Community- and School-Sponsored Program Participation and Academic Achievement in a Full-Service Community School

Abstract

Community schools represent a school reform approach that purports to address the multifaceted and intertwined challenges faced by poor urban communities and schools. The community school approach includes partnering with community organizations, making the school a community hub where services are provided during and outside of the school day, and targeting broad student, family, and community outcomes. This study examines one of the primary components of community schools, school- and community-sponsored extracurricular programming, and its relationship to academic achievement. The study was performed at an urban community school serving Grades 7 through 12. Descriptive analyses indicated high levels of participation and variation in participation, and academic achievement by demographic group. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that both school- and community-sponsored program participation were significant predictors of academic achievement. Implications of the results and future directions for research are discussed.