The nation’s largest school district, New York City, is set to open six community schools next year.

In a rare show of agreement, the city’s school chancellor and teachers’ union president rallied around school-community partnerships as one of the best solutions to providing academic and non-academic support to students and families.
 

The pilot grant program gives $600,000 each to six schools which allows those schools to construct community partnerships that will provide services tailored to the needs of the school and surrounding population. Funding comes from the Partnership for New York City (a network of the city’s top CEOs), the City Council, and the teachers’ union.
 

Representatives from New York’s United Federation of Teachers visited community schools in Cincinnati several times over the past year for inspiration in establishing the strategy in New York.
 

The United Federation of Teachers, City Council, and the Partnership for New York City (a network of the city’s top CEOs), are helping fund the grant program.
 

The six schools will work with the Coalition partners, Children’s Aid Society, and other partners, to help establish their structure and partnerships.
 

New York City joins Washington D.C. as another major school system that will be starting community schools this coming school year. Community school initiatives can now be found in the four largest school systems in this country (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami-Dade County).