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Nelson Votes For Nebraskans' Views To Be Heard In Health Care Debate
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September 9, 2009 – Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson joined with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Save the Children Artist Ambassador Jennifer Garner in a Capitol Hill press conference today to help at-risk school children by promoting increased coordination between schools and community organizations by introducing the Full Service Community Schools Act of 2009.
“The Full Service Community Schools Act works to enrich the student and family learning experience by creating a partnership between schools and the communities they serve,” said Senator Nelson at today’s press conference. “Working together, we can make our nation’s schools the community hub for not only learning, but also vital services and support for families so that students come to school ready to learn and teachers can focus on the job of teaching.”
The Full Service Community Schools Act of 2009 would create grants to public schools that coordinate academic and non-academic services, including health services, career counseling for parents, nutrition services, and early childhood education to give students a full support network to help them succeed. The act has widespread support among education associations and comes on the heels of a successful two-year trial program.
“The key to our nation's prosperity lies in how well we equip our children for the future,” said Nelson. “The Full Service Community Schools program offers a common sense approach to a problem facing so many of our country’s schools. I’m proud to be a sponsor of this legislation in the Senate and hopeful that it can serve as a model for how to successfully support students who need our help the most. It’s the least we can do for our next generation.”
The act would authorize a US Department of Education grant program to significantly expand the number of full-service community schools across the country. The bill would provide $200 million per year for five years to fund grants for local partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations, and would also fund grants for states to expand the full-service community school model at the state level. Over the past two years, $5 million has been appropriated for full service community schools, and only 10 programs out of 400 applicants were funded.
Full-service community schools may offer a variety of services to students and their families including primary, dental and mental health care; activities to increase literacy; career counseling; expanded-learning opportunities; early childhood education; and nutrition education including Women, Infants and Children (WIC) classes. To increase the opportunity for family participation, full service community schools generally remain open long after school hours and operate during weekend hours as well.
By concentrating on non-academic factors that spill over into the classroom, such as physical and mental health, financial problems, safety, and housing, community schools are equipped to respond to these challenges by providing resources and referrals to assist families. With this support network, children come to school each day healthy and prepared to learn and succeed. Research on full service community schools consistently shows positive outcomes in student achievement and attendance rates, a decrease in dropout rates, reductions in disciplinary actions, as well as increases in parental involvement and access to preventative health services.
Full-service community schools typically partner with community groups such as local United Way chapters, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, parent groups like the PTA, civic groups, community colleges and universities. Today’s bill is supported by over sixty national, state, and local organizations including the Coalition of Community Schools, the American Federation of Teachers, Children’s Aid Society, Communities in Schools, National Education Association, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Assembly for School-Based Health Care, higher education institutions and others.
The bill is cosponsored in the Senate by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Senator Roland Burris (D-IL).
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