A federally-funded $7.5M program will help students at 12 Far Eastside schools

The non-academic needs of students at a dozen Far Eastside schools are the target of a new $7.5 million program announced Thursday. The city of Indianapolis, Marian University and Indianapolis Public Schools are launching the initiative that will use pandemic federal funds to provide wraparound services over the next three years.

This comes after the city, IPS, the John H. Boner Community Center and other education partners earlier this week received a $30 million, five-year federal grant to support students at six schools and families in two other eastside neighborhoods.

Food insecurity, safe housing and employment have been struggles that have plagued the eastside of Indianapolis and impacted students’ education.

The new program, called the City Connects initiative, is a 20-year-old program created in Boston. According to a report from The Boston College Center for Optimized Student Support, the program has “increased student attendance, decreased dropout rates, improved state test scores and increased the likelihood of a student being able to pursue a post-secondary education.”

Marion University President Dan Elsener said the initiative will remind parents and teachers that they’re not alone.

“There is no one segment that can get this done; it takes a city,” Elsener said at Phalen Leadership Academy School 103 where the announcement was made. “The parents can’t do it alone — they’re the first educators. As educators, we identify strengths in young people. And those strengths need to be developed with every asset in the community, and that’s what City Connects does.”

Starting next year, around a dozen site coordinators will be hired and online service hubs set up to strengthen support services for the more than 3,700 students attending the selected schools. The program will be overseen by the City Connects Technical Assistance Center at Marion University’s Center for Vibrant Schools. The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.

IPS superintendent Aleesia Johnson said the partnership will increase access to vital resources for families who are in need of food, employment or housing assistance, and make sure students come to school ready to learn.

“Through City Connects, our IPS students and several of our schools on the Far Eastside will have not just dedicated access to these resources, but a clear pathway to pursue their goals and their dreams, free of any limitations or barriers,” Johnson said.

The following 11 schools will participate in the program and receive an individualized plan to meet students’ basic needs by providing mental health services, food assistance, after-school programming or other opportunities:

• Andrew J. Brown Academy
• Sankofa School of Success at Arlington Woods School 99
• Charles Warren Fairbanks School 105
• Circle City Prep
• George S. Buck School 94
• James and Rosemary Phalen Leadership Middle School
• James and Rosemary Phalen Leadership High School
• Phalen Leadership Academy at Francis Scott Key School 103
• Phalen Leadership Academy at George H. Fisher School 93
• Promise Prep
• Rooted School Indianapolis

The initiative will also partner with a yet-to-be determined school in Warren Township Schools district.

Contact WFYI education reporter Elizabeth Gabriel at egabriel@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @_elizabethgabs.