Standards will only Succeed if Students Given Additional Supports, Experts Caution

October 18, 2001

NEW YORK, October 18, 2001 - Setting higher academic standards alone will not result in improved academic achievement in public schools, unless there is a commensurate increase in opportunities for children to learn, as well as supports to meet students' other needs in the schools, according to educators and experts at a major symposium about public education held today by The Children's Aid Society. One powerful solution the experts cited: the increased opportunities and additional supports provided by community schools.

Community schools, also known as full-service schools, are public schools operated as partnerships among schools, community-based organizations and parents. In New York City, The Children's Aid Society (CAS) works in partnership with the Board of Education in nine community schools in Manhattan and the Bronx. While the Board of Ed provides the core academic curriculum, CAS provides added before- and after-school enrichment activities, summer and holiday programs, as well as medical, dental, mental health and social services that remove barriers to children's learning and to teachers' ability to teach. These additional services and programs provide the additional learning opportunities and supports needed by students to meet the new standards, according to the symposium's panelists.

"Schools cannot do this alone"
"Raising academic standards without also increasing supports for students and additional ways for them to learn is not effective and it's not fair," said Judith Rizzo, Deputy Chancellor for Curriculum and Instruction, New York City Board of Education. Academic standards may, in fact, be a good change for low-income and minority students, who may in the past have suffered from the low expectations of the adults around them, added Rizzo.

"If we are going to achieve our policy goals, and our education goals, and our societal goals - if we are going to educate all children to high levels so that they can take their rightful place as the citizens, workers and family members of tomorrow - then we need to bring all of our resources to the table," she continued. "We have to surround all of our children with all of the services and opportunities that will make a difference in their lives. Schools cannot do this alone. Parents cannot do this alone. Community-based organizations cannot do this alone. We must work together."

The symposium, "Public Education: Whose Job Is It? Research, Practice and Policy Perspectives on Community Schools," was hosted today by The Children's Aid Society at The Association of the Bar of the City of New York in Manhattan. The panel consisted of presentations by leading educators and researchers, including Pedro Noguera, the Judith K. Dimon Professor in Communities and Schools, Harvard University (research perspective); Noel Burcelis, Executive Director, Juvenile Crime Prevention Program, YMCA of Long Beach, Calif.; Catalina Montes, Principal Thomas Gardner Elementary School, Boston; Denise Crawford, parent and volunteer, Quitman Street Community School, Newark, NJ; Alexis Zaiter, graduate of Community School I.S. 218, New York City (practice perspective), and Ms. Rizzo (policy perspective). The panel was moderated by Jane Quinn, Assistant Executive Director for Community Schools for The Children's Aid Society.

Prior to the panel, The Children's Aid Society's highest award, the Charles Loring Brace Award, was presented to Joy G. Dryfoos, researcher, author and leading expert on educational and health issues for youth. She is the author of Full-Service Schools: A Revolution in Health and Social Services for Children, Youth and Families, published by Jossey-Bass.

Schools must change dramatically
"There is a growing recognition that the current American school schedule and structure are seriously out of sync with today's needs," says Philip Coltoff, Executive Director of The Children's Aid Society.

As some leaders call for tougher academic standards to help children achieve, other educational and political leaders are calling for dramatic changes in public schools that will enable children to meet the new requirements. The community schools model is an innovative and effective response to these calls, Coltoff says.

The panelists made several key points about community schools:

• The multiple partners involved in community schools all work towards the same goal. By joining forces, the multiple community school partners can create new institutions whose services are better coordinated and more comprehensive than our existing public schools: institutions that are responsive to the needs of children and more supportive of their educational success.
• Parent involvement is key to the school's success. Research and basic experience tell us that children do better in school when their parents and other family members support, monitor and advocate for their education.
• The Children's Aid Society's community school model rests on a broad and solid body of research. Its knowledge base is multi-disciplinary, and includes child and adolescent development, school reform, systems reform, parent involvement and youth involvement. The CAS model of community schools was developed as a comprehensive response to the pressing needs of children and families in the low-income neighborhoods served by the Society, Washington Heights and Harlem.

New CAS manual guides professionals
The Children's Aid Society has just published the third edition of Building A Community School, a manual that can guide professional educators, funders, advocates and policymakers in the process of forming community schools. The new edition of this guide now has a more complete discussion of the new realities facing schools, families and communities, and the research base that supports the CAS community school model.

For more information about community schools, or to obtain a press copy of Building A Community School, please contact Ellen Lubell, Director of Public Relations at CAS, at 212-949-4938, or ellenl@childrensaidsociety.org.

The Children's Aid Society -- one of the oldest and largest child welfare agencies in the country - has been at the forefront of advances in education, health, child welfare and development issues for almost 150 years. The Society currently serves over 120,000 children and families a year with a wide range of comprehensive services.