Marian Launching ‘City Connects’ in Indiana
(photo courtesy of Marian University)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowMarian University in Indianapolis is implementing the Midwest expansion of a program designed to improve academic achievement among K-12 students. City Connects was founded 20 years ago at Boston College and works to provide every student in participating schools with a plan to address issues they may be facing outside of the classroom, such as housing instability, food insecurity, or lack of access to healthcare. The program is being piloted in 34 Indiana schools, serving more than 16,000 students and Marian says its goal is to expand the program throughout the state and region.
Jessica Morales Maust, executive director of K-12 at Marian, tells Inside INdiana Business the program is a proactive, individualized measure to transform student support.
“As we know, two-thirds of a student’s life is spent outside of the classroom and so often, those out-of-school factors impact their success inside the classroom,” said Morales Maust. “So, the City Connect practice is centered around that idea of really ensuring that every student is known not just by their name and not just what town they live in, but truly every facet of their life inside and outside of the classroom.”
As part of the program, each participating school is assigned a site coordinator, who is a full-time school employee with master’s degree-level expertise in school guidance, social work or mental health. That person does a “whole class review” where they meet with teachers to discuss each student, who will then receive individualized student plans.
The plans, which are regularly reviewed and updated, could recommend different types of community supports, such as assistance with housing, healthcare, food insecurity, academic tutoring, and after-school enrichment programs.
The Midwest expansion of City Connects is being run out of Marian’s new Center for Vibrant Schools, where Morales Maust also serves as assistant director. The center will house the City Connects Midwest Technical Assistance Center.
Morales Maust says the program has shown to have long-term effects beyond just the day-to-day journey for students.
“For schools, let’s say elementary schools that begin this practice starting in Kindergarten up through fifth grade, it has shown from those schools…that the students that have been within a City Connects school, the dropout rate significantly declines. The satisfaction of the student to be engaged in learning catapults. The graduation rate of even just completing high school increases and then, you have post-secondary motivation because of the fact that the student very much has been supported through K-12. They’ve self-actualized their talents and their goals.”
The 34 Indiana schools participating in City Connects are located in South Bend, Gary, Muncie and Indianapolis. They include public, private, and charter schools. Six schools in Ohio that have already implemented the program are also included with the Midwest Technical Assistance Center.
“City Connects has proven to work in other districts like ours, and we expect it will have the same impact of higher achievement and fewer dropouts in our schools,” Muncie Community Schools Director of Public Education and CEO Lee Ann Kwiatkowski said in a news release. “The real beauty of this program is that it’s for all students, not just the ‘at risk’ ones, and we’re grateful to the City of Muncie and Marian University for partnering with us to make it possible here at Muncie Community Schools.”
Morales Maust says Marian has plans to bring City Connects to more schools throughout Indiana, as well as other Midwestern states.
“After this initial pilot and during the pilot, we are already receiving a lot of interest and opportunities to bring City Connects to other students in Indianapolis and further out. Non-public schools, for example, we’re really looking to expand with them as well. So while we’re starting in Indiana right now – also Ohio – we want to go to Illinois. We want to go to Wisconsin. We want to be in Minnesota. Ultimately, [we want] to get this in as many schools as possible.”
Marian is implementing the program with help from an Indiana Department of Education Student Learning Recovery Grant, which is covering the cost of all foundational and technical fees.
Morales Maust says the program is a proactive, individualized measure to transform student support.
Morales Maust says the program has shown to have long-term effects beyond just the day-to-day journey for students.