Governor Gavin Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced on May 7 that the fourth and final round of community schools implementation grants – totaling more than $618 million – were unanimously approved at the May meeting of the State Board of Education earlier today.

The $4.1 billion California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) is the nation’s largest investment in dismantling barriers to learning that lead to inequitable student outcomes. Community schools partner with education, county, and nonprofit entities to provide integrated health, mental health, and social services alongside high-quality, supportive instruction with a strong focus on community, family and student engagement.

“California continues to find and support innovative ways to make schools a place where every family and student can succeed. Today, we build on our nation-leading community schools program – more than 450 additional schools, offering everything from free meals twice a day to mental health counseling to before, after, and summer school programs to thousands more students,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

With the addition of today’s allocation, California is now funding a total of nearly 2,500 community schools to leverage community resources in support of student wellbeing and academic success. These schools represent some of the highest-need school communities in the state of California.