Dive Brief:
- At a press conference, Education Minnesota union teachers expressed support for the expansion of "community schools" that take a holistic, whole-child approach to education by wrapping social services like health care, legal aid, and even employment help for parents under the school's purview.
- Such models have seen excellent results, but can be very costly to implement.
- During the last legislative session, the union was able to secure $500,000 to help schools move in that direction, according to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, and an additional $2 million for community schools will be lobbied for by the 70,000-member organization.
Dive Insight:
Alternative education models like community schools and therapeutic schools have captured the attention of some policymakers and experts because they seem to be working. California's Hayward Unified School District, for example, has seen positive results from the model. And in Rochester, NY, a “Beacon” school offers coordinated social services that include free healthcare and meals in addition to traditional education. The Coalition for Community Schools says 5,000 community schools are already serving two million American students.
There are also variations on the approach with more specific focuses, including The Primary School, a new charter launched by Dr. Priscilla Chan, wife of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. And in therapeutic schools, like San Diego's Mi Escuelito, students who have experienced domestic violence receive counseling to help them develop healthy perspectives, behavior, and approaches to learning.