Arial Weibelren

Final Draft Research Field Paper 

ENG 21002

Professor Zayas 

May 14, 2026 

 

Community Schools Supporting and Strengthening Communities 

 

In order to educate kids and improve neighborhoods, community schools connect people living in their society, families, and students. Over time in the United States, these institutions have addressed several factors that contribute to educational disadvantages and have built on community resources, gaining popularity as the go to educational model. Broton et al (2022) argue that community schools impact the health and education of local communities in three ways: establishing norms, building trust, and connecting people to the networks and services they need.  These schools expand on the various reciprocal connections between education and health through programs such as health and education, sexuality education, family mental health check ins, school based health centers, and violence prevention. As a result, they serve as an effective resource for reducing disparities in the community, beyond simply offering education to students. This research paper addresses how community schools benefit the students and the community beyond academia. Findings from a case study of a school that offers support and scholarly articles support that community schools function as a hub for their neighborhood, using input from the community members, students and local organizing to shape the curricula and overall experience of the students. 

What are community schools? 

As explained by Ellis (2024), students have a wide range of needs that directly affect their learning while in educational institutions such as mental and emotional support, stable homes, immigration assistance among others. Through direct collaborations with local organizations, community schools are able to offer additional support and resources to their students and community members, regardless of whether or not they have a child admitted to their facility. They then evolve into community hubs, the go-to place for students, their families and other members to access support that promotes overall wellbeing. In communities with high needs such as low literacy levels, poor health systems, and increased marginalized populations, community schools are used as a model for effective improvement and sustenance of development (Ellis,2023). Because these facilities recognize that education is not an isolated pursuit, students are supported beyond academia, significantly improving their school performance, reducing chronic absenteeism, and offering a better future for youth in these areas. For example, a learner whose attendance was unsteady is able to settle more in school once their surrounding needs are met, acquire better education that allows them to get high paying job opportunities later on, boosting their overall quality of life and that of their families and community at large. 

To further examine the efficacy of this model, I interviewed the principal of Hudson High School of Learning Technologies (HHSLT), a community school located in Chelsea af the Bayard Rustin Campus. I wanted to find out how the school considered the complicated realities of the demographics they serve in Chelsea and how it impacts their curricula in the effort to offer the best education to students. 

HHSLT Case Study 

According to data from the principal, the school serves 146 students, majority of whom are Latinx or Hispanic, members of the marginalized group in the country. The school  demonstrates various needs beyond academia such as housing needs and financial support. For instance, more than 70% of the students qualify for subsidized meals while at school and 27% of the families are sheltered in temporary housing courtesy of support programs by the school. The core of HHSLT’s model is that a learners academic success is directly impacted with their living situation and quality of relationships they have. Thus, if they have stable well-meaning connections with other ls in the neighborhood, they are more likely to succeed in academia and life, and the opposite is true. 

The population at HHSLT in Chelsea proves a compelling case study for analyzing the community school model, as they serve underrepresented demographics. The principal explains that they have an open-door policy that welcomes community members to their facility for support and assistance. Examples include housing assistance, immigration support, financial subsidies, mental health support, or medical support. The underlying belief is that supporting the community in other areas creates a good pillar for academic success and long term community development (Maier et al., 2017). Over time the principal noted academic improvements due to families and community members being involved with the school, with little change in their educational material. However, there is rising concern among educators and sociologists concerning community schools or even regular schools taking up responsibilities traditionally performed by local organizations, social services, and families. The principal explained that the goals for the school was to collaborate and offer additional help to already existing interventions and not replace them entirely, stating that at the end of the day, the primary mandate is to offer education to students in the area. 

