Some CT community schools programs lose federal funding: 'Beyond a disservice'
Some Connecticut community school programs have been notified by the federal government that a Biden-era grant is going to be discontinued.
The United States Department of Education is canceling the Full-Service Community Schools grant for programs in New Haven, Waterbury and Hartford because the funding does not align with the Trump’s administration’s priorities, according a letter reviewed by CT Insider and a statement from U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro. Connecticut lawmakers and program directors said this grant funding was supposed to have lasted five years.
The U.S Department of Education is currently providing millions of dollars in Full-Service Community Schools grants to 72 programs across the country. Community schools provide services that fit their neighborhood’s needs, such as health and wellness services and after-school programs, and partners with local organizations.
“This draconian cut is just the latest idiotic and cruel decision by the Trump Administration,” U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote in a statement. “These programs have a proven track record of reducing absenteeism, improving academic success rates and preparing students for careers — cutting funding halfway through the school year defies reason. Connecticut students deserve all the resources they need to succeed, and I will keep fighting with our delegation to restore these critical funds.”
Stamford’s funding for its Cradle to Career program at Dolan and Rippowam middle schools is continuing, according to a statement from the program.
New Haven is slated to lose its grant on Dec. 31 for community schools at Fair Haven School and the Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration, according to DeLauro.
“Full-Service Community Schools grant cancellations will leave children without mental health services, after school programs and community support programs they depend on,” she wrote. “Our most vulnerable children will be lose access to tutoring, athletics, health care and other essential programs for families in as soon as two weeks.”
Through the Grand Avenue Learning Corridor Partnership, New Haven Public Schools, Clifford W. Beers Guidance Clinic and 14 other organizations created the community school programs with support from the federal grant. The schools offer after-school programming, family stipends for food and groceries, housing, clothing and uniforms, in-school clinical mental health counseling and more, according to DeLauro’s statement.
She added that, collectively, the New Haven schools were supposed to get funding through December 2028 and still had $1.75 million remaining.
City officials praised the program’s benefits for Fair Haven.
“The U.S. DOE’s Full-Service Community Schools grant is allowing us to provide more expansive and coordinated student supports and services to help meet the academic, social-emotional, mental health and everyday needs of children and families in the Fair Haven community,” Mayor Justin Elicker and Superintendent Madeline Negrón wrote in a joint statement. “For the Trump Administration to announce the sudden and abrupt cancellation of this grant — mid-school year and mid-program — is unconscionable and at the tremendous expense to our students, families and school communities at Fair Haven School and F.A.M.E. We’re committed to fighting these cuts with the hopes to restore this innovative and important program.”
DeLauro’s team provided CT Insider a copy of the letter from the U.S. Department of Education to one of the Connecticut programs. In the Dec. 12 letter, Murray Bessette, principal deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, wrote “the department has undertaken a review of grants and determined that the grant specified above provides funding for programs that reflect the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflicts with those of the current administration.”
In a statement to CT Insider, Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications for the U.S. Department of Education, wrote “the Trump Administration is no longer allowing taxpayer dollars to go out the door on autopilot — we are evaluating every federal grant to ensure they are in line with the administration’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness and excellence in education.”
“The department non-continued grants that do not align with the administration’s priorities,” she wrote. “Many of these use overt race preferences or perpetuate divisive concepts and stereotypes, which no student should be exposed to. The non-continued grant funds are not being cut; they are being re-invested immediately into high-quality programs that better serve special needs students.”
According to Bessette’s letter, affected programs can ask the department to reconsider its decision, which is what Althea Brooks, executive director of the Waterbury Bridge to Success' Boost Community Schools Initiative, said she planned to do Friday.
In Waterbury, the community schools initiative takes place at six schools: Carrington, Duggan, Gilmartin, Roberto Clemente International Dual Language, Jonathan Reed and Wendell L. Cross.
More than 14 local organizations partner with the program to offer different types of services for students and their families.
“The effectiveness of BTS' Boost Initiative is evidenced by a decrease in chronic absenteeism, increased parent engagement, increased access to vision and behavioral health services and improved academic performance,” Brooks said.
Hartford Public Schools received funding starting in 2023 to support programs at M.D. Fox Elementary, Burr Middle and Bulkeley High schools, said U.S. Rep. John Larson in a statement. The programs expand career readiness programs, in-and-out-of-school student support and crime and violence prevention and intervention.
Larson said the district is going to lose out on over $1.2 million.
“These grants have had a proven track record — reducing truancy and dropout rates, improving academic achievement and increasing student engagement inside and outside of the classroom,” Larson said. “Canceling this program in the middle of the school year with no announcement, explanation or approval from Congress, is beyond a disservice to Hartford students. They deserve better from their government. I will do everything I can to protect these essential programs from this president’s cruel cuts.”
Brooks said program leaders from across the state “are united in the belief that the Community Schools strategy effectively increases student success in our school communities.”
“In CT, we are currently reaching over 20,000 students across four school districts,” she wrote. “When resourced adequately and implemented with fidelity, Community Schools can be a game-changer for school success for families in CT. We believe community schools can be a model for educational success in CT.”