Transcript Community Schools: Key Strategy for School Transformation

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Community Schools:
A Strategy for Resource Equity and School
Transformation
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What we all agree on…
• Home, school, and community all matter to a child’s education and development.
• We need strong teachers and principals that are supported by school systems.
• Accountability matters.
• Public schools are central to our democratic society.
• Fiscal stringency is the order of the day.
• Schools and communities must work together for the education of our children.
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What Matters in School?
• Highly qualified teachers
• Strong leadership
• Rigorous and engaging curriculum
• Motivated students
• Positive school climate
• Safety
• Effective use of technology
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What else matters?
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Beyond School Factors that Impact Learning
• Low birth-weight and non-genetic prenatal influences on children;
• Inadequate medical, dental, and vision care;
• Food insecurity;
• Environmental pollutants;
• Family relations and family stress; and
• Neighborhood characteristics including a child’s family’s residential instability
Source: Berliner, David C. (2009). Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success. Boulder and Tempe: Education and the Public Interest Center &
Education Policy Research Unit. Retrieved [date] from http://epicpolicy.org/publication/poverty-and-potential
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So, what’s the Solution?
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Community Schools!
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What is a Community School?
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Students in Oakland, California made this short video to
explain the concept:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtFC3awuo&list=UUfjpuPCz1affRXHA3Z5kMCg
What is a Community School?
Community
Family
Child
COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT
SERVICES
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What is a Community School?
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A “Community School” is a type of school where:
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The school and partners from across the community come together to educate
and support kids creating collective impact
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Community resources are strategically organized to support student success
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There is a focus on the whole child, integrating academics, services, supports and
opportunities
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The school and partners from across the community come together to educate
and support kids creating collective impact
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Community resources are strategically organized to support student success
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There is a focus on the whole child, integrating academics, services, supports and
opportunities
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Many Names…. Same Concept:
Community School=
Community Learning Center=
Integrated Instructional Supports Model=
Integrated Student Supports=
Full-Service Community Schools Model
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What is the Community Schools Strategy?
“Community Schools” is also a strategy (or set of strategies)
that continues to evolve as it is practiced around the US by:
• School districts
▫ Cincinnati, Ohio; Oakland, California
• Multiple school districts in partnership with county and city governments
▫ Portland, OR
• Service providers who partner with school districts and individual schools
▫ Communities in Schools, for example
• Third party organizations who mobilize the cross-sector governance and
manage collaboration between school districts, local government, service
providers and more
▫ Say Yes to Education in Syracuse and Buffalo, NY
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Community Schools Strategies
Are…
Are not….
• strategies for achieving equity of
opportunity (and in Pittsburgh, the
Promise, for all Pittsburgh kids)
• strategies to racially re-segregate schools
and neighborhoods by worsening the
inequitable distribution of resources
• strategies for improving community health
and prosperity as well as improving
educational outcomes
• meant to be fully-funded by the school
district
• strategies for strengthening public school
districts where many children are living in
poverty that also provide reasons for
middle class families to keep their children
enrolled
• the same in every community
• temporary programs that lose funding
after a few years
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Why do we need Community Schools Strategies?
Community Schools create the conditions for learning:
• Early childhood development programs nurture early learning and development
• Qualified teachers, challenging curriculum, high standards, and high expectations
• Students are motivated and engaged
• Students have increased learning opportunities
• Physical, social, and emotional needs are met for youth and families
• Collaboration and respect between families and schools staff
• The community is engaged in the school and promotes a school climate that is safe,
supportive, and respectful and that connects students to a broader learning community.
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Community Schools Guiding Principles
• Focus on Equity
• Results-driven - shared accountability for results
• Align school and community assets and expertise
• Coordination between school, community and
service providers at school and district levels
• Set high expectations for all
• Build on the community's strengths
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Community Schools Produce Results
• Student gains in academic achievement and nonacademic development widely evident;
• Parent/family participation seen as
instrumental to children’s success;
• Schools have stronger staff and parent
relationships, improved school climate and greater
community support;
• Community is stronger – improved safety and
connections among people.
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Student Academic Outcomes
• Cincinnati, OH - students receiving any opportunity or support service including tutoring,
mentoring, college access, or after-school activities saw, on average, a 5.6 point increase in
their reading scores from 2009-2010 to the 2010-2011 school year and a 4.6 point advance
in math. This was in marked contrast to the 2.0 gain in reading and the 1.8 point gain in
math among students who did not receive services. Cincinnati was also the first urban
school district in Ohio to receive an effective rating and is the highest rated urban school
district in the state.
• Tulsa Area, OK Community Schools TACSI students significantly outperformed
comparison students in math by 32 points and in reading by 19 points in schools where the
community school model was implemented most successfully.
• Hartford, CT - Schools showed gains in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 test scores, and 20102011 scores remained steady. Afterschool participants demonstrated steady or greater
increase in proficiency levels from 2009 through 2011, compared to non-participants.
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Non-Academic Outcomes
• An analysis of report cards in 11 K-5 City Connects (CCNX) schools in Boston
MA, showed that CCNX students significantly outperformed students in
comparative schools in academic work effort across grades 3-5 and had
significantly better work habits by grade 5.
