Please join the New York State Community Schools Network for the 7th annual New York State Community Schools Advocacy Day. This year, the event will take place virtually on February 16th.
Governor Hochul's Executive Budget, released on January 18th, did not include any new investments directly for community schools. On Advocacy Day, you will have the opportunity to show your support for community schools and increased funding for the strategy by:
Participating in legislative meetings over Zoom.
Calling and/or emailing your representatives in the NYS Senate and Assembly.
Joining us on Twitter using #NYSCommunitySchools.
Watching a legislative briefing on community schools at 5pm.
You can access the New York State Community School Network's budget priorities here. Call scripts, email templates, and sample tweets will be provided to all registrants.
U.S. Department of Education Proposed Priorities for the Full-Service Community Schools Program
The U.S. Department of Education released its Proposed Priorities for the 2022 Full-Service Community Schools grant competition.
In a statement released with the proposed priorities, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said “Community schools play a vital role in achieving President Biden’s vision of building our education system back better than before the pandemic…I am thrilled that this program can enable more students and families to access full-service community schools, and that President Biden proposed in his budget to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in community schools, which have been proven to improve student well-being and academic success.”
The Coalition for Community Schools is hosting a "Proposed Priorities" webinar on Tuesday, January 25 from 3-4 pm ET. Register here. If your organization would like to submit comments beyond those presented by the Coalition, be sure to submit those here by the deadline of February 11, 2022.
In the meantime, please follow up with your members of Congress, as you did in November, urging them to approve $443 million for the Full-Service Community Schools program in the FY 2022 budget (which is not yet finalized) so hundreds more communities and millions more children can benefit from the Community Schools strategy. Please take one or more of the actions below to send this message to Congress-and thank you!
Call or email Congressional targets to urge them to support the $443 million. Use this spreadsheet and this script for your calls/emails and make sure to note in the spreadsheet whom you contact so we can track our progress!
Email staff of your members of Congress to share directly why this funding for the program is important, and/or schedule a meeting. Access herea list of all members of Congress and their appropriations staff to contact.
NYSUT: Future Forward
NYSUT's recently released Future Forward Report seeks to answer the question, "How can we support our public schools as the center of every community?" The report is the work of a task force of education professionals. Their first recommendation? Improve funding for community schools.
This past year has marked significant challenges for students and families striving to recover from and manage challenges presented by COVID-19. Similarly, afterschool programs and professionals have also experienced difficulties as they continue to provide imperative supports to students and families. We know that in New York, for every one participant with access to an afterschool program, four more are waiting to get in. We also know that these programs will continue to play a crucial role to ensure children are cared for safely and supported academically, socially, and emotionally while their families are at work.
Afterschool advocacy is crucial to helping our students recover.
Join the New York State Network for Youth Success' virtual Afterschool Advocacy Week 2022.
Afterschool Rising: Virtual Showcase (Tuesday, February 1, 5-6:30 pm ET): Participants, families, and other afterschool stakeholders will share the critical impact of afterschool.
Afterschool Call-In/Email (Wednesday, February 2, 11 am-12 pm ET): Supporters of afterschool will reach out to representatives about the importance of afterschool, summer, and expanded learning opportunities and increase the visibility of advocacy efforts.
Afterschool Tweetstorm (Thursday, February 3, 11am-12 pm ET): Supporters of afterschool will reach out to legislators via Twitter.
Afterschool Legislative Meetings (Tuesday-Friday, February 1-4): Supporters will attend meetings with legislative officers to express the importance of supporting and funding afterschool programs.
The New York State Community Schools Network is now on Twitter. Follow us @NYSCSN to stay up-to-date with us!
Resources & Opportunities
For resources and guidance for NYS Community Schools, please visit the NYS Community Schools Technical Assistance Centers website at https://www.nyscommunityschools.org/. Click on "Webinars & Events" for many upcoming opportunities.
Mission Statement The New York State Community Schools Network advocates to develop, promote, and sustain community schools in collaboration with government, local school districts, and community partners. Through a diverse coalition of community-based agencies, parents, teachers, and statewide advocates, we champion effective community school policies so that children and families can thrive. Steering Committee members of the New York State Community Schools Network Binghamton University Community Schools, Children’s Aid, Finger Lakes Community Schools, New York School-Based Health Alliance, New York State Network for Youth Success, New York State United Teachers, Rural Schools Association, United Federation of Teachers United Community Schools.
Know someone who would be interested in receiving updates from the New York State Community Schools Network? Please encourage them to sign up for this listserv here.
Please join the New York State Community Schools Network for the 7th annual New York State Community Schools Advocacy Day. This year, the event will take place virtually on February 16th. 
NYSUT's recently released Future Forward Report seeks to answer the question, "How can we support our public schools as the center of every community?" The report is the work of a task force of education professionals. Their first recommendation? Improve funding for community schools. 
This past year has marked significant challenges for students and families striving to recover from and manage challenges presented by COVID-19. Similarly, afterschool programs and professionals have also experienced difficulties as they continue to provide imperative supports to students and families. We know that in New York, for every one participant with access to an afterschool program, four more are waiting to get in. We also know that these programs will continue to play a crucial role to ensure children are cared for safely and supported academically, socially, and emotionally while their families are at work.
