Full-Service Community Schools Are Critical Investments for Children and Families in Poverty

The United States has a clear need for poverty-mitigating interventions like FSCSs. Nationwide, 11.6 million children under age 18 (16% of the total) were living in poverty in 2020. The distribution of children living in poverty highlights the impact of systemic racism (i.e., racial discrimination embedded in the norms and institutions of a society) on child well-being: 28 percent of Black children, 25 percent of Native American/Alaska Native children, and 23 percent of Hispanic/Latino children are living in poverty—nearly three times the rate among White (10%) and Asian and Pacific Islander (9%) children. Poverty harms children in ways that jeopardize their internationally recognized rights, including their right to an education that helps them “fully develop their personalities, talents and abilities.” Too often, schools serving students who live in poverty lack the necessary resources to promote their success. As an equity-oriented strategy, FSCSs aim to disrupt such disparities.

FSCSs are characterized by four pillars of practice: integrated service provision, extended learning opportunities, family and community partnerships, and collaborative leadership and decision making. Through these four pillars, FSCSs implement a variety of practices that build on the assets and respond to the needs of the children and families they serve. While no two FSCSs are the same, their practices can include onsite medical services to reduce the impact of asthma, poor vision, or other health concerns on school attendance; after-school programs to expand educational content and provide critical supervision during non-school hours; outreach strategies to engage families in school decision making and students’ learning; and expanded leadership structures, which include community school coordinators to build a network of relationships for sustained improvement.

Well-implemented FSCSs are producing positive results for children and families living in poverty, with evaluations reporting improvements in student attendance, graduation rates, behavior, and achievement. Because of such findings, significant federal, state, and local funding is earmarked for expanding and implementing FSCSs. The Biden Administration is proposing over $443 million (15 times the current level) to expand FSCSs—marking a pivotal moment to bring the reform strategy to national scale. Given that most students attending the nation’s public schools are eligible for free and reduced price meals—a common indicator of socioeconomic disadvantage—including FSCSs in plans to address poverty in the United States will ensure a whole school, whole child, whole community approach to teaching and learning that can transform these students’ educational experiences and lives.