Jamie Gracie When Resources Meet Relationships: The Returns to Personalized Supports for Low-Income Students Abstract: Children from low-income families face persistent educational and economic disadvantages. This paper studies Communities In Schools (CIS), a program that places coordinators in high-poverty schools to connect struggling students with personalized support. CIS is the largest program of its kind in the US, reaching 2 million students each year—nearly three times the size of Head Start—and, unlike most programs of this scale, is funded largely by private philanthropy and local governments. Using the staggered rollout of CIS, we find that the program boosts test scores for struggling students, and that these improvements persist, ultimately increasing high-school completion and adult earnings. These long-run effects can be closely forecast from changes in short-run outcomes, with non-cognitive measures playing a central role. CIS emphasizes personalization as a core feature of its model, and our results are consistent with this claim: coordinators tailor services to distinct student needs, yet students with different needs still see similarly large long-run gains. CIS delivers returns that compare favorably to other major education interventions, such as class-size reductions.

Join us for a screening of the documentary Without Shade, Without Rest. The film examines the fight for heat protections for outdoor workers in Florida in the wake of the hottest year on record, where rising temperatures collide with new political restrictions. We invite you to give back to the local farmworker community by bringing a food donation to the event. This is a meaningful opportunity to support those currently in need. The event is co-sponsored by Cornell Organization for Labor Action (COLA) and the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA). Part of the ILR School's 2026 Union Days.

Tickling Giants is a documentary film featuring Bassem Youssef, known as the "Jon Stewart of Egypt. " The film offers a unique lens on political satire in Egypt in a period of political transition following the 2011 revolution. Discussion moderated by Dina Bishara (Global Labor and Work, Cornell University) and Mohammed Elfeky (Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University). Watch the trailer!