CCS RPN Research Agenda - Further Research and Study of Community Schools Theme 8: Sustaining and Scaling - Policy Alignment, Funding Models, and Cross-Sector Integration

The following is a major theme of the Community Schools Research Agenda. Click here to return to the CCS RPN homepage.

Sustaining and Scaling: Policy Alignment, Funding Models, and Cross-Sector Integration

There is a need to clarify sustainability as a system-wide issue that includes funding models, workforce stability, governance, and policy alignment. Research should explore practical funding strategies, such as blending and braiding local, state, and federal funds. It should also document how resource needs evolve from startup phases to full implementation, including when and how investments can become stable. Research should also examine how school- and district-level funding models and budgeting practices shift between traditional schools and Community Schools, including changes in budget composition, spending priorities, and resource allocation over time. Policy and system-level factors should be studied more explicitly, including the roles of state education agencies and higher education institutions in providing implementation support, professional learning infrastructure, and research capacity. Cross-sector integration should be examined, including school-based health centers and related initiatives, as well as the governance and data-sharing conditions that promote effective collaboration. Scaling should be approached as an implementation challenge, including how strategies spread across sister campuses in districts, what can be standardized without becoming overly prescriptive, and how to maintain quality as the model expands. This topic should also address the realities of shifting policies and funding by identifying effective approaches to gain administrative buy-in, community support, and long-term investment that remain resilient despite changes in priorities.

Suggested research questions:

1. What sustainable funding models and governance structures best support Community Schools throughout different stages of development, including higher resource needs at launch and stabilization over time?
2. How do blending and braiding strategies work in practice, and what district-level capacities and decision-making processes enable them?
3. What roles do state education agencies and higher education institutions have in improving implementation quality, ensuring sustainability, and enhancing learning infrastructure?
4. How do cross-sector initiatives, such as school-based health centers, connect with Community Schools, and which integration models enhance outcomes and sustainability?
5. What scaling strategies preserve quality while expanding to more schools?
6. How do changing political and funding environments impact sustainability, and what evidence and case-making methods enhance bipartisan relevance and long-term investment?
7. How do Community Schools become a sustained core identity and operational approach for schools and districts, across people, policy, practice, and provisions, instead of being seen as a separately funded program or initiative?
8. How do scaling strategies, costs, and cross-sector integration models differ across nested systems (school, district, city/county, state) and diverse political and geographic contexts? What approaches support place-based sustainability at scale?