Community Schools: A Model for the Middle Grades

An Education Week commentary praises Elev8, community schools model.

Expanding the number of community schools is no longer a goal that can be left on the periphery of school reform. No academic standards, tests, or school-based interventions will ever be able to completely mitigate the economic, family, medical, and emotional needs that interfere with a student’s learning.

In January, a Harvard Family Research Project report on community schools cited research crediting them with improved student learning, attendance, behavior, and development, as well as increased family engagement in their children’s learning.

The Atlantic Philanthropies set out to replicate such success when it launched Elev8, a community-schools model for the middle grades in low-income communities, in 2007. The vision was to bring all the factors that we know can support student learning into one building and under the coordination of one program.

Read the full article here.