U.S. Department of Education Announces $63 Million to Expand Community Schools and Increase Social, Emotional, Mental Health, and Academic Support for Students, Educators, and Families

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced $63 million in new five-year Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grants to support 42 local educational agencies, non-profits, or other public or private organizations and institutions of higher education working to expand existing community schools or establish new programs in eight new states and territories, including Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.

Meeting the needs of the whole child is essential to help America’s students grow academically and improve their well-being. That’s why the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to supporting the adoption of community school models across the country, which provide comprehensive, integrated supports to our nation’s students, their families, and their communities. Community schools meet the unique needs of the neighborhoods they serve by leveraging local non-profit, private sector, and agency partnerships to bring services into school buildings. This includes services such as high-quality tutoring, health, mental health and nutrition services, and high-quality early learning programs, among others, for students and the community.

“Community Schools are an essential component of accelerating our students’ learning and supporting their social, emotional, and mental health, and deepening community partnerships. At the height of the pandemic, community schools connected students and families with vital nutrition assistance, mental, physical, and other health services, and expanded learning opportunities. This work continues today because we know that students learn best when there is a comprehensive and holistic approach to meeting their needs,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “I am thrilled that through the historic investment we’re announcing now, the Department is funding the largest cohort of grantees in the history of this grant program. This represents a huge step toward the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of doubling the number of Full-Service Community Schools across the country and raising the bar for our support of children.”

This year’s grant competition received the largest number of applications in the history of the program, demonstrating the enormous need to have a continuum of coordinated support to address students’ academic, social, emotional and mental health needs.  The new grantees are committed to implementing the four pillars of community schools: 1) integrated student supports that address out-of-school barriers to learning through partnerships with social and health service agencies and providers; 2) expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities; 3) active family and community engagement; and 4) collaborative leadership and practices.

Community schools provide a range of services to meet the unique needs of the students, families, and broader communities they serve. Studies have found that well-implemented community schools—with integrated student supports, active family and community engagement, expanded and enriched learning time, and collaborative leadership practices—can lead to improved student and school outcomes, particularly for students in high-poverty schools.

The White House today also released a new toolkit that outlines how federal grant funding from other government agencies, such as the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation can be used to support the implementation of the community school model.

Today’s announcement comes while Secretary Cardona is at Turner Elementary School in Washington D.C., one of two District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) where FSCS funding will ensure a strong pipeline of services, and further demonstrate the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to providing a high-quality education for all students. DCPS is one of the 42 local educational agencies, non-profits, or other public or private entities and institutions of higher education to receive this funding.

The Department conducted robust outreach to expand interest, and almost half of grantees in this cohort are first-time grantees. Notably, this cohort includes the first set of grantees in the history of the program that have expressed a commitment to scaling the community school model across the grantee’s state. With this award, the Department has awarded FSCS grants in 20 states and territories.

The Full-Service Community Schools awardees are listed below: