Research Practice Network

Our Purpose

• Create, maintain, and execute a research agenda focused on improving implementation and outcomes for students, community schools, families, and community members;
• Serve as a clearinghouse for research and implementation level best practices;
• Convene community school advocates around areas for collaboration and joint research; and
• Identify new funding streams to support high-quality research on community schools.

Joining the Network

Join our Research Practice Network  to connect with, share, learn from, and collaborate with researchers and practitioners from the Community Schools field as well as receiving timely announcements of new research and funding opportunities. Please send an email to ccsrpn@iel.org and specify “Join the RPN” in the email subject.

Then make sure to join our RPN Facebook group here.

• Dr. Helen Janc Malone, Vice President for Research and Innovation
• Dr. Emily Cheng, Data Analyst

Past Events

2022 CCS RPN Webinars:

• Defining and Adapting the Community School Strategy – February 16
• Community Schools Organizing: A Look Back and Forward – May 11

Network Calls:

• RPN and UACS Joint Network Call

2021 CCS RPN Webinars:

• Community Schools, Racial Justice and Equity – February 11
• Teaching and Learning in Community Schools – March 11
• Family Engagement in Community Schools – April 21
• The Roles of Principals in Community Schools –  May 13
• Approaching Community Schools Research and Impact –  June 17 
• Lifting Up Community Schools’ COVID-19 Responses Through Research – September 29 (Webinar Slide Deck)
• Measuring Outcomes in Community Schools – October 14 (Webinar Slide Deck)
• The Need for Youth Voice in Community Schools – November 16 (Webinar Slide Deck)
• Sustaining Community Schools – December 9 (Webinar Slide Deck)

CCS RPN Webinars before 2021

• The Way We Do School: The Making of Oakland’s Full-Service Community School District – April 15, 2020
• The Impact of the New York City Community Schools Initiative – March 18, 2020
• The Dual Capacity Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships –  February 19, 2020
• Postsecondary Readiness and Success in Community Schools – January 29, 2020
• Youth with Disabilities in Community Schools – October 23, 2019
• Return on Investment (ROI) Study for a Community School Coordinator – September 24, 2019
• Powerful Learning: Deeper Learning Lessons for Community Schools – August 20, 2019
• Community Schools: People and Places Transforming Education and Communities – July 17, 2019
• Powerful Learning: Addressing Real World Issues through Community School Classrooms –  June 25, 2019

Recent Studies and Publications

Please use this form to share your updated research and publications with IEL CCS RPN. We will update our database regularly, and share the research and publications with all Coalition for Community Schools (CCS) networks.

• For the most updated studies and publications, click here.
• For additional Coalition for Community School resources, click here.

Community Schools Research Agenda

See and learn more about the major themes of our research agenda by selecting a component of the infographic below:

CCS RPN Co-Chair Criteria

Research Practice Network (RPN) has 2 co-chairs, a practitioner and a researcher. Nominations criteria:

Practitioner:

• in a daily role/position within a community school initiative (school, district, or regional/state intermediary level)
• participated in community schools research or program evaluation (working alongside researchers)
• familiar with community schools research
• a part of one of our Coalition for Community Schools networks (desired, not required)

Researcher:

• has a body of research published specifically on community schools.
• engaged in community schools work, inclusive of e.g., Research-Practice partnerships or participatory action research.
• affiliated with a university or a research institution.
• has a completed doctoral degree.
• is a part of one of our Coalition for Community Schools networks (desired, not required)