The Coalition for Community Schools is calling for Conference Workshop Proposals.
View a copy of each proposal in WORD here: Group/Individual Application,Youth Lead Application, and Role-Alike Application.
This May, the Coalition for Community Schools joins California community school leaders to convene a diverse group of stakeholders committed to better results for young people across the nation.
Who are the Participants? The 2012 National Forum will engage a broad audience of policymakers, administrators and practitioners who want to learn how to put together school and community assets to support student success. This audience includes people in education, youth development, health and human services, family services and supports, neighborhood and community development, business, government, philanthropy, higher education and related fields.
The 2010 National Forum drew nearly 1,100 participants, and as many as 1,500 are expected this year. We anticipate that attendees will once again create the energy that has been the hallmark of previous National Forums, and will go home committed and ready to organize and strengthen community schools in their own communities.
This year's theme, Scaling up School and Community Partnerships: The Community Schools Strategy reflects the Coalition's new guide. We are consciously encouraging school and community leaders to develop long-term systemic approaches to community schools implementation – approaches that are consistent with our belief that community schools are fundamental to education reform. Scale up efforts are particularly important at a time when there is growing discussion about the influence non-school factors, particularly poverty, has on student achievement. The emphasis on scaling up also connects community schools to strategies such as Promise Neighborhoods, Choice Neighborhoods, P-20 initiatives, and Cradle-to-Career education.
Complete the workshop application online by clicking here.
Submission deadline is Friday, December 16, 2011
We want participants to learn from schools and communities that are planning, or are in the midst of scale up, as well as those who are at scale and working to deepen their efforts and improve effectiveness. We encourage creative proposals that demonstrate an understanding of the Forum’s theme and enable participants to gain the knowledge and skills to create, sustain, and scale up community schools. We discourage large panels, and strongly prefer hands-on learning opportunities that give people practical experience and help them develop relationships with others.
What’s Different This Year? In addition to the emphasis on scale up, this year’s Forum more than ever, seeks workshops that mirror the values of community schools – deep engagement and participation. We want people learning how to do the work…and not just listening to how it’s been done. This means workshop designs should be engaging and interactive. Presenters should use methods that move beyond presentations and facilitated dialogue, such as: breaking participants into small groups for discussion around a set of relevant questions; creating an activity that participants can use to consider the relevance of your topic to their daily work; and putting together experiences that get participants up and moving.
When preparing your proposal description:
Identify our anticipated audience(s), level of community schools development, and major component area.
Provide a compelling workshop title and short summary.
Be clear about your learning objective(s).
Connect your proposal to the Forum’s theme.
Youth-led sessions are strongly encouraged!
Present a workshop design that is interactive and engaging—please see suggestions in the paragraph above.
Submit a workshop agenda for your session.
Audiences to consider include, but are not limited to:
Community Partners—faith-based, community-based, corporate/business community, public and private organizations, health and mental health, and youth and community development
Community School Coordinators
Funders—local and national foundations
Higher Education—colleges and universities, community college leadership/staff, cooperative extension program leadership/staff
Lead Agencies & Local Intermediaries—United Ways, Community Foundations, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, School Districts
Local Government Leaders—city and county, associations, local businesses, community-based organizations
National Leaders—policymakers, education, youth development, health and human services
Parents and Families
School Leaders and Educators—superintendents, school board members, principals, central office personnel, teachers, student support staff
State Leaders—policymakers, state education leaders/staff, organizations, associations, community-based organizations
Youth—high school and university students
Level of Community Schools Development:
Inquiring: Heard about community schools and want to know more
Planning: In midst of a planning process
Emerging: Just getting programs and services off the ground
Maturing: Solid base of experience and ready to face challenges of scale-up to more sites
Established: Successfully scaling up and needs to ensure continuous improvement
strands: Workshops may vary widely, but we ask that you assign yours to ONE of the following:
A. High-Performing Community Schools: Workshops will showcase high-performing community schools -- their results, what they do, how they are organized and financed, what challenges they have overcome, and how they are sustained. Proposals should provide examples from individual community schools that have deep ties with the community have become part of the fabric of the school and have enabled the school to improve its performance across multiple indicators. Workshops that focus on school improvement planning in community schools; effective site teams in community schools; the role of the community school coordinator and building collective trust are encouraged. A mix of urban, suburban and rural sites and well as student demographics is sought.
B. Multi-Site Community School Initiatives: Workshops will help participants understand strategies for organizing, scaling up and sustaining multi-site community school initiatives. Multi-site initiatives may be community-wide or illustrate the work of community partners working with a cluster of schools. It is important for participants to learn from leaders and practitioners in schools and communities who are at scale and working to deepen their efforts and improve effectiveness.
Significant consideration should be given to collaborative leadership structures and the functions they must carry out: 1) results-based vision; 2) data and evaluation; 3) finance and resource development; 3) alignment and integration; 5) supportive policy; 6) professional development and technical assistance; and 7) community engagement. We seek applications from communities at the planning, emerging, maturing, or established stages of development so participants can see the journeys of various initiatives.
