PRESS RELEASE: High Performing Community Schools Receive National Award for Excellence!

06/10/11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2011

Community schools across the nation are deepening family engagement, improving attendance, and increasing academic achievement. Highlighting the joint work of schools and communities the Coalition for Community Schools presents the 2011 National Community School Award for Excellence to: Roy Clark Elementary School, Tulsa, OK; Ethel Taylor Academy, Cincinnati, OH; and Glencliff High School, Nashville, TN. Join the Coalition and its national and local partners June 16th (8:30-10am) at the Capitol Visitors Center (SVC 203-02), for a breakfast on Capitol Hill celebrating the winners. RSVP NOW!

The Awardees demonstrate: deep and purposeful partnerships with other organizations that are well-integrated in the life of the school, strong families and community engagement, financial sustainability through leveraged resources, and engaging instruction.

• Roy Clark Elementary is leveraging resources from 30 partners to support their students, reaching out purposefully to families through home visits, offering free medical services, and offering academic enrichment. From 2008-2011, Roy Clark students Increased overall Adequate Yearly Progress scores from 799 to 1217 (max score=1500) for subgroup encompassing all students in both reading and math, and 100% of their families participated in parent teachers conferences, which is up from 68%.

• Ethel Taylor Academy has made it their business to ensure that their teachers, school staff, and partners are trained to engage families and make the school a more inviting place. As a result, they significantly increased family engagement from 40% to 84%. From 2008-2010, has seen an increase 42.4% increase in the numbers of students scoring "Proficient" or higher on the Ohio Achievement Assessments, because the school has made it one of their primary goals to increase student performance by identifying subject areas that need a strong focus, and where there are deficiencies, and establishing partnerships and allocating resources to meet those goals.

• Glencliff High School not only provides supports and services before, during, and after the school day, they are also implementing career academies and working with partners to meet urgent needs, whether it is flooding or unexpected refugee resettlement in the community. They boast students from 42 countries as well as increase in graduation rate - 66.4% to 81.2%, from 2007-2011.

The breakfast and ceremony is co-sponsored by House Minority Leader, Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). These Members are strong supporters of the community school strategy, having introduced the Full Service Community Schools Act of 2011, the DIPLOMA Act of 2011, and the Supporting Community Schools Act of 2011.RSVP NOW!

Ira Harkavy, Chairperson of the Coalition for Community Schools and Associate Vice-President and Director of The Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, said, "These awardees represent what can be done when schools, communities, and other partners work together to provide the supports and opportunities students need to succeed and develop to their full potential."

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