Thanks to a federal grant, the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., school district is expanding integrated student support and implementing City Connects in five of its elementary schools.
The Poughkeepsie City School District (PCSD) worked with City Connects and other partners to apply for the funding, a $2.5 million, five-year Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grant that’s being used to expand the district’s Community Schools Initiative.
“This funding will help expand on our school, home, and community approach to addressing the academic, social, emotional, and wellness needs of our students,” School Superintendent Eric Jay Rosser says.
“The framework for our Community Schools initiative is solid and it has been producing great outputs such as meaningful Saturday and summer student extended learning opportunities, annual parent and community engagement functions, and integrated student support, to name a few,” Rosser tells the Mid Hudson News. “What is needed to continuously improve our impact is strategic planning and action that is aligned to metrics that support the larger student outcomes we all strive for.”
A key part of Poughkeepsie’s goal is to close achievement gaps among students. To do this, Poughkeepsie’s multi-pronged, evidence-based approach includes:
• expanding on a City Connects pilot program that had funding support from Dutchess County to bring City Connects into more schools
• implementing EveryDay Labs, a program that addresses chronic absenteeism, and
• deploying AmeriCorps tutors throughout the schools
There are also afterschool programs, a weekend enrichment program for students, and presentations and workshops for parents of children ages zero to three.
Here at City Connects, we see great value in being part of a broad, community-based approach of providing integrated student support that braids together federal and community resources. The City Connects model helps schools maintain and expand community partnerships that both address students’ needs and align with their interests, expanding opportunities for them to engage in activities like robotics, cooking, theater, or sports.
We track data on these and other services that students receive, and we track information on the impact of these services. It’s work that we’re also doing with Indiana’s Shakamak Schools, another recipient of a $1.8 million federal FSCS grant. And Marian University, home to the City Connects Technical Assistance Center, received a $4.7 million FSCS grant to fund student support programs in Gary, Ind.
We often say that it takes a village to provide students with the integrated support they need to achieve academic and life long success. However, it’s also important to add that a strong “village” of schools, families and community organizations is made even stronger with city, state, and federal partners.
