Opinion: Restoring our Children’s Future Through Ecosystems of Support

“While Community Schools—New York’s exemplary model for engaging children in school and guiding them to maturity—were spared in January from millions in anticipated city budget cuts, come July, they will still lose critical COVID-related funding that supports the youth and families who need it most.”

At a time when the expiration of pandemic funding has driven poverty levels up to 22 percent, affecting one in four children in New York, most under-resourced families are facing another funding cliff in a matter of months.

While Community Schools—New York’s exemplary model for engaging children in school and guiding them to maturity—were spared in January from millions in anticipated city budget cuts, come July, they will still lose critical COVID-related funding that supports the youth and families who need it most.

This could sweep away a broad swath of programs, like the newly-opened food pantry and parent resource center Partnership with Children recently launched at the Riverdale Avenue Middle School in Brownsville, where 95 percent of students experience poverty but a visionary school culture sustains them.

In many neighborhoods, students are still drowning in the pandemic’s disastrous effects: two decades of learning gains wiped out, especially among students of color; chronic absenteeism stubbornly high in New York; and mental health challenges at alarming rates among children of all ages—with suicide rates of Black youth up 60 percent.

Community Schools are a proven way to fight back against this tide with their wide variety of supports—from social workers helping kids navigate their emotions, to culturally-inclusive reading centers. By engaging teachers, administrators, parents and nonprofits like ours, they make schools places children want to be.

Here’s how it works in the schools Partnership with Children serves: public school principals are supported by our Community School directors, social workers, and family outreach coordinators to deliver in-school counseling and extra supports that are often funded separately in wealthier districts. Students benefit from on-the-spot mental health interventions, anti-bullying rallies, and vibrant art programs to help them find their voice.

With a comprehensive approach encompassing multiple disciplines, these schools become ecosystems in which a child builds independence, agency and confidence. Students learn they are not defined by their circumstances. Most leaders hailing from humble circumstances will attest to the transformative influence of a counselor or teacher. For me, it was my middle school social worker who taught me to play chess and ensured I could practice piano in the community center. There is magic in the guidance of a trusted adult setting a child on the path to a better future.

As a 115-year-old nonprofit that advocated for children from a time when there were few child protection laws or social services, we are familiar with the insidious effects of structural racism and intergenerational poverty. Hardships like food scarcity, inadequate health care, loss of a parent, and homelessness can result in paralyzing toxic stress that can stall a child’s maturity and cascade to significant health and developmental issues throughout their lives.

This creates a perpetual “fight or flight” state of being, making it nearly impossible to function. That’s where clinically-trained social workers can moor a child struggling with deprivation, grief, and isolation. They can also operate more subtly, taking pressure off teachers in class by helping an anxious child decompress in a “cozy corner.” These services are critical for students of color who access mental health care at school at a greater rate than their counterparts.

A recent New York Times article on learning loss recovery trends cited examples of how some lower-income, diverse school districts advanced ahead of others. That’s due to channeling funds towards additional educational support in classrooms, social workers and mental health awareness.

Our surveys reflect the positive effect of these factors in the schools we serve. In 2023, 90 percent of students said they were able to make progress or achieved their goals; 80 percent said there are adults at their school who they trust and can turn to for help. Six out of 10 students in the tumultuous middle and high school years said they learned how to make better decisions and manage their strong emotions.

Among our youngest elementary school students, nearly three-quarters said they look forward to coming to school more with our programs, they get along better with their teachers, and are happier. That is the most important scorecard: a child’s ability to succeed in school and in life. Funding Community Schools should be our top priority.

A true celebration would be for the leaders in this great city—government, corporations, foundations and individuals—to replace the expiring federal funding and demonstrate to our children that we are committed to their future. It’s time for New Yorkers to take an historic, heroic stake in reclaiming the promise of a generation.

Wesner Pierre is CEO of Partnership with Children, a 115-year-old nonprofit providing trauma-informed counseling, community-based programming, and healing-based arts education benefitting over 27,000 children and families each year.