Community Schools Coming to NYC
Community Schools Coming to NYC
New York City's partnering with nonprofit organizations to improve its struggling schools.
Forty-five schools around New York City have been paired with nonprofit partners to collaborate and improve services for struggling students. The first of these programs are slated to begin immediately.
New York City's public school students will soon have resources that could boost attendance, prevent dropouts, and raise achievement. This fifty two million dollar program is a pillar of the de Blasio administration's education agenda. One its main components is the integration of full-time psyche coordinators and social workers. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who's had 35 foster children in public schools, says social workers can make a vital difference.
"Let me tell you, whenever there was a social worker, particularly in the high schools...there was [a feeling of] 'okay, that child will graduate,' because there was somebody to talk to," Brewer said.
Critics of community school initiatives have said the programs aren't successful enough to justify expenses. But Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina says commitment will make this program better than most.
