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March for Children and Youth Month was launched in 2017 as an annual campaign to concentrate our advocacy efforts among our national, state and local partners. Our collective advocacy as a Coalition is important both to build champions among our policymakers for policies and funding that support children and youth and to strengthen our role as advocates for children and youth who are facing systemic inequities in their communities. Although we have seen a steady decline in child poverty rates over the last few years, the percentage of Black and Hispanic students living in poverty is almost four times that of their white peers. With racial disparities in school, we can no longer sit on the sidelines and hope others advocate for more equitable conditions-it must be us, it must be now, and we must speak with one voice.

The Coalition for Community Schools is dedicated to advancing a shared vision of “schools as centers for creating communities where everyone belongs, works together, and thrives”, and is grounded through a shared set of principles: build on community strengths, invest in trusting relationships, and commit to continuous improvement. This document outlines our shared policy goals to advance Community Schools.

This 3-pager lifts up 8 key talking points to help support Bipartisan Community Schools advocacy.

Building a Community Schools System is written for diverse audiences engaged in Community School efforts, from planning to integration of the Community Schools strategy in their community and/or district to existing systems of schools looking to further sustain, deepen, and expand this strategy.

The Stages of Development serve as a guide for states as they build or scale their state coalitions for Community Schools. The four stages are: EXPLORING There is talk of developing a coalition, but only informal communications or plans have been made. Someone convenes a group of people to move the plans forward. EMERGING Commitment to developing a coalition by actively convening partners and putting in place a governance structure with initial goals and benchmarks outlined. EVOLVING There is an official coalition in place, a wide range of partners are involved, regular communications to local practitioners, and a leadership team and professional learning convenings occurring. EXPANDING The coalition has added key committees, is regularly tracking impact and stories, and is widening sphere of influence through new partnerships, expanded public communications, and ongoing capacity building.

Scaling Up School and Community Partnerships: The Community Schools Strategy builds on both practice and research to describe the what, why, and how of system-wide expansion of community schools. The guide is written for a wide audience and for communities at different points in planning for, implementing, and sustaining a community schools strategy. It targets grass-roots advocates, including parents, students, teachers, and community partners; school district, civic, business, and government leaders; and funders at the local, state, and national levels.