Mayor Kenney Continues His Weekly School Visits As He Assembles Plan To Fund Community Schools
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Jim Kenney visited service providers at a school in West Philadelphia Thursday morning, as he draws-up his plan to expand the "community school" concept.
The Belmont Charter School is an example of the "community school" that Mayor Kenney wants to replicate, says school CEO Jennifer Faustman.
"We are like a community hub. So we partner with over 30 different agencies, providing services from social services for our families to mental health services, to direct access to health care," said Faustman.
Mayor Kenney toured the school, visiting the newly-opened health care clinic. He says children can't learn if their basic needs aren't being met.
"If they're not getting the psychological, the medical, the dental, the eye services they need, they can't succeed. And I think all the professionals that work here free up the teachers to teach. And that's what we're looking to do in the public schools," said Kenney.
Kenney and Chief Education Officer Otis Hackney are still devising his plan to expand community schools in the district.