2026 Connected Overview

Family Family Opportunity Opportunity Center Center

CONNECTED

CONNECTED INITIATIVE Where it all began...

The Connected initiative began with a group of passionate Rome City School District teachers who recognized that hungry, tired, or worried students couldn’t fully engage in learning. They saw firsthand how food insecurity and unmet needs impacted classrooms every day—and they decided to act.

What began as a small idea has grown into a coordinated effort to remove barriers and provide hope. Today, it’s a regional movement—connecting more than a dozen districts, countless partners, and thousands of students and families to vital supports. Connected Site Coordinators lead the way, creating school communities and managing designated HUBs. These HUBs are safe spaces stocked with clothing, snacks, groceries, school supplies, hygiene items, and even tuxedos and prom dresses—resources students may need every day.

By providing these supports through HUBs, teachers no longer carry the full burden of meeting these needs, allowing them to focus on teaching while Site Coordinators ensure students have what they need to thrive.

The needs of the communities we serve have driven the need for an expansion of the initiative and the services and supports Connected offers. We started in one school district, in one school building seven years ago, and since then have expanded to 13 school districts, and more than 6 projects. Together, we are Connected.

2018 AFT Funds Rome Community Schools

2021 Connected Expansion

Rome City School District opens first Community School

2016

Bellamy Elementary

BOCES

Continued Growth 52 Schools 13 Districts Connected Impact Center

A Community Schools CoSer was created to allow schools to drive NYS Aid

2020

2025

CONNECTED

CONNECTED COMMUNITY SCHOOLS OUR MISSION To partner with public School Districts to create Community Schools and to ensure that every student has their basic needs met, so that they may simply engage in their education.

WHAT IS A CONNECTED COMMUNITY SCHOOL? A Community School is figuratively or physically hubbing all of your community services and resources into your school building. Our mission as Connected Community Schools is to partner with public School Districts to create Connected Community Schools and ensure that students and families have their basic needs met to be successful in their everyday lives and are inspired and supported by the Community.

THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF A CONNECTED COMMUNITY SCHOOL: How: Through collaboration with community and school partners, kept up through our constant mining of resources and partnerships, our Site Coordinators work together with the schools to create, schedule, and facilitate fun and engaging programming for our students and families.

Classroom Programming

CONNECTED CONNECTED

s

CONNECTED

LINK is our single point of access for service delivery that connects students and families to the appropriate resources and services within their community based on identified needs.

Student

School Faculty/Staff

Connected Site Coordinator

Family

Services / Resources

Team Approach

School Academic Needs Assess for ALL Needs Providers Attendance Concerns Connected Team Mental Health Struggles Admin Food Insecurity Hygiene Across 13 Connected Districts, collaboration is the key to transformation.

Homelessness LINK was developed as the Single-Point-of Access to assist not only Clothing students with struggles and hurdles but their entire family. When a student Dental or family member is identified to have a need, a LINK referral is made and Carecoordination immediately the family is engaged. The family is asked how can our Connected Site Coordinator who is embedded in each of our schools help them today as well as make tomorrow better for them. We are not here to put ‘band-aids’ on struggles, we are here to repair the root cause. Each success story is built on partnerships—with over 400 local agencies, healthcare providers, businesses, faith groups, and volunteers—working side-by-side to meet student and family needs.

From mental health support, dental, housing, food insecurity, employment, all the way to career exploration our partners help ensure that every school becomes a hub of connection and care coordination. From July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, our Connected Teams have received over 4,270 LINK Team Referrals to help support students and their families.

CONNECTED

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT Connected seeks to assist families with creating more positive experiences through fun and engaging activities with their children and their school, facilitating positive interactions with our staff and resulting in continued relationships and increased engagement in their children’s education. Connected never charges families and we are always conscious of such hurdles as transportation.

Attendees

Community Partners

Time

20,351

100+

488

last year alone

Business, organizations and programs participated in programming

hours of engagement

When a public school becomes a Connected Community School, those doors are open more! A Site Committee is established within each Connected School to strengthen collaboration and invite the community into the school environment. Working alongside this committee, the Connected Site Coordinator leads efforts to increase family engagement by planning and hosting events that are meaningful, enjoyable, and often educational, creating lasting connections between schools, families, and communities.

CLASSROOM PROGRAMMING We are always striving to provide our students with the most engaging and creative education. By adding programming from our community partners, this brings hands-on learning and experiences straight from our experts of the community. Our teachers love the Classroom Programming help and our students love the experiences!

