What's a Community School Coordinator?
The Community School Coordinator works collaboratively with the school principal and other school support staff to design, develop and/or implement Community School programming including: Family and student support services, Health services, Enrichment activities including those that occur during the school day, after school and summer , Family and community engagement activities, and Community sponsorship, partnership, and volunteer infrastructure.
Download the Toolkit
We've created a 2026 Coordinators Appreciation Week toolkit filled with resources to help you highlight the amazing Coordinators you know, as well as spread the word about the role they play in growing the Community School movement.
Take Action
Continue to reach out to your members of Congress to request that they fund Full Service Community Schools at the highest level possible. Congress needs to hear from you that the Community Schools strategy is a comprehensive approach to restructuring and reimagining our public education system so that all students can learn and thrive. Use our tools to tell help tell and share your CS story and examples of the benefits of Community Schools and send that message to your representatives now. Together, we can advance the Community School strategy, by garnering bipartisan support at the local, state, and national levels.
Check out these headlines and stories sharing more about the success of the Community School strategy, and the importance of the Coordinator role!
Community Schools in Lynwood Unified: Building Capacity for Districtwide Implementation
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, students’ rising mental health needs, chronic absence, academic challenges, and struggles to reengage with school have spurred interest in whole child education and pushed practitioners and policymakers alike to reimagine what school can look like. Community schools are a strategy designed to address these issues, focused on simultaneously improving student well-being and expanding educational experiences and outcomes. Across the country, major investments in community schools are driving interest in how increased access to funding and the expansion of the strategy are affecting students and families. This is especially true in California, which has committed $4.1 billion to support the strategy in nearly 2,500 schools across the state. Through this funding, the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) grants have helped spur the scaling of community schools in districts throughout California, necessitating the hiring and development of community school–specific personnel, namely community school coordinators.”
Read the full report from Learning Policy Institute here!
————————————————————————————————————————————————-
State center names Ackerman Community School Champion
“Marissa Ackerman has always worked to bring people together. As a teacher, as a mom, as a Community School coordinator.
Her dedication to the coordinator role led to her being named a Community School Champion during last month’s annual convening of the Maryland Center for Community Schools at Towson University (MCCS).
Community School Champions are coordinators who have helped turn a school into a hub that brings families, communities and partners together. Community schools offer wraparound services — such as access to food and health services— to the families of students which, in turn, aids to remove barriers to learning.
At the March 18 Community Schools conference, five community school coordinators were named a Community School Champion representing different regions in Maryland. Ackerman was the award winner for the Southern region, Christine Frederick and Phi Thach-Seals for central Maryland, Alexis McBean for the Eastern Shore and Megan Knepp for Western Maryland.”
Fun fact – Marissa is also an IEL Education Policy Fellowship Program: Community Schools alum!
Read the full post from Charles County Public Schools here.
Belonging comes first at Mountain Home community schools
“At Bennett Mountain High, Ashlie Lambrecht wants to give students a reason to come to school.
For one student, that means having a boxing dummy in the alternative school’s weight room. For another, the 3D printing lab is something to look forward to. Growing Basque peppers in the school’s greenhouse encourages another student to get out of bed.
Bennett Mountain is a community school and Lambrecht, a community school coordinator, acts as a bridge between community resources, students and families in Mountain Home. A federal grant pays her salary.
When she tells people she works at an alternative high school, she often assures them that the students are good kids. But they are underprivileged, she said, and often overlooked by society. Some are on probation.
She wants to keep them out of the system.”
Read the full story from Idaho Ed News here.
———————————————————————————————————–
Planting Hope: How Collaboration, Partnership, and Care Help Feed a Community
“Across 16 schools in Knox County, Community School Coordinators, placed through United Way of Greater Knoxville’s (UWGK) Community Schools strategy, work every day to connect students and families with the resources they need to thrive. From academic support to after-school enrichment services, their work is built around meeting each school’s unique needs. Sometimes, that support is as essential as ensuring families have access to fresh, healthy food. Over the past year, more than 25,000 pounds of produce was delivered, thanks to a network of partners working together to nourish not just students but entire communities.”
Read the full story from United Way here.
———————————————————————————————————–
Baltimore community school coordinator bridges cultural gap for children
Profile of Community School Coordinators
Learn more about the role of a Coordinator by taking a look at some of our initial findings from the Community Schools Forward Survey: https://bit.ly/countcs
Tips to help you advocate during CAW: