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coal_pubs_nov25_2008
Recent
Publications
- Community
Schools Fact Sheet -
Do you have questions about community schools? What they are? How they
function? This list of "Frequently Asked Questions" provides answers to
these and other questions. If you still have questions that weren't
answered, please email us at: ccs@iel.org.
- Community
Schools Across the Nation - Today,
there are a number of national models and local initiatives that
create their own flavor of community school. This brief provides an
overview of leading initiatives.
- Community
Schools Research Brief, 2009 - Community
schools across the nation purposefully integrate academic, health, and
social services; youth and community development; and community
engagement—drawing in school partners with resources to improve student
and adult learning, strengthen families, and promote healthy
communities. This research brief highlights results from various
community school initiatives.
- Promise
Neighborhoods and Community Schools - All
schools in Promise
Neighborhoods should
be community schools – regardless of the type of school (traditional
public
school, charter public school, magnet school, alternative school).
- Community
Schools Racing to the Top of the Class -
This document highlights key aspects of the Race to the Top (RTT)
guidelines that reflect the vision of community schools. It provides
advice for community school advocates, helping them make their case
with RTT planners. It is also intended to assist RTT planners seeking
to construct a bold reform agenda that brings together educators,
community partners, and the public - everyone with a stake in the
education of our young people.
- How
Does Title I Support Community Schools? - This
brief provides State and Local Title I Directors with a deeper
understanding of the allowable uses of Title I funding for community
schools. Community schools are centers of the community that support student learning and healthy
development, and strengthen families and communities.
- Community
School Growth Opportunities in Stimulus - This
brief focuses on the opportunities we see for community schools in the
ARRA legislation. The Coalition believes that well-prepared and
well-informed local and state community schools advocates will be able
to take advantage of these new resources. This brief also highlights
community school opportunities in the other Federal agencies (e.g. HHS,
Dept. of Ag.).
- High Schools as Community Schools
The Coalition for
Community Schools in partnership with the National Association for
Secondary
School Principals reviewed 8 community schools (Bronx, NY;
Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Philadelphia, PA;
Portland, OR; and South King County, WA) to learn their effects on
graduation and
drop-out rates. They found rising graduation and
college going rates and a decrease in drop-out rates. The report also
finds that community schools strengths lie in their local communities.
- Community
Schools and Community Colleges - Alliances between community
colleges and community schools—which work
with multiple organizations to provide an array of services and support
to children, families and the community—offer a unique opportunity for
both institutions to better serve their service areas.
All Together Now: Sharing
Responsibility for the Whole Child
By Martin J. Blank and Amy Berg [July 2006]
This paper was
commissioned by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, the largest national professional development organization
in education, as part of their work around the concept of supporting
the Whole Child.
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Full Report
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Cities and School
Districts: Partners in Community Schools
By Bela P. Shah and Martin J. Blank
In cities
across the nation, municipal leaders are using community schools to
address the hardest challenges that students, families and schools face.
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City and County Officials
Briefing Paper
The following
short brief is addressed to local elected officials and focuses on how
community schools can benefit them.
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Community-Based Learning:
Engaging Students for Success and Citizenship
By Martin J. Blank, Amy Berg and Atelia Melaville [January 2006]
Research shows that as many as 60% of
all students are disengaged from learning. Another new study funded by
the Gates Foundation, highlights disengagement as a key factor in the
dropout rate. This report makes the case that community-based learning
addresses the problems of boredom and disengagement. Community-based
learning involves students in real-world problem solving that is
relevant and meaningful as part of the curriculum during and after
school. This approach brings together a collection of teaching and
learning strategies, including service learning, place-based education,
environment-based education, civic education, work-based learning and
academically-based community service.
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Full Report
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Community
& Family Engagement: Principals Share What Works
Coalition for Community Schools [October 2006]
By Amy C. Berg, Atelia Melaville and Martin J. Blank
Principals are
increasingly turning to the community to help them engage families,
share resources and meet standards. Informed by the work of principals,
this paper finds six keys to community engagement that help school
leaders engage families, staff, partners and the larger community in
the life of the school.
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Full Article
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Community
Schools: Educators and Community Sharing Responsibility for Student
Learning
Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development Infobrief [January 2004]
By Martin J. Blank and Bela P. Shah
Authors Marty
Blank and Dan Cady, look at what the research tells us about how
community schools help young people to succeed.
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Community
Schools: Engaging Parents and Families
The National Parents Teachers Association Magazine-Our Children
[January/February 2004]
This article
includes lessons for PTAs and local community groups on how community
schools help engage families.
View Full Article | PDF | 376k
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Community School Models
This booklet
contains 26 profiles of community schools and describes ways in which
different community schools and states are approaching the development
of community schools.
View Full Report | PDF | 517k
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Community
Schools: Partnerships for Excellence
A community
school is both a set of partnerships and a place where services,
supports and opportunities lead to improved student learning, stronger
families and healthier communities. Using public schools as a hub,
inventive, enduring relationships among educators, families, community
volunteers, business, health and social service agencies, youth
development organizations, and others committed to children are
changing the educational landscape - permanently - by transforming
traditional schools into partnerships for excellence.