Attendees 17,685 last year alone

Community Partners

Time

85+

326

Business, organizations and programs participated in programming

hours of engagement

CONNECTED

CONNECTED CONNECTED

s

Connected HUBs are physical spaces within our Connected Schools that house a variety of tangible items such as snacks, grocery items, hygiene products, and school supplies, to meet the needs of our students and school community. They also provide a safe and engaging environment for student and community engagement through lunch or afterschool activities, learning opportunities, and the use of games from the Connected Fun Library!

14,760 hygiene products worth $138,157 49,961 pounds easy-to-prepare foods/meal items worth $554,921 10,656 before/after school meals for students worth $65,135 29,097 school supplies worth $189,031 2,239 clothing items worth $55,188 9,141 household items worth $83,214 8,966 Chobani Yogurt (cases) worth $195,791 10,600 classroom snack sets worth $101,577 175,481 snacks have been distributed to students worth $336,541

ive ice rat Pract o b d lla Co ip an h s der Lea

This equates to a total of $1,719,554 worth of tangible items delivered to the Connected HUBs to meet students and families basic needs this year alone!

50,315 meaningful engagements which either resulted in a LINK Referral, or tangible items provided to students to ensure they could focus in class!

40,232 students have attended HUB Huddles this year!

CONNECTED

AGGREGATE DATA LINK REFERRALS

LINK REFERRAL IDENTIFIED NEEDS - YEAR TO DATE Our Connected Teams have supported 6,818 families through Active LINK Referrals since July 1st, 2024. The largest identified need was Food Insecurity. From the 6,818 active referrals, our team made 22,922 engagements which included phone calls, in-person contacts, electronic correspondence and more!

OUTGOING REFERRALS TO SUPPORTS AND SERVICES

FAMILY STATISTICS 75% of families supported were Medicaid participants

From July 1, 2024 until June 30, 2025, our Connected Team has supported families through 195,228 outgoing referrals to supports and services such as housing, mental health counseling, financial relief assistance and food insecurity relief. We continue to meet individuals and families where they are in order to help them overcome all struggles and worries they are facing.

47% of families supported receive Food Stamps

of families supported actively utilize

45% Food Banks/Pantries at least once a month

of families supported requested to be

31% connected to mental health counseling supports

CONNECTED

RESILIENCY

The Resiliency Project proposes that the key to success with children and their families is through collaborative approaches involving a caring and responsive team inclusive of all community partners including Department of Social Services, School, voluntary Agencies and other “connected” organizations public and private, that support youth and families in various ways. This method leverages the resources and expertise of each agency and provides a more coordinated approach of service delivery that increases success and positive outcomes.

The Resiliency Project seeks to engage families and work cooperatively together within a strength-based service planning model. The pilot program is dedicated to serving the Rome City School District and Camden Central School District; and has been instrumental in creating and strengthening Connections between the home, school and community. The team builds on the strengths of the family and existing supports by utilizing and coordinating all community resources to best meet the ongoing needs of the family.

Since the launch of the pilot program, The Resiliency Project has broadened its reach to include the Adirondack and Holland Patent Connected districts.

Incoming Referrals

Tangible Items

Outgoing Referrals

Successful Discharges

237

$64,494

847

131

outgoing referrals to community providers and support services, ensuring families were connected to appropriate resources in a timely and coordinated manner.

successfully graduated, having met identified goals related to attendance, stability, and connection to ongoing support.

incoming referrals for students and families enrolled across the Rome City School District and Camden Central School District reflects both sustained community need and strong collaboration with schoolbased partners.

worth of tangible items that that stabilized households during periods of financial strain, housing instability, and crisis.

CONNECTED

FAMILY OPPORTUNITY CENTER Family Opportunity Centers (FOCs) connect families with programs and resources that help build protective factors and support children in thriving both at home and at school. Through strong partnerships with parents, FOCs promote family engagement and empower caregivers to make informed choices that strengthen their families. The FOC team works to connect families with direct resources or community referrals, support caregivers in their roles, and foster informal networks that build stronger family connections.

Family Opportunity Center focuses on implementing strategies that promote individual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that prevent violence, such as education and life-skills trainings. It also strives to promote positive behaviors related to parenting, family-focused prevention programs, mentoring and peer programs, and prevention strategies in the social and physical- they do this through thoughtfully planned family engagement opportunities.

