Schools with Integrated Student Supports: A Shining Light for Communities in the Time of COVID

Schools and districts that already have in place Integrated Student Supports (ISS), such as community schools, arguably entered the COVID-19 pandemic better equipped to meet students’ and other stakeholders’ needs than those that did not. Offering wraparound services targeting children’s basic needs, including but not limited to academic supports, nutrition, physical and mental health, and technology, these schools are helpful models for other schools. The pandemic has underscored challenges that have long posed problems for local schools and communities, which are likely to persist and potentially worsen in the immediate future. It is essential for practitioners and policymakers to learn from what community schools and similar entities have done to continue to address these new realities.

Elaine Weiss, former national coordinator for the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education, and co-author of Broader, Bolder, Better: How Schools and Communities Help Students Overcome the Disadvantages of Poverty, will share her thoughts and engage in discussion about how what she learned while researching for her book suggests that ISS should serve as critical components for how schools and districts can better prepare for post-COVID recovery and future crises.  This webinar is hosted by the newly launched, virtual Community Schools Hub and will be moderated by Kathleen Provinzano, PhD and Bruce Levine, JD of Drexel University’s School of Education.