Center Research Newsletter - Spring 2026
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I am delighted to share with you the 2026 Integrated Student Support Research Newsletter. Since the Boston College Center for Thriving Children began to survey the literature on this emerging field, the quality and quantity of research has grown significantly. I encourage you to read the studies, and to continue to pursue the critical questions that shape the field, providing insights into how and why to effectively address students’ comprehensive strengths and needs.
Mary E. Walsh
Founding Director, Center for Thriving Children
Executive Director, City Connects
Professor Emerita, Boston College
Mary Walsh
Evidence on the impact of community schools on high-needs students
A new study from Education Sciences examined whether community schools that provided integrated student support services improved whole-child development and reduced inequalities in learning and wellness outcomes.
Researchers Jaekyung Lee, Young Sik Seo, Myles Faith, Fabian Barch, and Lino Loja from the University at Buffalo used data from New York State's 2018-2023 school surveys and report cards to compare student outcomes at community schools and non-community schools. The study yielded mixed results. Students in community schools had higher graduation rates (between 3- 7-percentage point gains), which was especially true for disadvantaged minority groups. Community schools did not improve overall academic achievement or reduce chronic absenteeism better than non-community schools, except for one finding: school-based health centers were associated with a reduction in chronic absenteeism for high school students.
The researchers suggest several steps the state should take to expand the community-school model, including scaling up health centers and dental services in high-needs communities; improving implementation fidelity and accountability; increasing staff trainings; and funding programs that partner with community-based organizations.
Research on the California Community Schools Partnership Program and its impact on high-needs students
The Learning Policy Institute, a nonprofit education research organization, released a report on the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) entitled “Community Schools Impact on Student Outcomes: Evidence From California.” CCSPP was founded in 2021 and is the largest community schools initiative in the United States. The report was published in September 2025 and written by Walker Swain, Melanie Leung-Gagné, Anna Maier, and Cassandra Rubinstein.
The study examines the first cohort of 458 schools that received up to $500,000 annually for five years to sustain existing community school initiatives. CCSPP schools experienced a 30% decrease in chronic absenteeism rates, a 15% reduction in suspension rates, and an increase in English language arts and math scores compared to non-CCSPP schools. Black students, English language learners, and low-income students had the largest improvements on these metrics compared to other students. Schools with improved chronic absenteeism rates experienced the highest gains; for each standard deviation increase in attendance rates, the impact on academic achievement doubled.
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The Impact of City Connects: Progress Report 2026
City Connects is pleased to release its latest Progress Report. The studies presented in this report provide new evidence of positive outcomes resulting from the City Connects intervention. City Connects is the flagship program of the Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children.
As the Center continues a rigorous evaluation of the City Connects intervention, new findings provide additional evidence of positive outcomes.
Among the most recent findings are that adoption of City Connects generates meaningful enrollment gains for traditional public schools; that turnaround schools with City Connects experienced more gains in math and ELA than turnaround schools that did not implement the intervention; and that students in City Connects schools report significantly more opportunities for prosocial involvement than peers in schools not implementing City Connects.
Read more about the impacts of City Connects in the 2026 Progress Report, which can be found here: cityconnects.org/report26
An analysis of integrated student supports in Tennessee
Another study assessing community schools in Tennessee aimed to measure how student outcomes and teacher turnover changed after the adoption of the community school model. Written by Matthew Truwit from the University of Michigan and published in the Peabody Journal of Education, the research is the first statewide evaluation of the community schools model in Tennessee.
The study used 100 community schools' data between 2011 and 2019. Results indicate several modest but meaningful improvements in student and teacher outcomes. Students in community schools experienced slight gains in English language arts and declines in suspension and mobility rates compared to other non-community schools in the same urban districts. There was also a reduction in teacher turnover. These findings were most evident after three years of implementation. There was no difference in math performance, grade retention, or drop-out rates. Surprisingly, community schools in the sample had a higher chronic absentee rate compared to non-community schools.
