Giving Compass' Take:

• An evaluative research assessment from RAND on NYC's community schools indicated that chronic absenteeism has been reduced and the schools are providing mental health support to students. 

• How can donors support community schools? What other research should be conducted? 

• Read more about the success of community schools. 

The New York City Department of Education’s community schools initiative — the largest of its kind in the country — is leading to improved student attendance, reduced discipline problems, and higher rates of on-time grade progression and graduation, according to a study released Tuesday by the RAND Corp.

The research, however, shows the pattern of fewer behavior problems is only significant at the elementary and middle school levels, not in high school. Researchers, who compared community schools to New York City schools with similar demographics and baseline outcomes, did not find significant positive effects on reading achievement and found positive impacts on math scores at the elementary and middle school levels only in the third year of the study.

Results related to school culture and family engagement were mixed. The researchers attribute positive results to the program maturing over time, not necessarily how long students attend a community school.

But they also found schools with more mental health programs saw even stronger attendance outcomes, suggesting types of partnerships and services in place at community schools can influence their impact. Schools with more mental health services as well as “collaborative practices” were also more likely to see a positive impact in students’ level of connectedness to peers and adults.

Read the full article about community schools by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.