In 2009, Safe Passages became the lead entity for the implementation of the Elev8 Oakland Full Service Community Schools Initiative, a national initiative dedicated to providing middle-school age youth and their families with a coordinated array of services to support student success in school and life by providing a powerful combination of high-quality supports. In this policy brief, Bright Research Group documents the costs and benefits of Community Schools based on an analysis of expenditures for 2011-12 for Elev8 Oakland. This policy brief demonstrates that benefits to investing in community schools extend beyond direct and short term impacts on the students and families accessing resources through them. Investments in community schools allow sites to leverage additional investments and generate long term cost savings to society through reduced reliance on public systems and increased lifetime earnings.

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