City unveils Community Schools Plans

Posted by City of Philadelphia on April 10, 2017

How Community Schools Plan to Build Up Neighborhoods

An initiative funded by the Philadelphia Beverage Tax, the City’s community schools initiative focuses on meeting local students’ and families’ needs in neighborhood hubs: schools.

To address those needs, the School District of Philadelphia and the Mayor’s Office of Education formed plans to cover the needs of schools as identified by students, parents, teachers, community members, and other partners. This comprehensive assessment involved a variety of input from more than 2,000 community members as well as 500 others who participated in 50 in-person focus groups.

There are some common themes across all the schools, including:

• Job training and access to job opportunities.
• Food insecurity and access to healthy foods.
• Access to physical, social, and emotional health services, including the need for a “trauma informed” approach to serving students.
• Access to clothing and uniforms.
• Cultural and social opportunities.

Along with these overarching needs, each community school has its own specific plan, customized and relevant to the surrounding neighborhood’s unique concerns.

You can read briefs about each plan below or visit the Community School Plans site to check out the comprehensive plans in their entirety.

https://beta.phila.gov/posts/community-schools/2017-03-30-how-community-schools-plan-to-build-up-neighborhoods/