Results from the Partnership for Student Success Principal Survey
Are students getting the support they need four years after the pandemic? The Partnership for Student Success published a report in November 2025, which analyzes findings from a nationally representative survey of K-12 public school principals. Robert Balfanz and Vaughan Byrnes co-authored the report, which was released through the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University.
Principals reported the frequency of student support services and how it is supported in their schools. Of those surveyed, half of the principals have high-intensity tutoring, mentoring, and wraparound supports, with the majority providing these resources to 20% or fewer students.
Over the past three school years, more than 400,000 additional adults have supported students as tutors, mentors, post-secondary advisors, and wraparound support providers. On average, up to 10 adults are providing these supports at each school.
Principals have reported that more students need high-intensity tutoring, mentoring, success coaching, postsecondary transition advising, and wraparound supports compared to last year. Only 20-30% of principals report that all of their students in need are receiving support. Barriers to more service delivery include insufficient funding and staffing, lack of student or parent interest, and scheduling conflicts.
Study on Communities in Schools’ impact on high-poverty students
Released by Harvard University’s program Opportunity Insights and the EdRedesign Lab, researchers Benjamin Goldman and Jamie Gracie examined the impacts of Communities In Schools (CIS) on children classified as “struggling” in high-poverty schools.
The study utilized administrative data from CIS, as well as state-level data and census records. Students had improved test scores and attendance, and less disciplinary behavior, which leads to gains through graduation. Students who received personalized student supports during middle school were 5.2% more likely to graduate high school, and 9.1% more likely to enroll in a two-year college. While students receive different services tailored to their needs, they achieve similar long-term gains, suggesting that individualized support is effective.
The program also contributes to higher salaries in adulthood; students who experienced three years of CIS earned an extra $75,000 in lifetime earnings ($36,000 in present-day value), and they make, on average, $1,140 more each year.
Data from a Full-Service Community Schools survey of 2023 grantees
The Institute of Education Sciences released a study snapshot entitled "Expanding the reach of the full-service community schools program." The report explores how the U.S. Department of Education's Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program helped expand the community schools model to schools that are high-poverty and located in rural areas, and provided resources and financial support to schools that are new to the model or had not been fully implementing the approach. The researchers analyzed data from surveys of 2023 FSCS grantees and their partner schools.
Ninety-eight percent of partner schools were high-poverty, and almost half were in rural areas. The 2023 program supported expansion to new geographic areas, with 87% of grantees new to the grant program. The majority of partner schools did not identify as a community school before receiving the grant. If they did identify as a community school, the majority of schools were not implementing key components of the model, nor receiving external funding to support the approach.
Quantifying the economic burden of chronic absenteeism
The University of Pennsylvania's Center for Benefit-Cost Studies released a report detailing the economic impact of chronic absenteeism in California schools, written by Clive Belfield, Viviana Rodriguez, A. Brooks Bowden, and Julia Oas.
For each chronically absent student, defined as missing 10% or more of school in a year, there is a $5,630 economic burden to the community. The report highlights that the chronic absenteeism rate tripled after the pandemic, from 10% in 2019-20 to 30% in 2021-22. Now, absentee rates are still above pre-pandemic levels.
Researchers measured societal financial gains for students graduating from high school or enrolling in college, totalling $478,440 and $681,930 in societal benefits, respectively. The data is calculated from estimations of decreased medical costs, lower chances of criminal activity, and higher salaries from educational degrees. With a three percentage point increase in the statewide high school graduation rate, California would gain almost $10 billion in total and $3 billion in taxpayer savings.
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New findings on the impact of personalized messages on chronic absenteeism
As chronic absenteeism has impacted schools across the country, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, educators are seeking ways to increase attendance through low-cost methods. Published in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, “Can personalized attendance information mitigate student absenteeism? Evidence from six randomized field trials” was authored by Jonah Berger, James Bolyard, David Hersh, Lisa Sanbonmatsu, Douglas Staiger, and Thomas Kane.
The study examined the effects of different modes of communication (e.g., text message, mail, backpack delivery) on children's attendance at six urban and suburban schools across the United States.
