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Carol Kiesman is the principal of Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon. Misty Watson is the parent of a student at the school, which is in RSU 9.
In many communities throughout Maine, not all families have access to healthy food, stable housing, vision care or dental health services their children need. The impact of these challenges doesn’t stop when students step into the classroom. Students can’t learn and do their best if their basic needs aren’t being met outside the classroom.
A growing number of schools in Maine are working closely with families and community partners to provide more support so that every student has access to what they need to thrive and reach their full potential. These schools — where staff, local community members, families and students work together to strengthen conditions for student learning and healthy development — are known as Full-Service Community Schools. Community Schools are growing in popularity because research shows they can improve student outcomes, while also being cost-efficient and locally controlled. Also, teachers are happier and less stressed at community schools, which means they stay. At least one Maine Community School has a 100 percent retention rate.
We are very concerned that the president’s recent budget request zeroes out funding for Full-Service Community Schools. Community Schools are cost-effective, efficient, and promise returns on investments for schools, students, and our communities by bringing funding and resources into schools that would otherwise not be available. Studies find that every $1 invested in a Community Schools strategy results in up to a $15 return to the community.
As an educator and a parent, we have seen first hand the power of staff, families and community partners collaborating to find solutions to challenges children face which help students to attend school ready to learn. Communities have untapped resources that can help schools meet the needs of all students so they can thrive in the classroom. By coordinating extra support at the school site, provided by community partners, Community Schools ensure the needs of students and families are met with minimal disruption to the school day. This, in turn, allows teachers to focus on instruction, knowing that there are other professionals attending to the non-academic needs of their students.
These supports make a huge difference. In our school, for example, we saw a 29 percent reduction in the number of students in a single grade that required a trip to the office for behavior.
Community Schools provide opportunities for expanded and enriched learning time so students, particularly those who may be struggling academically or who are not engaged with school, have access to tutors and other programs to support their academic success or personal interests. As a result, more students want to come to school; one Maine Community School had a 9 percent drop in their rate of chronically absent students after implementing the Community School framework. In other words, 69 more students are now regularly attending school.
Community Schools foster a shared vision for student wellbeing and thoughtfully engage families and the community as active participants in making the vision a reality. Parents play an important role in the school and are welcomed as partners in guiding their child’s education.
Over time, Community Schools become the center of a community where everyone belongs, works together and thrives. The school becomes the hub of their neighborhoods and communities, uniting families, educators and community partners toward a shared vision of success.
Community Schools bring to life the old, familiar adage “It takes a village to raise a child” by uniting schools, families and community partners in strengthening the positive conditions that prepare students for success in the workplace and in life. Community Schools are a bipartisan, effective and efficient strategy for improving education and supporting student wellbeing and academic success. We urge Sen. Angus King and Sen. Susan Collins to push to keep the Full-Service Community Schools program funding in the budget to continue helping many communities coordinate the assets of their schools, families, and community partners for students’ immediate and long-term success.
