What is a ‘community school’ and will they help the city’s students?

Guests: Darrell Clarke, William Hite, Kevin McCorry, Paul Hill

Mayor-elect Jim Kenney recently announced an initiative to create 25 “community schools” in Philadelphia – schools that act as a center for the neighborhood. They are designed to provide access to medical care and other services such as tutoring and family planning. Today, we’ll examine the schools in the area that already have that designation, take a look at other districts in the country that have an expanded community schools program, and what the intended outcomes are. First, City Council President DARRELL CLARKE will join us to discuss the initiative as well as his recent trip with Kenney to Cincinnati, which has been using the community schools model. Then, WILLIAM HITE, Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, as well as NewsWorks education reporter KEVIN McCORRY will discuss how the system will be implemented, and what results the city expects from these schools. Finally, we’ll hear from PAUL HILL, an education researcher and founder of The Center on Reinventing Public Education to discuss the effectiveness of Cincinnati’s community schools program.