1 / 20

Jane Quinn, Director

Community Schools: A Strategy, Not a Program. Jane Quinn, Director. A Strategy for What?. A strategy for organizing the resources of the community around student success… Pat Harvey, Former Superintendent St. Paul (MN) Public Schools. What is a Community School?.

cricket
Download Presentation

Jane Quinn, Director

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Community Schools: A Strategy, Not a Program Jane Quinn, Director

  2. A Strategy for What? A strategy for organizing the resources of the community around student success… Pat Harvey, Former Superintendent St. Paul (MN) Public Schools

  3. What is a Community School? A community school is both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, services, supports and opportunities leads to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities. Coalition for Community Schools

  4. A Second Definition… A community school is characterized by: • Extended Services • Extended Hours • Extended Relationships (“swinging door”)

  5. CAS Developmental Triangle core instructional program educational & cultural enrichment services that remove barriers to learning • physical health • dental health • mental health • social services

  6. Several well-known models: • Beacons • Bridges to Success • Children’s Aid Society Community Schools • Communities in Schools • Healthy Start • Polk Brothers Full-Service Schools • Schools of the 21st Century (Yale) • WEPIC (University of Pennsylvania)

  7. Underlying Research Base • Making the Most of Non-school Time • Reginald Clark • Milbrey McLaughin • Deborah Vandell • Whole Child Approach/ Application of Developmental Knowledge • Jacquelynne Eccles • James Comer • Parents’ Active Role • Epstein (six types) • Henderson and Mapp • Coordinated Services • Caring, Competent Adults/Consistent Messages • Werner/Benard (resilience theory) • Fritz Ianni

  8. New Data Add to This Base Charles E. Basch paper, entitled Healthier Students Are Better Learners: A Missing Link in School Reforms to Close the Achievement Gap, outlines causal linkages in 7 areas: These issues affect success and school can intervene: • Vision • Asthma • Teen Pregnancy • Aggression/Violence • Physical Activity • Breakfast • Inattention and hyperactivity

  9. Key Ingredients • Education First • Lead Agency as Partner, Not Tenant • Full-Time Presence of Lead Agency • Joint Planning (Particularly between Principal and CS Director) • Integration of CAS Staff into Governance and Decision-Making Bodies (e.g., School Leadership Team)

  10. Key Program Components • After-School and Summer Enrichment • Parent Involvement • Adult Education • Medical, Dental, Mental Health and Social Services • Early Childhood • Community and Economic Development

  11. Underlying Principles/Capacities • Comprehensiveness • Coordination • Coherence • Commitment

  12. Lessons from 15 Years of Capacity-Building • Many districts going to scale (Baltimore, Chicago, Portland) or incorporating underlying principles into district’s strategic plan (St. Paul) • Initiatives creating solutions to major challenges (e.g., sharing data; braiding resources; evaluating complex interventions)

  13. Results of CAS Community Schools • Improved academic performance • Higher attendance rates • Positive school climate • Improved school safety • Greater parent involvement • Improved student-teacher relationships • Teachers able to focus on education

  14. Evidence on the Effectiveness of the Community Schools Approach Joy Dryfoos examined 49 studies • These studies represented a “mixed bag” • 36 showed gains in student achievement • 19 showed improved attendance • 11 showed reductions in suspension • 12 showed increases in parent involvement • Other results included lower dropout rates, decreases in high-risk behaviors, less fighting and disruptive behavior, decreases in neighbor violence

  15. CCS Research Report ‘09 • Recent report from Coalition for Community Schools summarizes latest research • Key results include improved academic performance, improved attendance, higher graduation rates, improved behavior, positive youth development, greater parental involvement

  16. Funding Community Schools • Started with private funding but moved to a 50-50 mix of public and private over ten years (now at 66-34 with OST) • CAS now raises about $15 million per year for its 22 community schools and national technical assistance center • Major private sources include foundations, corporations & individuals

  17. Funding (continued) • Major public sources include Medicaid (health and mental health) • Early Head Start and Head Start (Federal grants) • 21st Century CLC (Federal money through State Ed. Dept.) • NYS Advantage and Extended-Day • NYC Out-of-School Time (general tax revenues)

  18. Lessons about Leverage • Non-education dollars from multiple sources can be leveraged to add value to the work of schools, in schools • CS can add both human and financial resources to schools • U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan calls CS “the most highly leveraged dollars I spent in Chicago”

  19. Final Words: Our Three Mantras • It’s all about relationships • Everything has to be negotiated—all the time • For community schools to work, the partners have to have the word “yes” written in their hearts

  20. www.nationalcenterforcommunityschools.org

More Related