The personalized messages to families reduced absences by 1.9%, which amounts to 0.19 fewer days missed by each student. The impact was most pronounced for students with both higher and lower absence rates. By calculating the cost of the personalized messages and financial impact on attendance, the researchers estimate that the intervention yields $3-5 in additional benefits for each text message sent.
Exploring past research to inform future equitable education interventions
As part of the Civil Rights Project, a program in coordination with the University of California, Los Angeles, researchers Emma Garcia and Henry Levin wrote about the net benefits of education interventions on societal outcomes.
In “Investing in our nation's future: Advancing educational opportunity for underserved students,” the researchers reviewed past literature on cost-benefit interventions; studies have shown monetary returns ranging from approximately $2 to over $10 for every dollar invested in education. Previous efforts to lessen the inequality gap have been ineffective, and the researchers proposed different ways to use cost-benefit interventions to improve the lives of children from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. One model proposed would improve education participation and outcomes for Black and Hispanic children, which would lessen the inequality gap and bring $20.2 to $72.6 billion of societal benefits per year.
A literature review found key ways to make these programs strong, including creating high-quality, intense, and lengthy programs, and investing in public systems (e.g., health care and housing) to further equitable educational opportunities for children.
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The impact of exclusionary immigration policies on children and families
Published in the American Journal of Community Psychology, researchers from the University of Connecticut and California State University explored the impact of policy exclusions on immigrant families' well-being. The study was conducted by Kevin Ferreira van Leer, Caitlin Lombardi, Rachel Chazan-Cohen, Vanessa Esquivel, Prisila Isais, and Anne Berset.
Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the researchers examined low-income immigrant parents of young children through two data sources: the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study and qualitative focus groups. Participants were recruited from California, a state with few exclusive policies for immigrants, and New Hampshire, a state with more exclusive policies towards immigrants. The results indicate that families in the state with more restrictive immigration policies experienced greater parenting-related stress with young children compared to those in the less restrictive state. Children of immigrant parents born in the more restrictive state had lower reading skills at age 4 and in kindergarten compared to their peers. The focus groups highlighted that families in the more restricted state experienced racial and immigration-related discrimination, which led to increased stress in accessing social services.
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New measure created to assess children’s readiness to start school
A progress report, titled "School readiness: Persistent challenges and new opportunities" by Reem Ghandour, Kristin Moore, Katherine Paschall, Ashley Hirai, and Michael Kogan, highlights new research and methodology on school readiness.
The researchers created the first standardized, population-level measure to assess young children’s readiness to start school, called “Healthy and Ready to Learn.” The measure assesses children’s early learning skills, social-emotional development, self-regulation, and physical well-being and motor development.
Results suggest that modifiable behaviors, such as family reading, special health care needs, and exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences were more connected to school readiness compared to socio-demographic factors (e.g., race, income level). The measures were further tested in other studies where researchers explored the impact of positive childhood experiences and hours of sleep on school readiness. The studies highlight the importance of early childhood education investments, which promote improved health and educational outcomes for all children, especially those who are experiencing adversity.
Omega Community Development Corporation’s strides in breaking the cycle of poverty
In "Hope Lives Here," The EdRedesign Lab highlights Omega Community Development Corporation (Omega CDC) in Northwest Dayton, Ohio. The report, written by staff members Julie Allen, Tauheedah Jackson, and Lynne Sacks, shares how Omega CDC collaborates with the EdRedesign Lab and other organizations to empower families to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
Omega CDC was founded in 1997 by the Omega Baptist Church to support youth and family well-being in the region. The program is a national model of a two-generational cradle-to-career place-based partnership. They provide direct support as well as coordinate with other community-based organizations, businesses, and government partners to provide essential services. In 2023, they created the Hope Zone Promise Neighborhood to support children impacted by poverty through four pathways to self-sufficiency. Families are paired with caring adult Navigators, who develop Individual Success Plans to connect them to supports. Research indicates that the program improves third-grade reading scores and reduces chronic absenteeism rates.