Karen Steele - Director
238 Highland Avenue
Malden, MA  02148
Telephone: (781) 397-7320
Fax: (781) 388-0845

The Partnership for Community Schools in Malden (PCSM) was launched in 1999 by the Malden Public Schools and Malden Mayor Richard C. Howard following the rebuilding of Malden’s five K-8 schools. PCSM is responsible for developing and coordinating all out-of-school time community resources, and connecting them to school and neighborhood sites. Additionally, PCSM is responsible for understanding the assets, needs, and issues specific to each school site, and facilitating partnerships with providers to ensure effective service delivery. Perhaps most importantly, PCSM is committed to improving academic performance and decreasing risk behaviors among Malden’s youth through expanded learning programs.

Over the past ten years, PCSM has demonstrated its superb ability to coordinate comprehensive citywide out-of-school time programs in conjunction with the Malden Public Schools. Programs have included school-year, vacation, and summertime learning opportunities, reaching more than 6,000 students in grades K-9. Since its inception, PCSM has been the unifying agency for nearly all out-of-school time activities within the city of Malden, bringing together many organizations in a unique partnership to provide quality programming to at-risk youth and families. Since 2000, we have grown our programs from small after school programs at two schools serving approximately 50 students, to comprehensive, full-service programs that serve nearly 600 students each day in grades 6-8.

Our after school programs include A to Z University (grades K-5) and Channel Surfing (grades 6-8), both of which aim to improve academic achievement and help youth realize their full potential. Our academic areas of focus include ELA/Reading, ELA/Written Communication, and Math Problem Solving. All youth-centered activities are tied to educational objectives that align with state curriculum frameworks and district and school curriculum priorities, as well as the youth development principles identified by the National Collaborative for Youth. These principles prepare students to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through a coordinated series of activities and experiences that help them to become socially, morally, emotionally, physically, and cognitively competent.