View HTML Version
View Full Report | PDF | 518k
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Community
Schools: A Vision of Learning That Goes Beyond Testing
Education Week
By Martin J. Blank and Ira Harkavy [April 2002]
Research and
experience confirm what common sense suggests: What happens outside the
classroom is every bit as important as what happens inside.
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Article
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Creating a Culture of
Attachment: A Community-as-Text Approach to Learning
By Milbrey McLaughlin and Martin J. Blank [December 10, 2004]
Education Week,
in its November 10, 2004 issue has published a commentary by Milbrey
Mclaughlin and Martin Blank. This commentary reflects the Coalition's
perspective that engaging and motivating young people to learn is
essential for their academic and life success. It argues that for most
young people, learning matters when it is personal, has meaning to them
and serves a purpose. For more information on the Community As Text
approach to learning, read our Newsletter.
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Engaging the Community:
Strategies that Work
By Atelia Melaville and Martin J. Blank
Cable in the
Classroom, in partnership with the Institute for Educational
Leadership, has collaborated to produce the Summer 2005 issue of
Threshold Magazine on engaging the community and leaders. One featured
article, “Engaging the Community: Strategies that Work,” identifies
leadership strategies for engaging community stakeholders to create
effective community schools. Building upon the points made in the
article, the magazine features a helpful pull-out diagram which
identifies key stakeholders and illustrates how all community leaders
can contribute to creating improved conditions for student learning.
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Evaluation of Community
Schools: An Early Look
This evaluation
by Joy Dryfoos describes what a community school looks like, summarizes
what we know about the impact of community schools on a range of
results, and highlights three recent evaluations of community school
initiatives.
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Evaluation of Community
Schools: Findings to Date
This paper by
Joy Dryfoos summarizes data from available evaluations of community
school initiatives.
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Growing Community Schools:
The Role of Cross-Boundary Leadership
By Martin J. Blank, Amy Berg and Atelia Melaville [April 2006]
Leaders from
schools, cities, and couties across the nation are working together in
new ways to "grow" community schools. This report profiles 11
communities where this work is taking place. These leaders are
installing and increasing the numbers of community schools as quickly
as possible, using a powerful vision with a clear focus on results and
an effort to make the best possible use of all the assets their
communities can offer.
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Full Report
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A
Handbook for State Policy Leaders - Community Schools: Improving
Student Learning/ Strengthening Schools, Families, and Communities
Coalition for Community Schools [2002]
The Coalition
has just released its Handbook for State Policy Leaders. The handbook
is designed to help state leaders to form vital connections between
schools and communities to improve student learning. It is helpful to
the work of policy leaders in cities, counties, local school districts,
and philanthropy.
View Full Report | PDF | 837k
An
executive summary is also available.
View Executive Summary | PDF | 668k
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Helping Young People
Succeed: Strengthening and Sustaining Relationships Between Schools and
Youth Developmental Organizations
Based on a
spring 2002 national meeting of education and youth development
leaders, this report advocates re-establishing strong links between
schools and communities, particularly youth development organizations.
View Full Report | PDF | 173k
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How Community Schools Make
a Difference
Educational Leadership Magazine
Martin J. Blank [May 2004]
Community
schools are centers of the community-open all day, every day, evenings,
weekends, and summers. Partnerships are at the core of community
schools, organized around a common goal: to help students learn and
succeed and to strengthen families and communities. Partners include
health and social agencies, family support groups, universities, youth
development organizations, government, faith-based institutions,
community groups, and others. Because community schools link school and
community resources, they garner additional resources and thereby
reduce the noninstructional demands on school staff members. They
provide learning opportunities that enhance students' social,
emotional, and physical development as well as their academic skills.
They also offer students, their families, and the community important
sources of "social capital"-the role models, life options, networks,
and relationships that create a sense of belonging and communicate the
importance of education and belief in the future.
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Local Intermediary
Organizations: Connecting the Dots for Children, Youth and Families
Across the
nation, local intermediaries are emerging to address a wide range of
family, education, social, and economic challenges.
View Full Article | PDF | 187k
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Making the Difference wtih
Community Schools
Principal Leadership
By Bela P. Shah and Martin J. Blank
No school --or
principal--can meet all the needs of every student. Fortunately, they
don't have to. Principals from East Hartford High School (CT) and
Carson High School (CA) share how building community schools has
strengthened their ability to serve their students.
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A Policy Approach to
Create and Sustain Community Schools
Serves as a
template for individuals considering policy options for community
schools and related aspects of the relationship between schools and
communities.
View Full Report | PDF | k
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Strengthening
Partnerships: Community Schools Assessment Checklist
This tool
contains a series of checklists to assist schools and community leaders
in creating and/or strengthening community school partnerships.
View Full Report | PDF | 164k
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System
Change Through Community Schools
American Association of School Administrators Magazine-The School
Administrator
By Martin J. Blank and Dan Cady [January 2004]
The authors
share how superintendents in four small to mid-size districts, used
community schools to braid state and community services to solve
problems of family mobility, insufficient health care and unsafe
neighborhoods.
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The Will to
Change: A Conversation about Schools and Learning with James
Comer and Edmund Gordon
(920 KB PDF)
In this new Coalition publication, Dr. James Comer and Professor Edmund
Gordon engage in an animated and thought-provoking dialogue on the
educational challenges and political inequities facing America’s
students and families.
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