Minnesota’s City Connects Program Manager Peyton Schick knows how powerful community partnerships can be, especially during a crisis. Last winter, when Minneapolis became a location of concentrated federal immigration enforcement efforts, City Connects’ community partners were a lifeline for families.
“Our partners showed up in ways I didn’t even know were possible,” said Schick, who oversees City Connects Coordinators in nine private, Catholic schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
With many students and families fearful of leaving their homes, community partners like Every Meal and the Sanneh Foundation stepped in to provide food. The Hennepin County Mobile Crisis Unit was also critical in supporting students experiencing individual and community trauma.
“With community partners in place already, we were able to jump into action. There was no need to try to establish relationships, because they were already there. It was a matter of tapping into partners we had and explaining the needs in our schools,” Schick explained.
Research has found that schools using systems of integrated student support, like City Connects, are uniquely equipped to handle crisis situations. The book Critical Conditions: Addressing Education Emergencies through Integrated Student Support illustrates how schools using City Connects and other models of integrated student support before the COVID-19 pandemic were better and more quickly able to respond to the needs of students and families when schools abruptly closed in March 2020.
“One of the precepts of education emergencies is that schools need to prepare rather than react. What we saw in schools with integrated student support is that they were prepared when COVID hit. They were able to deal with this crisis proactively. So our overall message is that integrated student support is your best preparation for the next emergency,” said Elaine Weiss, a co-author of the book.
Those emergencies are, unfortunately, becoming more common. From natural disasters—like the floods this month in Indiana—to gun violence, and chronic homelessness, schools are increasingly on the front lines of supporting students in crisis.
Researchers found that strong community partnerships played a critical role in the way schools were able to support families during the pandemic.
“Because the schools were already known in the community and trusted in the community as hubs, they had community partners both established and even new ones, coming to the schools and City Connects and saying ‘we can help, tell us how you can deploy us,’” said Weiss.
Back in Minnesota, Schick and her team are lining up even more community partners to support students in crisis situations.
“Last year proved to us that you can’t be too prepared if there is a crisis in your school. It was really evident to us that having really solid partnerships is the key to this program,” Schick said. “So we are looking at areas where we don’t have partnerships and making the effort now to build those relationships, so that if something were to come up, we have already established that pipeline of communication, and it’s not something that we’re having to scramble to do in the moment.”
One of those new partnerships is with the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The organization will come to meet with City Connects Coordinators to share the resources they offer to students and families. They will also educate Coordinators on suicide prevention through the Talks Save Lives program, a community-based presentation that covers prevention research and what people can do to help save lives.
Another new partnership is with the Emily Program, an organization that is nationally recognized for its personalized approach to eating disorder awareness, treatment, and recovery.
Schick is also working on a partnership with Brighter Days Family Grief Center, a local nonprofit organization that can support families experiencing grief and offers professional development opportunities for Coordinators and other members of the school community.
“I’m trying to create awareness within my team so that they know we have these partnerships here in the community in the event that there is a need for a student or a family referral,” Schick said. “I want us to be prepared if we do have a need for one of these resources.”
With students coming back to school after a challenging year, Schick wants them to know that City Connects Coordinators are a source of stability in a time of uncertainty.
“The approach to this school year will be to welcome everyone and show students that we’re there for them when there is a crisis, and we’re there for them when there is not a crisis, too,” Schick said.
