The Impact of Community Schools on Education Outcomes in Knox County Schools

This thesis seeks to isolate the effect of community schools on the education outcomes of students participating in the program as well as the added benefit to the community. It relies on OLS regression with state-based standardized testing results to predict the relationship of adding a community school program in Knox County. Furthermore, the Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS II) generates an estimate of the economic impact Knox County schools have on the Knox County economy. Both results, interpreted alongside personal experience, highlight the policy benefits of additional community schools in a given County. This process also highlights shortcomings of state reporting of school performance and provides suggestions for future research.