The Schenectady City School District is launching its first community schools.

“This school wants us to feel like a family,” said Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School student India Boyke.

Community schools are designed to address the needs of students in a holistic way.

“Every community school is different because each community is different,” said Assistant Superintendent of Innovation, Equity and Engagement Dr. Carlos Cotto.

By coordinating a variety of health-related services and learning resources, community schools will offer food, clothing, extended day programming, counseling and health care.

“Those are kind of the things that make the school kind of the lighthouse for their community,” said Superintendent Anibal Soler Jr. Boyke, a father of two in the district.

Raheem Watson helped kick off the initiative at King Elementary on Wednesday.

“My kids are very happy here,” Watson said. “As far as being a parent to kids here, the after-school program is beneficial.”

City leaders believe it’s the beginning of a transformation of a storied school district.

“That is going to move the Schenectady School District back to the level it once had a couple decades ago,” said Mayor Gary McCarthy. “Where it was number one in the region, it was number one in the state.”

Soler said this goes a long way to better connect the city’s school community, something he’s strived for since taking on the job in 2021.

“When you hear the word community, there is one thing that stands out to me the most and that’s unity,” he said.