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FAQs
Frequently Asked
Questions About Community Schools
What is a community school?
Why do we need community schools?
What is the difference between a community
school, full service community school, extended service schools etc.?
Are community schools public schools?
What are the key conditions for learning?
What are the areas in which community schools
offer programs and services?
What is the curriculum like in a community
school?
What are the guiding principles driving the
development of community schools?
What are the benefits/advantages of a
community school?
Do community schools work?
What are key factors that make a
community school strategy successful?
How much do community schools cost and how are
they funded?
How many community schools are currently
in operation?
Where can I find some examples of a
community school?
Where can I find evaluations of a
community school?
Are there principal preparation and
teacher education programs with a community schools focus?
How can I create a community school?
Where can I go for technical assistance?
Tell me more about the Coalition for Community
Schools.
What are the primary responsibilities
of the Coalition's national office?
How do I become a partner in the Coalition?
How do I contact someone at the Coalition?
What is a Community School?
A community school is
both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other
community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, health and
social services, youth and community development and community
engagement leads to improved student learning, stronger families and
healthier communities. Schools become centers of the community and are
open to everyone – all day, every day, evenings and weekends.
Using public schools as
hubs, community schools bring together many partners to offer a range
of supports and opportunities to children, youth, families and
communities. Partners work to achieve these results:
- Children are ready to
learn when they enter school and every day thereafter. All students
learn and achieve to high standards.
- Young people are well
prepared for adult roles in the workplace, as parents and as citizens.
- Families and
neighborhoods are safe, supportive and engaged.
- Parents and community
members are involved with the school and their own life-long learning.
To learn more about the
Coalition’s vision of a community school, read the section An
Enduring Vision in the Coalition’s report, Making the Difference:
Research and Practice in Community Schools.
For more information on
what it means to be a community school, read Community
Schools: Partnerships for Excellence.
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Why
do we need community schools?
We need community
schools because research and experience tell us that young people need
a wide range of opportunities and supports to succeed. A quality
academic program is necessary, but not sufficient. The recent Phi Delta
Kappan Poll about public attitudes toward education shows that 70% of
Americans blame societal factors for challenges such as the achievement
gap and dropouts that face schools. Community schools respond to these
societal factors, family circumstances, poverty and health problems.
We also need community
schools because all our children regardless of their economic, racial
or family circumstances deserve access to the array of opportunities
that more well off families provide to their children.
And we need them because
schools must re-engage the broader public and community schools are the
place where this can happen.
“We tend to put
considerations of family, community, and economy off-limits in
education-reform policy discussions. However, we do so at our peril.
The seriousness of our purpose requires that we learn to rub our
bellies and pat our heads at the same time.” – Paul Barton, Facing the
Hard Facts in Education Reform.
The
Realities that Schools Face
Community schools
address many of the realities that challenge today’s schools and
educators:
- Cultural Disconnects
- Disengaged Students
- Poverty
- Too Much Unstructured
Time
- Unaddressed Health Needs
- Transience
- School Violence and
Unsafe School Environments
- Overburdened and Under
Resourced Schools
For data related to each
of these factors go to Making
the Difference: Research and Practice in Community Schools by
Martin J. Blank, Atelia Melaville and Bela P. Shah. Look in Chapter 1.
The Community Schools Advantage.
For an analysis of the
relationship between poverty and academic achievement, see a recent
speech and article by David Berliner. http://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?contentid=12106
(It
may require a $5 payment, but it is well worth it.)
Non-School Factors
Affecting the Achievement Gap
Research
published by the Educational Testing also identifies eight factors
beyond school that contribute to the student achievement gap:
- weight at birth
- lead poisoning
- hunger and nutrition
- reading to young
children
- TV watching
- parent availability and
support
- student mobility
- parent participation
Source: Parsing the
Achievement Gap: Baselines for Tracking Progress by Paul Barton,
Educational Testing Service. http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICPARSING.pdf
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What is the difference between a community
school, full service community school, extended service schools etc.?
The
term community school offers the broadest definition of the
relationship between school and community. Many people use the terms
above interchangeably; others use them differently. The Coalition for
Community Schools is not particularly concerned with the nuanced
differences between these terms. Rather, we encourage people to expand
on their own vision of school and community relationships, adding
components and strategies that help to achieve better outcomes for
students, families and communities. Overtime, we believe that approach
will lead people toward the vision of a community schools that we have
set forth.
