Bringing the Community School Vision Home:
An Action Agenda
These action steps, based on the four vital elements, can help a diverse group of community and school leaders develop a community schools strategy.Action steps for leaders of particular institutions, e.g., principals, mayors and heads of nonprofit agencies, are available at www.community.org/mtdhomepage.html.

1. A Motivating Vision:
> Engage the community

> Use data to define desired results and
drive decision-making.

>Keep schools open before and after the
regular school day and on weekends all
year long.


>Build and rehabilitate school buildings as
community schools.

>Build small schools or reconfigure existing
schools to provide more effective learning
communities.
2. Connected Learning Experiences:
>Incorporate the community into the curriculum
as an explicit resource for learning
and improved student achievement.


>Provide teachers and principals with
professional development to enhance their
ability to use the community as a learning
resource.

>Integrate in-school and after-school
learning experiences.

>Draw on youth development resources
and share expertise.

3. Community Partnerships:
>
Create broad-based, local coalitions to
advance, develop and sustain community
schools.

>Create ongoing, site-based planning and
decision-making teams.


© 2003, Coalition for Community Schools
For more information, e-mail ccs@iel.org




>Engage students, parents, families and
residents.


>
Focus all partners on creating the
conditions for learning.

>Build sustainable partnerships.

>Develop knowledge and understanding
among partners and across disciplines.

>Create interprofessional learning opportunities
in higher education.
4. Organization and Financing
>Create community school coordinator
positions.

>Identify the lead partner for a community
school with great care.

>Organize school district funding streams
to support a community schools strategy.

>Modify policies governing other public
funding streams to support community
schools.

>Organize private funding streams to
support community schools.

>Develop joint financing strategies for
school facilities.

>Work together for increased funding.

>Create technical assistance capacity to
support the development of community
schools.
To learn more about the community schools' action agenda,
go to Chapter 5 of the full report.