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The number of chronically absent students has been increasing, and these students are more likely to fall behind academically, disengage socially, and drop out of school. Well-implemented community schools address the underlying causes of absenteeism and offer a comprehensive and multilayered approach to improving student attendance.
Emily GermainLaura E. HernándezSarah KlevanRebecca S. LevineAnna Maier
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There has been a significant decline in school attendance since the onset of the pandemic. This is concerning since chronically absent students are more likely to fall behind academically, disengage socially, and drop out of school. Community schools are a promising strategy to mitigate chronic absenteeism and its underlying causes.
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Many states are considering community schools as a way to address student mental health and chronic absenteeism and support learning recovery. Aided by the federal Full-Service Community Schools grant program, states can support systemic approaches to expand community schools by leveraging a range of federal, state, local, and private funds.
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Using federal, state, and local funding sources, Buena Vista Horace Mann K–8 Community School’s approach supports students’ physical and emotional well-being in myriad ways, including offering the school as an overnight shelter for families experiencing homelessness.
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In 2021, the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) was launched to support the implementation of community schools across the state. The UCLA Center for Community Schooling provides a first glance at the progress of approximately 450 schools that are supported through CCSPP implementation grants.
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In a growing number of neighborhoods and school districts across the U.S., community schools are transforming public education for the better and providing a strategy for helping to tackle our country's most serious problems, including extreme inequality and racial injustice.
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After nearly five years of community school implementation, supported by an infusion of state funds, a consortium of small rural districts in California’s Kern County is seeing significant academic growth and attendance rates far higher than the county average.
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UCLA Community School (UCLA-CS), a public school in central Los Angeles, serves a large immigrant population, almost all of whom use a language other than English to communicate with their families. Six key practices contribute to UCLA-CS’s positive school-level outcomes, including above average graduation rates and teacher retention.
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At Oakland International High School, all students are newcomers, meaning they have been in the United States for fewer than 3 years. Most students are English learners, and many have experienced interruptions in their schooling. Oakland International leverages community school structures and partnerships to support students’ success.
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Although community schools have existed for 100-plus years, they have evolved over time to become a highly effective, research-based approach that improves education and equity.
