Community School Partnerships and Their Influence on Immigrant and Refugee Youth Educational Experiences

• In Event: Collaborative Partnerships for Mental Health, Childcare, and Immigrant and Refugee Youth

Abstract

The purpose of this evaluation study was to outline the mutual benefit of school-university research partnerships in evaluating impact on student outcomes to inform continuous improvement in meeting the needs of Immigrant and Refugee Youth (IRY). Utilizing academic and non-academic data drawn from two cohorts of students, one group who attended the school before the community school was implemented, and the second while the community school was in operation, it was found that students attending the community school, particularly IRY, significantly outperformed their non-community school peers. Discussion of findings is framed in the IRY and community school literature and demonstrate the importance of school-university evaluation partnerships to scale these approaches.

Authors

• Kathleen Provinzano, Drexel University

• Kristin L.K. Koskey, Drexel University

• Toni A. May (Sondergeld), Drexel University