• In a national evaluation of Communities in Schools (CIS), teachers indicated
that CIS has a positive effect on their performance in the classroom by
contributing to students’ classroom preparation and fostering positive attitudes
toward learning.
• In South King County, WA, 60% of students identified as needing help
increased their class participation, attention and motivation; three quarters
improved their academic performance over the course of the year. Student and
teacher feedback indicated that programs help students feel safe and
supported, foster a sense of belonging; and provide middle and high school
students with opportunities to lead and mentor
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Community Schools Core Elements
At a School
At the District Level
• Curriculum that is engaging, culturally
relevant and challenging
• Cross-Sector Leadership that
Includes:
▫ City
▫ County
▫ School District
▫ Private Philanthropy
▫ Non-Profit Sector
▫ Higher Education
• High quality teaching
• Coordinated wrap-around supports
• Positive discipline practices such as
restorative justice
• Transformational parent and
community engagement
http://www.reclaimourschools.org/
• Data-sharing capacity between the
school district and other
government agencies
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Community Schools Implementation: Coordination is Key
At a School
At the District Level
• A Site Coordinator works closely with
the principal to ensure that in-school
academic programs are coordinated with
expanded learning opportunities and
wrap-around support services
• Commitment of School District, City and
County Leadership to work together
▫ The Site Coordinator makes sure that
teachers and service providers are
working together to meet every child’s
needs
• Parents, students and the community are
included in planning and decision-making
• City-wide, cross-sector governance model
▫ Develops city-wide strategy– engages
partners
▫ Develops and resources student
information management system
▫ Mobilizes Resources
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How do we scale-up?
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Scaling Up….
• a place and a set of
partnerships
connecting school,
family and community
A Community
School
A System of
community
schools is…
• a vertical network of
schools from pre-k
through grade 12 in a
single attendance
area, linked across one
or more districts
• A community-wide
infrastructure able to
support the social,
emotional and
physical needs of
every child and family
and increase
opportunities for
Community
future A
success
where learning
happens
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Pittsburgh has some Community Schools strategies
already in play:
• A commitment to ending racial disparities in student achievement
• A partnership with Communities in Schools at Arsenal K-5
• Homewood Children’s Village partnership at Pittsburgh Lincoln and
Faison
• Parent Engagement Specialists and the FACE Coordinator position
• Partnerships with mental and behavioral health providers
• And more…
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We are at a great place to begin “scaling up”
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Scaling Up - Six Stages
1. Decide to Scale up
2. Develop and operating framework- Assemble Cross-Sector Leadership
Table
3. Plan for Scale up
4. Plan for Sustainability
5. Implement systematically
6. Continue Improvement and Expansion
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How do you finance this strategy?
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Financing Community Schools
1. Resources (financial & human capital) support & strengthen learning
2. District dollars can be leveraged 3:1
3. Collaborative leadership at site and system levels support finances
4. Public and private partners expand capacity
5. Coordination leverages capacity at minimal cost
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Key Finding 1: Most money supports learning
Community schools use the
bulk of their resources
to directly assist schools
in meeting their core
instructional mission,
while also strengthening
the health and wellbeing of students,
families and
neighborhoods.
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Key Finding 2:
District dollars leveraged 3:1
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Educational Funding Streams that have been used for
Community Schools Strategies
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Title I
SIG – Title I School Improvement Dollars
1003 G – School Improvement Dollars
Special Education
Title II – Professional Development
Title III – English as a Second Language
Title IV – Safe and Drug Free Schools
21st Century Community Learning Centers
Full Service Community Schools Grant
Carol M. White Physical Education Grant
Safe Schools / Healthy Students
McKinney Vento Homeless Grant
Even Start
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Non-Educational Public Funding Streams that can be
used for Community Schools
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Local and State Sources
◦ City General Fund
◦ County Human Services and General Fund
◦ Special Levies (Children’s Levies, etc.)
◦ Housing & Community Services (emergency housing programs, etc.)
◦ Energy Assistance Programs
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Federal Sources
◦ USDA CACFP (afterschool & suppers) & Summer lunch
◦ Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
◦ Community Services Block Grant
◦ Head Start
◦ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) $
◦ Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care Block
Grant $
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Private Funding Streams that can be tapped
for Community Schools
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United Way
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Businesses/Corporations (including Hospitals)
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Foundations
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Universities
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Fees
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Additional Resources
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Cincinnati model video, 10:40 minutes
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1242998670001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAC3mzbE~,dCIKjAZidqZbNR94vj6uok1KgxwxBk4&bctid=3006301208001
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What are teachers saying about Community Schools?
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Video highlighting 3 teachers experiencing Community Schools in San Francisco, CA, St. Paul, MN and Cincinnati, OH, 7:22 minutes
http://bcove.me/g387031h
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Visit AFT’s Community School page:
▫ http://www.aft.org/issues/schoolreform/commschools/index.cfm
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Visit the Coalition for Community Schools: www.communityschools.org