Additionally, community schools like HHSLT already have a fixed budget and resources stretched to meet complex needs of the community may fail at their goals should they take up all growing responsibilities to maintain the students welfare and education. These findings  align with broader sociological theory: when social safety nets break down and economic inequality rises, schools in underprivileged communities are forced to fill gaps that go well beyond their initial mandate (Heller, 2022). As a result, it begs the question whether schools like HHSLT can serve as safety nets for students from low-income families. The principal openly admitted that systemic, budgetary, and staffing constraints still impose significant limits, even though HHSLT’s school enables it to offer services that most schools cannot. For instance, 

despite strong leadership and innovative budgeting, schools may still struggle to fully support certain students, particularly those enroll later in their academic careers through outside enrollment systems that bypass the schools involvement. There is still substantial data supporting the community school approach despite these differences. Community schools have been shown to reduce chronic absenteeism, reduce disciplinary incidents, enhance academic performance, and increase graduation and college-readiness rates when implemented with strong leadership, adequate funding, and a sincere commitment to fairness (Ed et al., 2024). From the interview, HHSLT’s own figures show a 6 percentage- point increase in attendance after implementing its Adult Ally program, a decrease in disciplinary referrals, and improvements in participation and performance. Notably, HHSLT presents a comprehensive picture of a school that has made family interactions a structural priority rather than an afterthought. Students are now more inclined to attend, participate, and believe school is a worthwhile experience as a result of this integration. 

 

Community Schools Benefiting Students   

Community schools focus on addressing students’ physical and emotional well-being first, understanding that unmet basic needs can negatively affect learning and academic performance. By providing medical, dental, and optical care on or near campus, schools can remove health barriers that are often overlooked in traditional educational environments for learners and their families. For example, community schools can address food insecurity by subsidizing meals for learners and opening their food pantry to serve all community members. By supplementing these provisions for learners, especially those in low-income neighborhoods, the cognitive burden and stress are taken away from students, creating a level playing field for learning. In contrast, an unwell or hungry student is unable to concentrate in class, regulate their emotions, and fully participate in school activities, putting them at risk of poor career outcomes in the future. In this manner, community schools position basic needs as a prerequisite to education and improved communities in the country. 

In addition to students’ physical needs, community schools acknowledge that learners face situational and emotional burdens that academic instructions alone cannot address. Thus, many community schools provide full-time support through counselors or social workers who offer professional support and interventions to students when needed (Covelli et al, 2025). The full-time expert can also offer guidance on housing, immigration, and job opportunities to the students family, ensuring a more stable learning environment for the student. When they are unable to offer instruction, the school partners with other specialized local organizations, referring affected groups to a more hands-on approach to address these challenges. Removing these barriers enables learners to focus on their education and strengthens communities by fostering networks. This outcome could be otherwise difficult to realize and maintain over time if performed separately. 

Arguably, the approach a community school takes to students whose needs go beyond academia is the best measure of its dedication to equity within the neighborhood. In some cases, schools teach students from diverse backgrounds with varying language capabilities; therefore, instead of using a single language to communicate with families and local organizations, schools can include additional languages in their formal notices (Miller & Khatib, 2023). Programs like the District 75 Inclusion also work to integrate students with disabilities, tailoring support for these students and recognizing them as full members of the community. Collectively, these adjustments show that equity in education means acknowledging, planning for, and accommodating the differences among students and their families. Community schools are well-suited to make these adjustments as they involve regular interactions with local organizations, students, and their families.   

 

Community Schools Benefiting the Neighborhood 

From the above discussions, when a community school regularly welcomes families and local groups into places that transcend beyond academic obligations, it becomes more than just a structure. Community schools encourage families to attend by offering activities such as family lunches, dinners, spa days, informative lectures on topics like government policies and the college application process. These events foster a sense of welcome rather than anxiety, further reinforcing the open- door policy that encourages families to visit at times that work for them rather than in the school’s schedule. At the same time, these activities are communicated to groups and families through a variety of channels in their preferred languages ensuring clear messaging and optimal attendance. According to the school principal of HHSLT, trust and communication are the cornerstones of good schools, built on strong relationships with community members and students.  Through becoming community hubs, schools create personal relations with their members, becoming a place people want to be associated with. In this way, community schools are actively redefining the responsibilities of traditional institutions by extending their concern to student families and community members (Beach & Grubb, 2023). As a result, the learners gain in qualitative quantifiable ways such as developing  networks with businesses in the area from field work visits organized by the school, forming alliances with local organizations working towards the cause, and shaping career paths early on. These relationships nurture mutual input within the community, as the relationship formed can facilitate career opportunities for the students and consequent economic development in the neighborhood. Beach and Grubb (2023) maintain that this level of involvement in the lives of the community members position community schools as an anchor to personal development beyond academia. 

