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 the people who make the work of City Connects possible. We often proudly highlight City Connects Coordinators who transform their schools’ approaches to student support into a powerful, coordinated system that gets the right resources to the right child at the right time, over time.
To accomplish this, Coordinators work with colleagues in their schools and with City Connects Program Managers and Coaches. These behind-the-scenes staff bring their expertise and experiences to support implementation of this evidence-based model and make a difference for students.
“The Work We Do: Peyton Schick connects Minnesota Schools”
Program Manager Peyton Schick is a go-to source for understanding the impact of City Connects in Minnesota. The former classroom teacher and Senior Administrative Program Coordinator plays a large role in ensuring the success of 11 campuses.
“I was drawn to City Connects because of its commitment to comprehensive student support,” she said. “The model recognizes that academic success is deeply tied to a student’s well-being, and I wanted to be part of a system that prioritizes both.”
In recent years, Schick has spearheaded partnerships with a summer camp and a sports/fitness center, in addition to her work connecting Minnesota Coordinators to other partnership opportunities.
“The Work We Do: Springfield Program Manager – Stephanie Sanabria”
In Massachusetts, Stephanie Sanabria excels at, among other aspects of the Program Manager role, training a multitude of Coordinators for their work with students, teachers, and campus administrators alike.
“Improving my differentiation of professional development material has been my main focus over the last two years so that all Coordinators are able to get what they need to continue growing,” Sanabria said. “I am very aware of what it’s like to be in their shoes.”
Sanabria combines her lived experience of the region with her interpersonal skills and acumen with data. Since City Connects began in Springfield, the district’s graduation rate has increased from 56.4% to 84.6%, while the dropout rate has decreased from over 10% to 3.9%.
“Meet Our Team: Kevin McCaffrey & Michael Munroe”
This is the first full year that Kevin McCaffrey and Michael Munroe will be serving as City Connects coaches. Each of them came to the program with more than a decade of experience in Boston Public Schools.
“I saw [City Connects] as an opportunity for me to impact young people beyond the four walls of the classroom,” said McCaffrey. “What I found most rewarding in my teaching years was what I was doing beyond or in addition to the school day.”
The coaches embrace the blend of qualitative and quantitative problem-solving that goes into the job. As Munroe put it, “The technologies available to schools are evolving rapidly—becoming more advanced, efficient, and impactful—while the strengths, needs, and interests of students, along with the priorities of schools, are constantly shifting. With so many moving parts, it will be important to think about the systems and structures used for integrated student support—sustaining what works, rethinking what doesn’t, and refining strategies to ensure every student has the opportunities they need and deserve to thrive.”
