Community schools are getting quite a bit of good buzz, with articles appearing in Education Week, The Boston Globe, and American School Board Journal. Please send stories about community schools from your local media to ccs@iel.org so we can highlight your work too.

Education Week: Linda Jacobson describes activities at Nettelhorst School, in the East Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. The school's lead community partner is the Jane Addams Hull House Association, which has been running community centers in this city's immigrant neighborhoods for more than a century. The story serves as an introduction to the city's Campaign to Expand Community Schools, which aims to have 100 community schools active throughout the city by 2007. (requires registration) http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=14Community.h23

American School Board Journal: A Special Report on Urban Schooling features an article that identifies community schools as the solution for the challenges so many urban students can face. "The Social Challenge," by Kathleen Vail presents parent education and pre-K classes in Minneapolis (MN) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC), efforts to curb mobility in Worcester (MA) and Wichita (KS), schools providing physical and mental health services in Independence (MO), Memphis (TN), and Children's Aid Society schools in New York City. Citing community schools as the solution that brings all these services together, Vail demonstrates how they are just the thing urban districts need to meet the many needs of their diverse populations. http://www.asbj.com/specialreports/1203Special%20Reports/S3.html

Boston Globe: A story about the newly opened Boston Pilot Middle School in Dorchester, "At New School, It Takes Community" describes the first steps this new community school is taking as it invents the relationship it will have with its community. The design of the school started with community input in the building's physical structures, which now include dance and art studios, a library, and a theater gym. The school puts active effort into recruiting community volunteers, and works with partners to provide programming. See how this school introduces itself to the neighborhood, hoping one day to be a full-service community school. The Boston Full Service Roundtable, a CCS partner, is featured. http://www.communityschools.org/ItTakesCommunity12.7.03.doc

This fall, a "Practitioners Forum for High School Redesign" hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Education Alliance at Brown University included students from high schools throughout the Northeast. These teens provided a sampling of insights on what makes a school worth going to, what strengthens student-teacher relationships, and on the process of change. http://www.whatkidscando.org/intheirownwords/perspectives.html

Oakland students working with REAL HARD, a youth leadership organization, wanted to increase student participation and decision-making in their public high schools. In the fall of 2003, they conducted a city-wide survey of 1000 students to find out what students thought of their education, including everything from school staff, teaching and counseling, student leadership and relations, school facilities and safety, and beyond. The work culminated in a report entitled, Student Voices Count,where youth compiled findings, analyzed results, and made specific recommendations on how to improve their schools. http://www.kidsfirstoakland.org/accomplishments/index.html

Another student-led publication out of the Bronx highlights how small schools better serve students, empowering them and allowing for personal relationships to be created between students and school staff http://www.whatkidscando.org/bronxbooklet.pdf

Youth Political Engagement
Community schools are by their design a fertile ground for teaching civic engagement to young people. A project of the Center for Democracy and Technology, the new Youth04 website seeks to "synthesize the best of the political Internet and the best of traditional grassroots organizing to transform the role 18-25 year olds will play in the 2004 election." http://www.youth04.org

Student School Success Tied to Multiple Factors
A new position paper by the National Middle School Association, This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents, shows that it is both cultural and programmatic factors that influence student success when present over time. This paper outlines 14 key characteristics that lead a school, with its organization, curriculum, pedagogy and programs, to higher levels of student achievement. These include an inviting, supportive environment that supports student physical and emotional well-being, high expectations for every member of the learning community, and active learning activities that engage every student personally. http://www.nmsa.org/news/index.html

Wanted: Community Social Justice Leaders
This year, Leadership for a changing World is seeking nominations of community leaders across the country who are tackling with success tough social problems. Once selected, seventeen leaders and their teams will receive $100,000 to advance their work, and $15,000 for learning activities to support their efforts. Nomination deadline is January 6, 2004. http://www.leadershipforchange.org

Needed: 2004 Howe Fellows
The American Youth Policy Forum is looking for fellows interested in carrying out their self-designed project working in youth policy, practice, research or program evaluation with a focus on disadvantaged youth. Fellowships begin in the summer/fall of 2004, and the submission deadline for fellowship proposals is January 9, 2004. Information on selection criteria and application requirements can be found at http://www.aypf.org/pdf/howefellowship.pdf

Breakthrough High Schools: Call For Nominations
The National Association of Secondary School Principals is seeking successful high-poverty schools that meet the Project's 50-50-90-90 criteria: The student population consists of at least 50% minority students and 50% qualify for free and reduced-price meals; at least 90% of the students both graduate and are accepted into college.
For more information: http://www.principals.org/breakthrough/nominations.cfm

Events

Learning Beyond the School Day: Conference Opportunities Two upcoming conferences highlight the important learning opportunities that beyond-school hours can offer, presenting participants from a variety of backgrounds the chance to confer with others, share best practices, and create successful programs:

Foundations' will host their annual conference, "Beyond School Hours VII: Viewing Challenges as Opportunities" February 15-18, 2004 in San Diego http://www.foundationsinc.org/EventsFolder/beyond7/beyond7.asp

The Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University will host their 2004 National conference, themed "Summer Learning for All: Programs, Policy, and Research." March 18-19, 2004 in Baltimore. http://www.summerlearning.org/about/conference.html

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Additional Information
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