State Farm Awards $7,500 to Family League to Support Community Schools

FL and State Farm Logos

 

Family League of Baltimore is proud to announce it has received a $7,500 grant from State Farm, the American group of insurance and financial service companies headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. The unrestricted grant will support Family League’s ongoing Community School Engagement Initiative in Baltimore City.

“Our work with community schools is intended to broaden opportunities for children and families in Baltimore by providing an enriched environment that supports both student achievement and family well-being,” said Family League President & CEO Jonathon Rondeau. “We’re grateful to State Farm and to our partners for recognizing that many of our city’s families need wide-ranging support networks to help them succeed.”

About Community Schools

Family League facilitates 55 community schools in Baltimore City operated through partnerships with community organizations. Community schools bring together a wide range of partners and community resources to promote student achievement, positive conditions for learning and the well-being of families and communities. This includes high-quality afterschool activities, tutoring, health check-ups, mental health counseling, tax-preparation services or financial counseling for parents.

In a December 2014 report, the Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC) found that “community schools that have been implementing community school practices for five or more years have statistically significant higher rates of attendance and lower rates of chronic absence when compared to non-community schools.” BERC’s findings in 2014 showed Pre-K-5th grade community school students were 7.3% less chronically absent than their non-community school peers. In addition, regular out of school time participants (K-5) had significantly higher average daily attendance and lower chronic absence (12.2% vs. 14.8%).

Additional information about Community Schools is available here. Read the Baltimore Sun op-ed by Family League President & CEO Rondeau about the growth and success of community schools here.

About Family League of Baltimore

Since 1991, Family League of Baltimore has mobilized resources, empowered communities, and built the capacity of organizations to provide children and families with high quality programs and services that help them reach their full potential. We use our deep experience in resource management to collaborate with stakeholders to improve opportunities across our city. Our goal is that by 2030, all children in Baltimore will be born healthy, succeed academically, graduate high school and transition into higher education and the workforce.  Learn more about Family League at www.familyleague.org. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.