A major expansion of community schools is being attacked in New York City. You can read what its defenders are saying in an article headlined Buery, Fariña defend community schools’ academics.

Here’s an excerpt:

Deputy mayor Richard Buery on Monday defended the community school model’s efficacy in improving student academic outcomes after the administration announced partnerships between social services agencies and 45 new community schools.

While Mayor Bill de Blasio has made community schools a central part of his education agenda, critics have said there is mixed research on whether the community school model actually improves academic achievement in low-income neighborhoods.

During a press conference after the announcement, Buery cited studies showing academic gains for community schools in Boston and Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Tulsa, for example, some community schools outperformed their peers in math by 32 points and in English by 19 points on state exams, according to a Department of Education press release.

“Just calling it a community school and bringing in resources by itself does not, of course, guarantee increased academic achievement,” Buery said. “What community schools are all about is increasing the capacity for learning,” he added, stressing a familiar theme for community schools supporters.

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