2025 Advocacy Resources
- A Guide to Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) Congressional Outreach FY2026: Use the templates and FAQ within this guide to inform your messaging and advocacy.
- Community Schools Non-Federal Outreach Guide: this version of our messaging and advocacy guide can be used to communicate with state legislators.
- Sustaining Community Schools Through State-Level Blending & Braiding: a timely brief that explores how state funding can be blended and braided to support Community Schools, holistically and pillar by pillar.
- A Guide to Mobilizing Your Community School Network: This guide is for FSCS grantees who are already in deep contact with their Members of Congress to mobilize their communities to conduct congressional outreach.
- A Guide to Utilizing Data in FSCS Advocacy for New Grantees: This guide is for newer FSCS grantees on how to use the RPN Clearinghouse and how to input material into their outreach templates.
- How to Tell Your Community Schools Story: The following suggestions offer different actions you and your organization can take to have your voice heard about the impact of Community Schools. They range from educational to advocacy to lobbying that can be used at the local, state, and/or federal levels. Even if your representative is not on a decision-making committee, they still have a vote, and every vote counts! It is up to your discretion to decide what action(s) are best for you and your organization.
- The Power of Community Schools: An overview of evidence showing how Community Schools are a highly effective strategy for improving student success by integrating academic supports, family engagement, and community partnerships.
- Full-Service Community Schools & Promise Neighborhoods Grants: This tool provides a breakdown by grant type, region, state, year, and implementation location.
- Community Schools Playbook
- Find your U.S. Representative; Find your U.S. Senators listed by state
- Members of Congress’ Twitter handles
March for Children & Youth Month
Advocating for a high-quality, equitable education for all students, with community schools as a core strategy, is a year-round campaign. However, we mobilize during certain times of the year for an advocacy push to send a unified message to policymakers at the local, state and federal levels.
Stay tuned for resources and more information!
Helpful Resources:
25,000 Community Schools by 2025
Notwithstanding numerous reforms and incremental progress, we have not as a nation been able to achieve equity in education and workforce development over the last 55 years. As a focal point of IEL’s big idea, we believe we can improve opportunity and outcomes and close gaps in access and achievement in education and workforce development through innovation, leadership development and mobilization. If we invest in community leaders of all ages, stages, and sectors, we can change the odds.
Stimulated by the Coalition, there has been an insurgence of proof through research, and growth activity in the community school field where there are now approximately 5,000 community schools across the country, with growing demand in rural, suburban, and urban communities, and emerging international interest. With nearly 100,000 public schools, the Coalition Steering Committee set an ambitious goal of 25,000 Community Schools by 2025 that will reach over 10,000,000 children and youth galvanizing a tipping point of public schools that are creating the conditions, capacities, cultures and policies necessary for everyone to succeed.
Helpful Resources: