Over 25 United Ways across the country are using the community schools strategy to meet their goals. Depending on their community, their roles vary,  Here are key roles that United Ways are playing:

• Key player in community leadership group. In this role they provide oversight of the community schools work; provide resources; and contribute to policy development and decisions.
• Intermediary organization. In this role, United Ways manage the community schools initiative, create the strategic plan, and ensure that there is communication between the School Site Leadership Team and the Community Leadership Team. For an example of United Ways implementing the community schools strategy, check out our United Way of Greater Lehigh Valley case study.
• Lead agency or contract with others to be leads
• Funder – fund intermediaries and incentivize the integration of grantee work at individual schools through the community schools approach

Here are a few PowerPoints that you might find useful as you begin and/or continue your community schools work: 

• Community Schools: The United Way
• Journey to the Lehigh Valley: COMPASS Community Schools in Action
  

Helpful Publications

• Growing Community Schools: The Role of Cross-boundary Leadership
• Together We Can
• Learning Together
• Schools Uniting Neighborhoods Report
• Doing What Matters - The Bridges to Success Strategy for Building Community Schools
• Videos of community schools in action
• List of Local Community Schools Sites and Initiatives

Community School Basics

• Community Schools Collaborative Leadership Framework
• Community Schools Fact Sheet
• Community Schools Results Framework - This document outlines a rationale for the community school as a primary vehicle for increasing student success and strengthening families and community; and it defines specific results that community schools seek—both in terms of how they function and in relationship to the well being of students, families and communities.
• Community Schools Evaluation Toolkit - This toolkit is designed to help community schools evaluate their efforts so that they learn from their successes, identify current challenges, and plan future efforts. It is a practical, hands-on guide that makes it possible for you to improve your community school’s effectiveness and to tell your story. Equally important, it offers a menu of data collection tools (i.e. surveys, public databases) for evaluating whether and how your school is achieving results.
• Community Schools Results – see the difference that community schools across the country are making!
• Community Schools PowerPoints – breaks down the community school strategy. This is a great tool for getting stakeholders on board!