partnership with children

Partnership with Children provides critical mental health services for students and engages families in the school community. We support schools in low-income communities across all five boroughs of New York City. 

 

Founded in 1908, Partnership with Children works to help children overcome the chronic stress of growing up in poverty so they are positioned to succeed. Originally called Big Sisters, our organization was established to provide support and mentoring for girls referred by the family court system. In the early 1990s, we made the strategic decision to place full-time social workers into schools in the city’s most under-served communities. Over the past twenty-five years, we have refined our model of expanded mental health services and systems-building for schools to address the unique set of mental and behavioral health challenges faced by children growing up in poverty.

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In every school, our staff collaborates with school leadership to customize a plan to address the needs of each community. We provide student counseling, family supports, staff training and community development in schools so that students can learn and thrive. Partnership with Children has demonstrated significant positive results: increasing student attendance and on-task behavior, improving teachers’ classroom management skills, engaging families in their children’s education, and partnering with schools to develop vibrant community schools.