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Are community schools
public schools?
Yes,
any school whether financed with public or private funds can be
considered a community school if it exhibits the characteristics of a
community school. Regular public schools, charter schools, parochial
schools and private schools can all be community schools. The primary
focus of the Coalition is on public schools.
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What are the conditions for learning
that Community Schools seek to create?
Community
school advocates believe that the present emphasis on academics
exemplified by the No Child Left Behind Act is too narrow an approach
to public education. We believe that schools together with their
communities must work to fulfill five conditions for learning that the
Coalition has identified as necessary for every child to succeed, based
on an analysis of recent research.
These
conditions are:
Condition #1: The school
has a core instructional program with qualified teachers, a challenging
curriculum, and high standards and expectations for students.
Condition #2: Students
are motivated and engaged in learning -- both in school and in
community settings, during and after school.
Condition #3: The basic
physical, mental and emotional health needs of young people and their
families are recognized and addressed.
Condition #4: There is
mutual respect and effective collaboration among parents, families and
school staff.
Condition #5: Community
engagement, together with school efforts, promotes a school climate
that is safe, supportive and respectful and connects students to a
broader learning community.
Learn
more about the specific studies that support each of the five
conditions for learning in the full Making the Difference report
in Chapter 2, page 15.
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What are the
areas in which community schools offer programs and services?
In
a community school, youth, families and community residents work as
equal partners with schools and other community institutions to develop
programs and services in five areas:
- Quality
education - High-caliber curriculum and instruction enable all children
to meet challenging academic standards. The school uses all of the
community's assets as resources for learning and involves students in
contributing to the solution of community problems.
- Youth
development - Young people develop their assets and talents, form
positive relationships with peers and adults, and serve as resources to
their communities.
- Family
support - Family resource centers, early childhood development
programs, coordinated health, mental health and social services,
counseling, and other supports enhance family life by building upon
individuals' strengths and skills.
- Family
and community engagement - Family members and other residents actively
participate in designing, supporting, monitoring and advocating quality
programs and activities in the school and community.
- Community
development - All participants focus on strengthening the local
leadership, social networks, economic viability and physical
infrastructure of the surrounding community.
The
array of specific services that individual community schools offer
varies extensively by site. An analysis by the Coalition shows activity
in the following areas. Click on each area to see a list of specific
services that are offered. Too many schools have services in these
various areas but no plan for how to integrate those services to
achieve specific results. A coherent plan is essential for a successful
community school.
- Adult Education
- After School
- Community Development
- Community Engagement
- Early Childhood Services
- Family Involvement
- Family Support
- Mental Health
- Physical Health
- Youth Development
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What is the curriculum like in a
community school?
In
a community schools the curriculum is designed to engage and motivate
students to learn at high standards. The Coalition is deeply concerned
that the current test-driven curriculum is creating classrooms that do
not engage young people in their own learning. We believe that real
world issues and challenges must find their way into the classroom and
the community must become part of the classroom. For more information
about our approach please see: Creating
a Culture of Attachment: A Community-as-Text Approach to Learning.
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What
are the guiding principles driving the development of community
schools?
There
are many community school models (National Models), but they tend to
share a core set of operating principles:
- Foster strong partnerships -- Partners share their
resources and expertise and work together to design community schools
and make them work.
- Share accountability for results -- Clear, mutually
agreed-upon results drive the work of community schools. Data helps
partners measure progress toward results. Agreements enable them to
hold each other accountable and move beyond "turf battles."
- Set high expectations for all -- Community schools
are organized to support learning. Children, youth and adults are
expected to learn at high standards and be contributing members of
their community.
- Build on the community's strengths -- Community
schools marshal the assets of the entire community -- including the
people who live and work there, local organizations, and the school.
- Embrace diversity -- Community schools know their
communities. They work to develop respect and a strong, positive
identity for people of diverse backgrounds and are committed to the
welfare of the whole community.
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What are the benefits/advantages of a
community school?
Unlike
traditional public schools, community schools link school and community
resources as an integral part of their design and operation.
