| Abstract: |
Since 2021, California has invested $4.1 billion in the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) to establish and expand community schools across the state. This unprecedented state commitment dramatically exceeds the federal Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program's total grant allocation of $670 million over the past 17 years, cementing California's position as the national leader in funding community schools. Community schools represent an evidence-based strategy rooted in partnerships between the school community and local education agencies to strengthen learning conditions and support the well-being of students, families, and communities. Supports provided through community schools include mental health services, meals, health care, tutoring, after-school programming, and other services tailored to specific community needs. This report aims to assess the early impacts of California's investment in community schools on critical student outcomes. Specifically, the authors examine how CCSPP-supported community schools are affecting chronic absence, exclusionary discipline, and academic achievement. They also analyze the extent to which these grants reach California's highest-need schools to ensure resources are directed where they are most needed. By examining these key metrics, the authors provide insights into how the community schools approach is addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing California's education system. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered the educational landscape nationally and in California, exacerbating long-standing challenges and creating new ones. Chronic absence rates surged to unprecedented levels, and assessment data show substantial learning loss that has not yet been fully recovered, particularly in high-poverty schools and among historically marginalized student groups. Moreover, students' mental health challenges have intensified, with increased rates of anxiety, depression, and trauma-related symptoms, potentially contributing to higher rates of behavioral incidents and rising suspension rates as students returned to classrooms after the peak of the pandemic. A key tool in California's approach to addressing both new and long-standing whole child challenges--which students experience inequitably--is the major investment in community schools across the state, particularly in high-need communities. [This research was supported by the Youth Thriving Through Learning Fund.] |