Family Family Opportunity Opportunity Center Center Events Hosted

Tangible Items

Incoming Referrals

23

$34,494

121

worth of tangible items that that stabilized households during periods of financial strain, housing instability, and crisis.

referrals for families through Family Opportunity Center to be assisted with concrete needs (rent, utilities, etc.)

events hosted to promote individual attitudes, beliefs and behaviors

CONNECTED

HERKIMER SYSTEM OF CARE Herkimer County has teamed up with Connected Community Schools as part of the Herkimer County System of Care Initiative in order to provide Mental Health support and connections to Herkimer County Youth. The Youth Ambassador Coordinator will work with school administration, school staff and Connected Community Schools staff to identify students who could benefit from serving as an ambassador within their school district and community. The Youth Ambassador Coordinator will organize and facilitate Youth Ambassador Councils across Herkimer County School districts and within the community. Monthly meetings will be held in order to organize and implement activities, events and programming related to Mental Health support and awareness. Youth Ambassadors may also have opportunities to coordinate with Youth Ambassador Councils across Herkimer County including the Annual Youth Summit.

Caregivers and their daughters join together in combined and age-appropriate groups to strengthen their bonds through shared listening, creative expression, and skill building. "Heart of the Matter" promotes empathy, communication skills, stress reduction, setting limits and honoring boundaries, exploring meanings and messages about female identity, identifying relationship accountability, and experiencing affirmation together and within their broader female community.

A Youth Ambassador Council is a representative group of young individuals, typically teenagers or young adults, who advise organizations, governments, or nonprofits to amplify youth voices in decision-making. These councils promote community involvement, develop leadership skills, and advocate for youth-centered initiatives.

67 students outreached

6 active referrals

TH YOAU SSA

DOR B M A COUNCIL 7 student participants in Girls Circles

CONNECTED

SEALs The SEALs initiative, along with the Connected Community Schools model, embodies the vision of the “Whole Child Design”. SEALs programming addresses the daily mental health needs of students with a trauma-informed preventative & proactive approach to addressing barriers preventing students from fully engaging in their education. Integrated Support Systems: Collaborative approach to providing additional social emotional support for students through group activities, check-ins, and an additional safe space in the school building for students to access supportive resources.

Development of skills, habits, and mindsets: group activities focus on executive functioning skills, healthy habits, growth mindsets, and coping Positive developmental relationships: group activities that focus on friendship, confidence, conflict resolution, and peer support Environments filled with safety and belonging: Connected Community Schools Hubs are a safe place that promote belonging and acceptance. Students may gain a sense of belonging through group activities and participation in clubs that promote kindness and school-wide awareness initiatives.

Rich learning experiences and knowledge development: Students learn self awareness and gain knowledge about their own strengths, accessible resources for help, and how to reach their goals. This compliments Connected Community Schools classroom programming opportunities to further enrich learning through hands-on approaches.

Engagement

Time

Success Rate

101

1,725

98%

one on one enagements with students who needed assistance with redirection to focus in the classoom and fully engage in their education

minutes spent with students on redirection to successfully integrate back into the classroom

success rate in students being successfully integrating back into the classroom after needing redirective support for disruptive behaviors

CONNECTED

THE RIDE FOR MISSING CHILDREN Connected plays a vital role in advancing the mission of The Ride for Missing Children-Mohawk Valley to promote child safety and support the prevention of child abduction and exploitation. This position works in schools and community settings to deliver engaging, age-appropriate safety education programs, foster awareness of the Ride for Missing Children initiative, and create meaningful connections between students, educators, and the broader community.

National Center for Missing & Expolited Children The Ride for Missing Children Educator also offers internet safety training through NCMEC called NetSmartz. This interactive training, based on targeted age ranges allows students to be informed, aware and alert to possible dangers while online.

80 mile ridepromotes bike safety

NYS has 235 active missing children cases

In 2024, NCMEC assisted in 29,568 cases and 91% were recovered.

100 online enticement reports a day reported

CONNECTED

Chobani Giveaways & Open HUBs Connected Adirondack continues to see a growing need as more families experience food insecurity, with rising grocery costs impacting access to consistent, nutritious meals.

Hygiene 813 individual items

$13,008 Food & Groceries 4,407 pounds of food

$52,884 School Supplies 1,456 individual items

$11,473

Chobani Giveaways: Over 7,152 cups of Chobani yogurt have been distributed to families in the Adirondacks, valued at $14,590 just in yogurt alone.

Supporting the Community from Home to School and Beyond Connected Camden supports students and families through district-wide Resiliency programming and Family Opportunity Centers (FOC), helping to build strong coping skills and provide access to essential resources. From home to school and beyond, these supports create a network of care that empowers families and strengthens the overall well-being of the community.

Food & Groceries 5,157 pounds of food

$62,514 School Supplies 1,650 individual items

$13,002 Household Goods 2,262 individual items

$222,132

Tangible Items

CONNECTED

Mentorship and Meals: Connecting the Canastota Community The Connect 4 Initiative utilizes peer to peer mentoring to empower students to support each other, creating a culture of encouragement, growth, and belonging. Students are paired with Peer Mentors who provide positive influence and meaningful support. Each peer mentor receives 8 weeks of training, led by your Connect 4 Coordinator. These trainings equip Peer Mentors with the skills to guide, support, and inspire their peers effectively.