Consequently, community schools have three major advantages that
schools acting alone do not. Community Schools:
-
Garner additional resources to reduce the demand
on school staff for addressing all the challenges that students bring
to school.
-
Provide learning opportunities that develop
academic and non-academic competencies.
-
Build social capital -- the networks and
relationships that support learning and create opportunities for young
people while strengthening their communities.
For
more information about the three advantages, click here.
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Do
community schools work?
The
following evaluations of 20 initiatives nationwide confirm that
community schools have a positive impact on what matters most to
students, parents, communities and schools. A Coalition report, Making the Difference:
Research and Practice in Community Schools, concludes that:
- Student
learning improves.
- Parent
and family participation – in their children’s education and in the
school – increases.
- Principals
and teachers have more time for quality instruction because the
school’s community partners help address non-academic barriers to
learning.
- Families
have more opportunities and support in caring for and helping to
educate their children, and in contributing to their community.
Community
schools generate other positive outcomes as well. Improved safety and
security, increased community pride, stronger relationships between
school and community, and greater utilization of schools and other
public services and facilities all reflect the broader
“community-building” role of community schools. Community schools and
their students come to be seen as valued resources, and communities
feel a great stake in and accountability for student success.
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What are key factors that make a
community school strategy successful?
The
following findings from the publication, Learning Together:
The Developing Field of School-Community Initiatives address
key factors in the success of community schools strategies.
- Stable
leadership and long-term financing methods are vital to sustaining and
expanding preschool-community initiatives.
- Diversified
funding, careful site selection, visibility and organized constituent
support are also important.
- “Going
to Scale” depends not only on increasing the number of sites but also
on ensuring that the initiative’s guiding principles penetrate and
transform schools, their partner institutions and neighborhoods.
- Successful
expansion requires clear goals, good timing and sufficient funding and
support to maintain essential program features during periods of rapid
growth.
Community
schools are designed to do a better job for children and families by
using existing resources as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Source:
Learning
Together: The Developing Field of School-Community Initiatives
by Atelia Melaville.
For additional information on the role of Community
Leadership see, Growing Community Schools: The Role of
Cross-Boundary Leadership. It discusses community schools
work in 11 places.
For
additional tools on sustainability, visit our toolkit.
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How much do community schools cost
and how are they funded?
Community
schools are intended to respond to the needs of the students, their
families and community. Therefore the amount of money that is needed
will vary depending on those circumstances.
What
is most pivotal from a financing standpoint is money to pay for a
Community School Coordinator. This individual is responsible for
mobilizing community resources and integrating them into the life of
the school. They can be employed by a school district, community-based
organization or public agency. Salaries for this position should be at
a professional level and competitive with those of people in similar
roles, e.g., teachers and social workers. Communities are using a range
of different funding streams to pay for this position.
Programs
and services at community schools are financed through a variety of
public and private funding streams that support particular services,
e.g., after school, mental health, service learning, parent engagement
and many others. Because they operate as partnerships between schools
and community schools, capturing money is often not the issue. Rather
the challenge is creating an environment in the school that encourages
community agencies and organizations to bring their programs into the
school, and has the school reaching out into the community. The
community schools coordinator is vital for creating this environment.
Flexible funds that can be used to respond to specific
needs can be an important impetus for getting the community school off
the ground.
Ideally, initial funding would be available for the
salary of a full-time community school coordinator at a salary that
gives them status at the school and encourages a long term commitment,
and $50,000 in flexible program dollars. Remember though, there is not
an exact formula. Leadership and will are as important as money.
For
more information, view the Financing
section of our toolkit.
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How
many community schools are currently in operation?
Because
community schools come in so many shapes and sizes – they are not a
formal model --we do not have an exact number. We do know that many
schools are moving to implement the community schools approach.
The
Coalition has compiled a directory of national and international
community schools. The purpose of this directory is to:
- Help
policymakers and practitioners find community schools in their areas
- Create
opportunities for mentorship and peer networking,
- Describe
the character of the community school field more fully,
- Generate
visibility and momentum for everyone's work.
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Where can I find some examples of a
community school?
Look
at the section of the Coalition website entitled About Community Schools. Here you
will find examples of national models and state models as well as local communities that are
developing extensive networks of community schools.
There you will find examples of
national models and state models as well as local communities that are
developing extensive networks of community schools.
