A report released last week finds promise in community schools, which seek to boost academic performance by offering mentoring, counseling, health care, and other wraparound services that extend well beyond the classroom.
The report by Child Trends, a Bethesda, Md.-based nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, contains a review of past research and an original analysis suggesting that myriad school, home, and student-related factors influence academic achievement. It was supported by a $250,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies and AT&T Inc.
The review also found that wraparound interventions were cost-effective, with returns on investments ranging from $4 to $15 saved for every $1 spent.
