Marian University gets $1.7M in grants to bolster City Connects program

Marian University received financial support to continue a program aimed at addressing the out-of-school factors that affect a student's ability to succeed academically.

The private university recently received two grants to support the City Connects program at the Gary and Muncie community school corporations. City Connects is a partnership between Marian and Boston College in Massachusetts and is based at public and private schools around Indianapolis and other parts of the state.

The program provides full-time site coordinators in school buildings to evaluate the needs of all students. They evaluate four categories: academics, social and emotional well being, health and family.

“Every student is different. Every student's in-home environment is different,” said Jillian Lain, director of City Connects Midwest. “And every student grows and progresses differently. And so I think it's important that we think about addressing individual student needs.”

Site coordinators meet with every teacher to talk about every student, meet with nurses and look at the student information system to evaluate needs. Intervention and support can come from partnered outside organizations, a social worker or the school’s counselor.

“We know it's not a one size fits all,” Lain said. “And so I think that's what's so unique about the partnership. It could be something that benefits the whole school, but a lot of their focus is being really specific to students themselves as individuals.”

Marian University received a nearly $1.2 million Full Service Community School grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The funds will help sustain the program in Gary Community Schools for the next five years.

A $500,000 grant from the Indiana University Health Community Impact Investment Fund will expand City Connects in Muncie Community Schools over the next three years.

The Gary school system was taken over by the state in 2017 because it was insolvent. Earlier this year, lawmakers created a pathway for state intervention to end.

In 2018 Ball State University took control of Muncie schools, as part of state approved intervention.

Contact WFYI Marion County education reporter Sydney Dauphinais at sdauphinais@wfyi.org.