SUCCESS STORY:

Four students earned Jump Shot Awards (+5 GPA Points) and one student went from failing multiple classes to High Honor Roll.

Raider BBQ

The Raiders BBQ brought students, families, and staff together for a fun and welcoming community event. Through food and connection, the event created meaningful opportunities to strengthen relationships and build a sense of belonging.

Attendees

Community Partners

Volunteers

1,575

30

over three years

this year alone

63 individuals 222 volunteer hours

$7,735

Bringing Families Into the School & Meeting the Community Where They Are Data shows continued growth in family engagement, classroom programming, and Mobile Open HUBs, reflecting a strong connection between schools and the communities they serve. These efforts highlight the impact of meeting families where they are and expanding access to meaningful supports beyond the classroom.

Family Engagement 38 events hosted 2,401 attendees Classroom Programming

79 events hosted 4,325 attendees

Mobile Open HUBs 4 times during 2024-25 school year 140 participants fed

$7,735

CONNECTED

Building Safe and Supported Communities With just one team member, Connected Dolgeville has facilitated an impressive number of LINK referrals and engagements/actions, highlighting the strength of focused, relationship-driven work.

LINK Referrals

Engagements/ Actions

264

2,486

LINKs Supported

taken

Connected Dolgeville’s annual Bike Rodeo continues to grow each year, with four successful events reaching over 200 participants in total. This event promotes bike safety while bringing students and families together for a fun, engaging community experience.

Picture Perfect & Present:

Senior Photos & Attendance Increases

Herkimer Connected was tasked with focusing on addressing chronic absenteeism. Through personalized outreach, collaboration with school staff, and connections to community resources, Herkimer Connected is working to remove barriers that may prevent students from attending regularly. These efforts include check-ins with students, family engagement, and targeted supports such as transportation assistance, access to basic needs, and academic encouragement.

Six participants had the opportunity to receive professional senior photos at no cost, saving their families a total of $1,800.

SUCCESS STORY:

The Herkimer Connected Team saw an average of a 34% attendance increase in the students who were chronically absent.

CONNECTED

Brunch Buddies & Pen Pals: Strengthening Student Support Connected Holland Patent’s Brunch Buddies program connects students with the Connected Team for support and mentoring. In the Pen Pals program, students write heartfelt letters to residents at the local nursing home, building relationships across generations and strengthening communication skills.

HUB Huddles

1,816 students

227

times HUB Huddles were hosted during the school year

Programming That Makes an Impact Connected Madison offers amazing programming that builds strong community connections, including ongoing partnerships with Colgate University and collaborative projects with student teams. Their popular PJs & Pancakes program combines fun and literacy, and the Connected team of one even secured a donated hot air balloon, showing creativity and dedication in making memorable experiences for students.

Classroom Programming

172 volunteers 416 hours $14,560 in volunteer time Donations

$13,401 in tanglible items

CONNECTED

Feeding Those Who Feed Us: Supporting Our Migrant Farming Community We are proud to support our migrant farming community by providing essential food resources to those who work tirelessly to feed others. By adapting our approach to meet accessibility needs— such as flexible distribution methods and thoughtful outreach—we ensure support is truly within reach for every family.

Food Distributed

147 families identified as facing food insecurity

4,168 lbs of groceries

Bridging the Gap: LINK Referral Support Connected Rome’s LINK Referral Support connects individuals and families to critical resources, ensuring no need goes unmet. Through consistent follow-up and strong community partnerships, the team helps turn referrals into meaningful support and real solutions.

LINK Referrals

3,309

referrals received

10,460 engagements made to support referrals

CONNECTED

Supporting Today, Inspiring Tomorrow: Essentials for Student Success Connected Sherburne-Earlville recognized a growing need for food and school supplies and responded by connecting students and families to support through LINK referrals. Their efforts ensure essential needs are met so students can focus on learning and success.

Food & Groceries

379 referrals 4,336 lbs of food $48,755 School Supplies

5,127 individual items $40,401

Your Future Fridays

Businesses & Professions

Students Participated

18

393

this year alone

Your Future Fridays prepares students for life beyond the classroom through career exploration, skill-building, and meaningful opportunities. Originally launched in Connected SherburneEarlville, the program continues to grow, helping students build confidence and plan for their futures.

