Community schools bring services under one roof
Advocates here are educating the public about the concept, which has taken off in other cities.
by Dale Mezzacappa
Photo: The Children's Aid Society
New York’s Children’s Aid Society has developed community schools that house dental clinics and a variety of other services.
The idea of community schools, long discussed in Philadelphia but never quite a reality, takes to a whole different level the notion of maximizing time and optimizing resources for children.
More than just a place for students to have something stimulating to do in the afternoons, community schools integrate services for families right in the building. Other cities have developed the idea in ways that have been transformative, prompting a movement to bring community schools here.
Advocates in Philadelphia, in the wake of the widespread school closings, see community schools as not just an educational strategy, but as a way to revitalize neighborhoods.
“Community schools is not just afterschool, but the total integration of a