“You cannot educate a child who is not
healthy, and you cannot keep a child
healthy who is not educated.”
— Jocelyn Elders, Former Surgeon General
Codman Square Health Center
Codman Square Health Center is located in the heart of Dorchester, the largest and most diverse neighborhood of Boston. It opened its doors in 1979, recognizing from the start that, though health care begins by alleviating sickness, the journey to a true “culture of health” is achieved through the health of the whole person and the whole community. Today, Codman Square Health Center is home to 250 staff and more than 22,000 patients and is seen, both locally and nationally, as a true innovator in the community health field.
Codman Academy Charter Public School
Codman Academy Charter Public School was Dorchester’s first charter high school. The school was created in response to community need. In 2013, Codman Academy was granted permission to expand to serve students in grades K-8. At full capacity, the school will serve 345 students in grades K-12.
Codman Academy’s program is holistic, addressing, through its partnership with Codman Square Health Center, students' physical and mental health needs along with academics. The curriculum stresses depth over breadth of content and fieldwork designed to reinforce classroom learning.
Partnership Blueprint
Codman Square Health Center and Codman Academy came together to form Codman², the country’s first co-located health and education partnership. The rationale behind Codman² was simple yet powerful: healthier people learn better, and people with greater access to education are healthier.
To help other communities and other organizations form their own health and education partnerships, Codman² created a blueprint of how its partnership began.