stores, and churches—to ensure that no member of the school community went without food.
“[Food insecurity has] developed drastically in the past few weeks and months. Our team remains committed to serving the needs of Salem families and partnering with community agencies to meet these needs,” said Elizabeth Yoder, City Connect Program Manager in Salem, MA.
Coordinators And Communities Spread Compassion this Winter
February 12, 2026
Throughout the winter months, City Connects Coordinators team up with community organizations to make sure students stay warm, fed, and connected to opportunities for growth and joy. With the rising cost of food and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, City Connects teams spent this winter working on creative ways to address heightened food insecurity in their communities.
“For families, we may not be able to resolve every issue, but we can alleviate some of the pressure they are facing,” said Diandria Williams, who oversees City Connects in Poughkeepsie, NY.
In addition to connecting families with vital resources, Coordinators find enrichment opportunities that align with students’ strengths, needs, and interests.
“The focus of this time of year is the tailoring of services. We have all this data we’ve collected, now it’s time to make those connections. We look at what we can provide students based on their strengths, needs, and interests that might help them through the rest of the winter and the spring,” said Kevin McCaffrey, City Connects Manager of Student Support Coaching, who works with schools in Boston.
Making Summer Connections
June 4, 2026
City Connects Coordinators spend months preparing for summer, carefully coordinating the crucial services their students will need once school doors close.
“Summer is a time when some of those trusted adults are not in students’ lives on a daily basis. Especially for those students who may be facing challenges, we want to make sure they have another trusted adult they can connect with throughout the summer. I think that is key,” said Akua Miller, City Connects Assistant Director of Implementation.
In addition to ensuring students have access to food, mental health support, and learning experiences, Coordinators work to connect families to summer camps and enrichment opportunities.
“Whether it’s activities and fun, whether it’s academic, whether it’s social, we make sure there are a lot of options so every child has something this summer,” said Ali Lukoff, City Connects Program Manager in Dedham.
