AT A GLANCE

Headquarters
Boston, Massachusetts

Social Entrepreneur
Mary E. Walsh, Executive Director

Year Founded
2001

Website
http://www.bc.edu/schools/lsoe/cityconnects/

Mission: 

City Connects creates personalized networks of supports and opportunities for every student in a school. Grounded in the developmental sciences, it connects each child to a tailored set of resources every year, creating a cycle of support for students, families, teachers, and the school community.

Vision:

All children deserve a chance to learn, but many face obstacles too steep for them to climb alone. City Connects builds a network of support for students, their families, and the schools that serve them, improving outcomes now — and for years to come.

Approach:

When a school partners with City Connects, a full-time City Connects Coordinator becomes embedded within the fabric of the school. The City Connects Coordinator collaborates with teachers in every classroom to review the strengths and needs of every student, every year.

Systematic Support: The City Connects Coordinator creates a tailored support plan for every student - leveraging a comprehensive range of prevention, intervention, and enrichment services that already exist in schools and communities. Students who are most at risk receive an in-depth review and a broader level of support.  

At City Connects schools, the City Connects Coordinator becomes the hub of student support — a single point of contact in an otherwise crowded maze of service providers. We alleviate the burden on principals and teachers, and we create an organized referral process for community-based partners.

Feedback and Follow-up: Using proprietary software developed for City Connects, City Connects Coordinators constantly track services and evaluate results, making sure every student is getting what’s needed. The City Connects Coordinator works closely with students and their families, providing referrals and support that bolster the long-term health of the entire family.

Impact:

99% of students in City Connects schools received at least one support service and 90% received 3 or more. Longitudinal studies of thousands of students show City Connects students significantly outperform peers on statewide tests and non-cognitive measures and, in high school, have about half the rate of dropout.