C. Leadership: Workshops will highlight innovative leadership and how key leaders are organizing themselves to scale up community schools, including 1) roles of individual leaders involved in community schools—teachers, principals, superintendents, elected officials, intermediary organizations staff, higher education staff, lead partners; 2) key leadership groups including community leadership organizations, coordinating councils, and site-based leadership teams; and/or 3) lessons learned. Examples of co-governance and sharing of power are especially sought after.
D. Supportive Policy and Funding: Workshops will illustrate how community school leaders are advocating for policies that support the implementation of community schools at scale. Existing policies or advocacy for policy that is supportive of community school strategies and/or implementation should be highlighted. Workshops that cover federal, state, and local policies and use of federal monies from the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, and Corporation for National and Community Service, among others will be preferred. We are especially looking for stories of innovative funding strategies, including successful blending of local, state, federal, private and public resources.
E. Diverse Populations: The demographics of America’s student population continue to change. Immigrants are coming from all across the world—creating unique challenges for schools. Schools also must meet the needs of all special populations. Workshops should address how schools are grappling with these challenges, including 1) Outreach and services; 2) Strategic partnerships and programming; 3) English language learners; 4) Boys and men of color; and 5) Special-Needs students.
F. Results, Evaluation, and Research: Workshops will demonstrate how to use key results to drive community schools planning and to collect data that will convince policymakers to sustain and grow community schools. Effective and particularly low-cost evaluation designs of effective community schools are sought. They will help participants see how individual community schools are collecting, analyzing, and using results to align the work of partners.
G. Youth as Resources: Youth-led sessions should focus on how students are organizing to create changes in their school or working to solve problems in their communities as part of their school day or after-school curriculum.
H. Communications and Advocacy: Workshops will help participants communicate effectively about community schools and organize advocacy efforts. Workshops in this strand should focus on 1) Getting your message right; 2) Working with the media; 3) Telling your story to policymakers; 4) Planning a successful school site visit; and/or 5) Organizing an advocacy campaign. We are especially interested in how new types of media are being used in your community school.
I. Opportunities and Supports in Community Schools: Workshops should fall into one of the following categories: 1) Early Childhood Development; 2) Engaged Learning; 3) Expanded Learning Opportunities; 4) Comprehensive services and supports; 5) Youth, Family and Community Engagement; 6) College and Career Readiness; and 7) Neighborhood Revitalization and Community Building (place-based strategies).
1. Early Childhood Development: Workshops will address how community schools provide and link with early childhood development opportunities (including Head Start, Pre-K, health and related services for children and families).
Early childhood programs in community schools (how they are integrated with the school day).
Early childhood programs in the community and how they are linked with school.
Essential opportunities for children birth through 3rd Grade.
2. Engaged Learning: Workshops will address ways in which community schools are making learning in the classroom meaningful and engaging.
New literacy strategies
Community- based learning (service learning, place-based education, environmental education, and career academies)
Social and Emotional Learning
Adult and community education
Use of digital media
3. Expanded Learning Opportunities: Workshop will focus on the importance of expanding learning for students beyond the school day and beyond the class room.
Before and after-school programs
Apprenticeships and internships
Extended school day
Summer learning
4. Comprehensive Services and Supports: Workshops will focus on the range of services and supports that students and their families need to succeed. A focus on the role of school-based health clinics in community schools is of particular interest.
Health
Mental health
Family services
5. Youth, Family and Community Engagement: Workshops will highlight key aspects of youth, family and community engagement in community schools.
Youth organizing
Youth development
Family engagement
Parent/family leadership development
Community organizing for school reform
Community building activities
6. College and career readiness: Workshops should focus on various strategies at every age for preparing young people for college and careers, and supporting their long-term success.
Individual Learning Plans (aligning coursework to postsecondary goals)
College preparation
Career readiness
Continuing student support
Career interest, assessment, and exploration
Work readiness and soft skills
Work experience opportunities (including job shadowing, internships, and service-learning)
Supporting the transition to work and postsecondary education
7. Neighborhood revitalization and community building: Workshops will examine the use of school facilities and as public places, and the role of community schools are playing as vehicles for neighborhood transformation and community revitalization. The experiences of community schools that are part of Promise Neighborhoods, Choice Neighborhoods, P-20 initiatives, and Cradle-to-Career strategies are sought.
Role-Alike Groups: We are seeking session ideas for affinity dialogue sessions. These sessions will provide learning and networking opportunities for people playing similar roles within a community school setting and those interested in learning about roles, such as: School District Boards and Central Office, Community Partners, Funders, Higher Education leader, Funders, Superintendents, Principals, Community School Coordinators, State Community School Networks, United Ways and other lead agencies, Local Intermediaries, and many others.
Checklist for workshop proposal submissions:
- Fill out the workshop proposal application form online.
- Please email ccs@iel.org if you would like to requests a hardcopy.
- Make sure to read the Presenter Responsibilities page before submitting your application.
- Submission must be received by Friday, December 16, 2011.
- You will be notified about your proposal by email during the week of January 30th.
- If your workshop is accepted, you must be registered for the Forum by March 2, 2012. One presenter from each workshop is entitled to a discounted registration fee.
Spread the word! Please share notice of this RFP and 2012 National Forum information with your colleagues by posting it on your websites and newsletters!