The Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University recently released a study showing that sophisticated grassroots community organizing produces major improvements in student achievement.

Researchers from the Institute's Community Involvement Program followed organizing initiatives in seven major U.S. cities over the course of six years, including two PICO federations – Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project (EPOP) in Philadelphia and Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) in Oakland. The study, titled Organized Communities, Stronger Schools, finds "strong and consistent relationships between community organizing and policy and resource decisions, school-level improvements, and student outcomes."

Through interviews, surveys, and administrative data analysis, researchers found evidence to suggest that organizing is contributing to:

·  school-level improvements, particularly in the areas of parent involvement and engagement and teacher collegiality and morale;
·  improved student performance, including higher standardized test scores, graduation rates, student attendance rates, and college-going aspirations;
·  systemic policy change and resource distribution, particularly in historically low-performing schools;
·  increased and sustained civic engagement among adult and youth community members, and deeper community knowledge of, and investment in, school-related issues;
·  and higher levels of motivation in young people to succeed in school.

Click here to read the full report

To learn more about Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project, visit www.epop-leaders.org
To learn more about Oakland Community Organizations, visit www.oaklandcommunity.org

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Community organizing seen has help to schools