Community Schools Engage the Community in School Turnaround Efforts
07/19/10
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2010
Contact Person: Martin J. Blank
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS ARE BEST WAY TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY IN SCHOOL TURNAROUND
The
Coalition for Community Schools enthusiastically supports U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s plans to "require parent and community input" in the Department’s ESEA reauthorization proposal. Speaking to the NAACP Annual Convention this week, Secretary Duncan acknowledged the critical role of communities and families in making decisions about school turnaround. He stated, "Turning around a struggling school is hard, hard work. The work must be shaped at the local level with all of the stakeholders at the table." Commenting to the Secretary’s remarks, Martin J. Blank, Director of the Coalition for Community Schools and President of the
Institute for Educational Leadership, said, "There is no better way to involve families and the community in the work of educating our youth than the community school strategy."
Community schools bring together schools and community partners (community-based organizations, family, health and mental health agencies, higher education institutions, and others) to support student success. They are built on five pillars: strong early childhood development experiences, comprehensive services for student and their families, after school and other extended learning opportunities, deep parent and community involvement, and an engaging, real world curriculum. Across the country, schools and communities in
Kansas City, Chicago,
Tulsa,
Cincinnati, and
other places, have chosen community schools as the vehicle for family and community engagement, ensuring that our youth graduate high school ready for college, careers, and citizenship.
Blank also stated, "We are encouraged by Secretary Duncan’s continued endorsement of community engagement and his acknowledgment that the community is central to school reform." The Coalition urges the Secretary and Congress to include specific language for family and community engagement through community schools in the reauthorization of ESEA, reflecting the Full-Service Community Schools Act introduced by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) as well as the DIPLOMA Act, which was introduced just yesterday by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Click here to download this press release.
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The Coalition for Community Schools is an alliance of more than 150 national, state and local organizations in education K-16, youth development, community planning and development, family support, health and human services, government and philanthropy as well as national, state and local community school networks. Our mission is to advance opportunities for the success of children, families and communities by promoting the development of more, and more effective, community schools. The Coalition is housed at the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, DC.
For more information on community schools please visit:
www.communityschools.org