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Where can I find evaluations of a
community school?
The
Center for Community School Partnerships at the University of
California, Davis offers a number of tools to assist school community
partnership with their evaluation process. http://education.ucdavis.edu/cress/ccsp/services/evaluation.html
Key Evaluation
Findings from Making the Difference
Research confirms what experience has long suggested: Community schools
work. Evaluations examined the impact of 20 community school
initiatives across America, focusing in particular on outcomes that
directly affect student learning. Although not all evaluations looked
at every outcome, their collective results clearly show that community
schools make the difference for students in four important ways. For
more information, read Making
the Difference: Research and Practice in Community Schools.
Other
evaluations can be found in the Research
section of our website.
For
evaluation tools, visit our toolkit.
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Are
there principal preparation and teacher education programs with a
community schools focus?
Regrettably,
we do not know of any comprehensive programs that have a community
schools focus. Some principal preparation and teachers training
programs focus on family and community challenges or helping teachers
use the community as resource for learning, but in reality family and
community are typically given short shrift. This remains true despite
the research that talks about the importance of parental involvement
with the education of their children. Nor do principals and teachers
learn how to tap the assets and resources of community to help their
student succeed. There is huge gap in this arena that will have to be
bridged if community schools are to fulfill their promise.
The Coalition will issue a report on principals and
community engagment in the fall of 2006.
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How can
I create a community school?
For
tools to help you launch, plan or sustain a community school
initiative, visit our Resources section and click on Toolkit.
The first section of our toolkit contains comprehensive
manuals; all the resources you need to create a community
school.
Contact some of the local initiatives and learn from
them. And if you are able, we fully recommend you go to visit a
community school. That is what will make the vision come alive.
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Where
can I go for techincal assistance?
To
learn about organizations that help commmunity school initiatives fine
tune their planning and management, visit our Resources section and
click on Technical
Assistance.
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Tell me more about the Coalition for
Community Schools.
The Coalition for Community Schools is an alliance
of 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. The Coalition advocates for
community schools as the vehicle for strengthening schools, families
and communities so that together they can improve student learning. For
more information, click on Who
We Are.
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What are the primary
responsibilities of the Coalition's national office?
The
Coalition's goals are to:
- Share
information about successful community school policies, programs and
practices;
- Build
broader public understanding and support for community schools;
- Inform
public and private-sector policies in order to strengthen community
schools; and
- Develop
sustainable sources of funding for community schools.
The
Coalition’s national office works to achieve these goals through
several types of activities:
- Conducting
research about community schools that demonstrates their effectiveness
and explores the tough challenges involved in creating and sustaining
community schools.
- Convening
national, regional and local community schools forums as well as
Coalition partners meetings that help key stakeholders and their
organizations move toward common ground;
- Maintaining
a web site and regular email newsletter that provides learning
opportunities about community schools and access the resources of our
many partners;
- Promoting
a policy framework at the federal, state and local levels that support
community schools;
- Nurturing
community school networks at the local and state levels, including an
Urban Community Schools Network; and
- Carrying
out public education efforts to help our citizens understand the
importance of community schools
To receive
updates on developments in the field of community schools and the work
of the Coalition, sign-up to receive our newsletter, Community
Schools Online.
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How do I become a partner in the
Coalition for Community Schools?
If you are interested in becoming a partner for the
Coalition for Community Schools, please contact us at ccs@iel.org.
What would we like Coalition partners to do? Here are a few examples:
- Promote the Coalition’s shared vision within your
organization.
- Publish articles about community schools in your
newsletters, journal and other communication vehicles.
- Arrange presentations on community schools as part
of your annual conferences and other learning opportunities offered to
your network.
- Create a link to the Coalition on you website.
- Champion community schools in your community, your
state and nationally.
- Share relevant publications with the Coalition for
dissemination.
- Share data and information about the success of
your community schools initiative.
- Inform the Coalition about any innovative actions
related to community schools in your organization or community.
- Participate in Coalition meetings and forums.
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How do I contact someone at the
Coalition?
Coalition
for Community Schools
c/o Institute for Educational Leadership
4455 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 310
Washington, DC 20008
Phone 1-202-822-8405 X156
Fax 1-202-872-4050
E-mail ccs@iel.org
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