Celebrating Passions & Capturing Moments Connected Waterville’s Passion Fair gives students the chance to explore their interests and build confidence by sharing what matters to them. Later in the year, holiday photos create meaningful moments for students and families, fostering connection and a strong sense of belonging—together, these experiences help build a school community where both students and families feel seen, supported, and celebrated.

Passion Fair

150 attendees

Holiday Photos

10 adults 11 children 1 pet $0,000 in donations

CONNECTED

Connected Impact Center The Connected Court on James Impact Center is home to incredible collaborative programs. This project combines the staff, resources and expertise of Oneida County Department of Family & Community Services, Rome Alliance for Education, Central NY Health Home, Connect-Ed and Safe Schools Mohawk Valley. The Connected Court on James is in the “old” Rome City Hall – a building with much historical significance. This was taken into consideration. during the planning and rehabilitation of this beautiful architectural structure. Painstaking time was spent to ensure that numerous points of construction were historically accurate and reflective of the historical time frame. Later, a fun, colorful and warm design was added to ensure the space was welcoming. The focus is to "give this building back to the people of Rome." We are calling the building the “Connected Court on James”.

Back to School Bash

CNY Food Bank

Tornado Relief

Holiday Assistance

$160,000

300,000+

46,000

15,000+

worth of school supplies provided to students across all 13 Connected Districts to ensure students were prepared to engage fully in their education

pounds of food delivered weekly to the building to be sorted, and delivered to each individual school

Meals served to community member effected by the devastating tornado in 2024

Toys and gifts shopped for 1,500+ children at no cost to families to ensure smiling faces during the holiday season

COMMUNITY IMPACT

July 16th, 2024 is a day the city of Rome will never forget. It was the day an EF-3 Tornado ripped through the city leaving a trail of devastation in its path. Our 207 Connected Impact Center and Central HUB was in its path with about a dozen staff in it at the time. When our team was able to come out after the hit, it was immediately apparent that the devastation was simply unimaginable. By 9am Wednesday morning with no power, no hot water and our surroundings still in devastation we announced a hot breakfast. One tiny grill turned into a couple large ones. Breakfast served 200. By lunch with hot dogs from our Central HUB- we were up to 1200. And by dinner there were 2500 meals served. We expanded basic food to all basic needs that afternoon, navigating dark hallways on three floors with no elevator. Hygiene supplies were added, our LINK was quickly circulated to all school families. Staff began arriving from many of our Connected Districts. Oneida County, MCAT and many other service organizations joined us setting up tables on the closed street, somehow overcoming the navigation of entering the City which was now closed. Through the help of our Connected Community, we were able to provide over 46,000 meals.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our Connected Initiative played a critical role in supporting the community by distributing more than 1.1 million pounds of food to individuals and families in need. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty and hardship, this effort helped ensure consistent access to essential resources, reducing food insecurity for countless households.

Through strong partnerships and a deep commitment to community well-being, the initiative was able to respond quickly and effectively to the evolving needs of those we serve.

The Connected Team quickly pivoted in the final weeks of June to support over 2,000 individuals who came through between June 23rd and 27th who experienced devastation by tornados and other storm damage that occurred on June 22nd. We were able to guide families through the process of applying for SNAP recovery funds for lost food due to power outages, apply for Community Foundation funds for storm damages, meet with multiple mental health providers, pick up bottled water . During this week, the Impact Center also served as a Oneida County and City of Rome officially designated cooling and charging station to help the community get through the 95+ degree weather and lack of power for cooling and air conditioning that was ongoing.

In August, we held our initiative-wide Back to School Bash in partnership with National Grid. 1,300 students from our Connected Districts were able to receive the school supplies needed according to their teachers’ lists.

About 3,000 individuals were in attendance to learn about the Community Partner resources, have a meal, and enjoy a variety of activities alongside the school supply giveaway! Thanks to our partnership with National Grid, students were able to start the school year prepared and ready to go!

Through the collective efforts of donors, community partners, and dedicated volunteers, the Connected Holiday Assistance Program supported a total of 1,576 children during Holiday Assistance Shopping this season. With an estimated $59,000 in donated toys and gifts, this milestone reflects the generosity and commitment of our community-wide network, working together to ensure students across our Connected districts experienced the joy, care, and support they deserve during the holiday season.

CONNECTED

ACCOLADES & PUBLICATIONS Non-Profit Business of the Year

AFT Publication

MELISSA ROYS

DANIELLE MARTIN

JANE VAIL

melissar@connectedcs.org

daniellem@connectedcs.org

jane.vail@cnyhealthhome.net 315-534-4369

Hunger Hero Award

Champions of Change Award

Real Hero Award

315-269-3334

315-525-1896