In a nation where 42 percent of children live in low-income families, too many schools face the challenge of teaching students burdened with unmet needs that pose obstacles to learning.

Community schools that align schools and community resources are a promising strategy for improving student outcomes. Community schools provide wraparound services that meet the social, physical, cognitive, and economic needs of both students and families.

Since 2007, the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC) at Stanford University has partnered with the Redwood City School District (RCSD) to conduct research on participation and outcomes for students in the RCSD’s community schools.

At the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., a panel of national community schools leaders, including JGC Executive Director Amy Gerstein, discussed the RCDS research. The panel discussion followed a presentation of a report by JGC Policy Analyst Sebastian Castrechini.

Watch the presentation and panel discussion.

To read the full report, visit http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/02/positive_student_outcomes.html.