State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond celebrated a new study published by the Learning Policy Institute  on Sept. 16, 2025, that shows the strongly positive impact of California’s community schools initiative.

The community schools strategy builds partnerships between public schools and community organizations to provide resources, such as mental health services or family outreach, that engage families and serve the whole child.

“The community schools strategy is about creating partnerships across schools, families, and the community so that every child in our state has a village of support,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “With this new research, we now have data to support what we know to be true: When our children have the supports that they need to be present and healthy at school, they can learn, grow, and thrive.”

California is home to the largest community schools initiative in the nation, thanks to an investment of $4.1 billion in the California Community Schools Partnership Program, which launched in 2021. This initiative is a key component of Superintendent Thurmond’s Transforming Schools Initiatives, a set of historic actions that have tripled per pupil investment in public schools during Superintendent Thurmond’s tenure.

The brief released by LPI this week, “Community Schools Impact on Student Outcomes: Evidence From California,” shows that CCSPP-funded community schools improved attendance rates, reduced suspension, and improved academic achievement at higher rates compared to similar schools that did not implement a community schools strategy. On average, community schools showed a 30% greater reduction in chronic absenteeism than similar schools.

The LPI report shows that improvements in academic achievement were largest for historically underserved students. According to LPI, community schools showed improvements in academic achievement for Black students that translate to approximately 130 days of additional learning in math and 151 days of additional learning in English language arts. The improvement in academic achievement for English Learners equates to approximately 58 more days of learning in math and 72 more days of learning in English language arts.

Superintendent Thurmond is proud to lead implementation of the California community schools initiative and to partner with Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature, which has funded community schools, as well as the State Board of Education, which oversees implementation. For more information on California’s community schools initiative, see the CDE Community Schools web page.