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Community Schools coordinators point to stronger family engagement and CitySpan data work; rental-assistance demand outstrips supply
Summary
Community Schools staff told the committee they are expanding coordinator onboarding, using a CitySpan data platform to track partnerships and spending (per SB161), and seeing higher family participation; staff also reported a rental-assistance program has more requests than resources and a waiting list.
Community Schools leaders told the Academic Achievement Committee on March 16 that districtwide onboarding, training and a new data platform are central to scaling wraparound supports and measuring return on investment.
"All of the schools are community schools," said a community-schools presenter while describing a coherence effort to align partners, vendors and school needs. Director Ingrid Williams Horton explained coordinators complete a 90-day onboarding and participate in monthly networks and quarterly professional development; the office has prepared budget guidance aligned to the Maryland Blueprint for allowable expenses.
Staff said the CitySpan platform (vendor/training referenced by staff) will help the district monitor partner activity and spending in light of Senate Bill 161 reporting requirements: "Looking at a data platform will help us to determine what would be our return on investment," a presenter said.
Spotlight presentations from Buck Lodge Middle School, Fairmont Heights High School and Oxon Hill Elementary showed varied applications. Buck Lodge community school coordinator Cindy Portillo described dramatic increases in family participation: "Now when we have our health fair, literacy night, math night, we're getting over 100 families that are coming in," she said. Fairmont Heights leaders described adding trade exposure and internship opportunities to boost engagement, and Oxon Hill cited individual attendance improvements (one student reduced absences from 30 to nine).
District staff also flagged a capacity gap in rental-assistance partnerships: "We've had so many that we have a waiting list for the support of our family," a presenter said, and they are coordinating with the Department of Social Services to try to bridge wait times.
Why it matters: Community schools are an operating lever tied to academic improvement in the Innovation zone. The CitySpan platform and clearer budget guidance are intended to align wraparound services with school performance goals, but the rental-assistance waiting list highlights a resourcing constraint for families who need immediate support.
Next steps: Staff said they will continue CitySpan rollout, refine spending and partnership monitoring in response to SB161, and report outcome measures during the school year.
