Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ensuring that school-age students have the skills and resources to thrive today as well as the opportunities to forge a path towards long-term wellbeing and success is a primary responsibility of public schools and of communities. This can be challenging, especially in low-resource settings with a preponderance of recent immigrant and non-English speaking students.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRACTICE: Waltham partnership for youth (WPY) is a community-based nonprofit that has been working for over 30 years to meet the needs of students in the city of Waltham in eastern Massachusetts. Here, we review WPY's history, organizational structure, and flagship programs. We present data to demonstrate the success it has had in increasing high-school advancement/graduation rates, reducing school dropout rates, and addressing mental health.
IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY, PRACTICE, AND EQUITY: Partnering with community-based nonprofits can help public schools address some of the underlying social determinants, thereby improving the long-term success and wellbeing of school-aged youth.
CONCLUSIONS: WPY represents a model organization of how to partner with public school systems to access, coordinate, and deliver social support resources to better support the youth in their community.