New Jersey School District Expands ESSA-Funded Program to Target High School
January 22, 2020
In Paterson, New Jersey, education officials are “expanding a federally-funded program” that has shown success among younger students to its JFK High School in order to help overcome barriers to education by offering students “a host of support services, ranging from tutoring and other forms of academic support to health services” as well as basic needs like a “discreetly placed laundry room…on the theory that not having clean clothes can lead to chronic absenteeism.” The city of Paterson is one of just 15 school systems nationwide to “win grants of just under $500,000 from the federal Full-Service Community Schools program,” funded by the Every Student Succeeds Act in order to foster “full-service community schools that improve the coordination, integration, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for children and families.”