Lastly, community schools offer stability for families, students and members in uncertain and vulnerable times, especially for neighborhoods filled with marginalized demographics (Beach & Grubb, 2023). As observed in the case of HHSLT, some families may face financial hurdles? Housing challenges, or unemployment difficulties, which directly affect the attendance and performance of students in the area. Thus , by curating customized relief packages and partnerships with local organizations, they offer constancy to these families, helping them to stabilize and integrate into the community. However, these institutions must maintain strict boundaries as there are no social service agencies and may find it difficult to fill the gaps left by inadequate public systems. Thus, the model works optimally when supported by partnerships, policies, and funding that address the target areas of the general problems, spreading the burden of care of change.  

 

Conclusion 

Ultimately, community schools recognize that many factors influence educational institutions and therefore take the necessary steps to address any shortcoming that may affect a child’s education. Through scholarly research and the HHSLT case study, this paper reveals that students’ record improves when the systems around them are acknowledged and addressed. Basic needs such as food, shelter, and finances are prerequisites for learning for any student. Therefore, by directly invoicing local organizations and student families, educational institutions can fully analyze and understand the gaps in meeting these basic needs before engaging students academically. For example, a school can expand its food pantry to serve everyone in the community, regardless of whether they have a child enrolled in their system. Additional activities include careers days to expose members and students to potential occupations in the community and beyond, community days for everyone to interact and network outside the academic pressures, and maintaining the open-door policy to ensure these services are available to the people at any time. While community schools are keen on redefining the traditional responsibilities of academic institutions, it is critical that they maintain their mandate of offering education and not evolving into a social service center for the community. A single institution is unable to meet the complex interlocking needs of students, thus, forming partnerships with support organizations supplements collective efforts to sustain students, families and other community members. Over time, community schools evolve into community hubs that anchor communal living, and not indifferent establishments in the neighborhood. 

 

References

Beach, J. M., & Grubb, W. N. (2023). Gateway to opportunity? A history of the community college in the United States. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003444978

Broton, K. M., Mohebali, M., & Lingo, M. D. (2022). Basic needs insecurity and mental health: Community college students’ dual challenges and use of social support. Community College Review, 50(4), 456-482. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221111460

Covelli, L., Engberg, J., & Opper, I. M. (2025). Leading indicators of long-term success in community schools: Evidence from New York City. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2025.2480563

Eden, C. A., Chisom, O. N., & Adeniyi, I. S. (2024). Parent and community involvement in education: strengthening partnerships for social improvement. International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, 6(3), 372-382. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijarss.v6i3.894

Ellis, A. (2023). The Community Schools Concept. In Community Partnership Schools: Developing Innovative Practice Through University-Community Partnerships (pp. 1-20). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16404-0_1

Heller, R. (2022). The growing movement to create full-service community schools: A conversation with Mavis Sanders and Claudia Galindo. Phi Delta Kappan, 103(7), 28-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/00317217221092231

Maier, A., Daniel, J., Oakes, J., & Lam, L. (2017). Community schools as an effective school improvement strategy: A review of the evidence. Learning Policy Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED606765

Miller, G. E., & Khatib, S. M. (2023). Honoring diverse cultures through family literacy approaches that build family, school, and community partnerships. The Reading Teacher, 76(5), 586-593.  https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2181