Annie Nelson calls for community schools to support Portrait competencies

Thank you to Chair Dinowitz, the Education Committee, and the New York City Council for the opportunity to testify today.

My name is Annie Nelson, and I'm a policy analyst at Children's Aid.

For over 170 years, Children's Aid has worked to ensure that young people face no limits to their aspirations or potential.

Today, we serve nearly 50,000 children, youth, and families across more than 40 sites citywide, including 19 community schools.

As an organization that works in schools and with young people across some of the city's most under-resourced neighborhoods, we know that our education system is not yet preparing every young person for post-secondary success.

We support the intention behind the Portrait of a Graduate to reimagine the skills that young people need to succeed in college, career, and civic life.

At the same time, changes to graduation requirements should not diminish schools'responsibility to ensure that every student has access to a rigorous and high-quality education.

Its success will depend on ensuring that all students have the experiences and supports needed to develop the portrait's core competencies.

The community school strategy can help make this possible by expanding relationships, enrichment opportunities, and academic supports that remove barriers to academic opportunity.

The Essentials for Community School Transformation, developed by four partners, including the National Center for Community Schools at Children's Aid, provides a framework for creating these school-based conditions through practices including expanded learning, community-connected instruction, integrated support teams,

systems and student and family engagement.

We see these practices in action across children's aides community schools citywide.

At Central Park East 2 in Harlem, project-based learning and after-school program connects academics to real-world challenges.

At Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in the Bronx, college tours and career exploration help students connect their learning to their futures.

And in two of our schools in Washington Heights, through student governments and training in participatory action research, students can use critical thinking skills to identify issues in their school communities and use their findings to drive change as emerging global citizens.

Based on these experiences, we urge the Council on New York City Public Schools to first establish 100 new community schools by fiscal 29, prioritizing schools where students face the greatest act.

Barriers to academic opportunity.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you so much.

I told you, I'm a little tougher on adults than kids.

So, all right.

I what?

I said we look like him.

Oh, you...

Sure.

You may begin.