Claudia Gallindo and Mavis Sanders describe what they've learned from their research about how full-service community schools connect with families and communities. These schools acknowledge that students have needs that go beyond that need and attempt to address those needs and serve as a hub for the community. The current movement goes beyond…

As community schools spread across the country, community school staff need effective approaches to engaging families and community-based partners. Such principles must be broadly applicable, given community schools' mandate to adapt to different local contexts. Based on recent research on Baltimore City's community schools, the authors highlight…

Moving from a traditional school district to one that embraces a community schools model requires fundamental shifts in organizational structure and practices. Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in southern Indiana and Vancouver Public Schools in Vancouver, Wash., are two districts that have navigated this change. Leaders from those…

North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District experienced a significant improvement in its graduation rates for students from low-income families--from just 52% in 2009 to 85.2% in 2016--which has been credited to the district's shift to community schools.

To build and maintain a genuine partnership between the school and those it serves requires sophisticated leadership. Leaders can develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to create effective community schools, and they should do so purposefully, choosing to learn, model, and practice successful strategies in all aspects of their work. Such…

Community schools are a sound education reform strategy that gets results. They start by asking local students and their families what they need to succeed in school, then they reach out to relevant community partners and use the school as the hub for organizing partnerships, services, and supports. By listening closely to the assets and needs of…

Community schooling is an effective tool for combating the effects of poverty by integrating academic, social service, health, and economic supports for students, families, and community members. But this is complex work, requiring extraordinarily careful planning and assessment. This article suggests a planning framework that can help community…

Community schools have a long history of helping students succeed in school by addressing the problems they face outside of school. But without specific data on students and the full range of their needs, community schools cannot be as effective as they would like to be. Driven by the desire to make more data-informed decisions, the Children's Aid…

Communities around the country are converging on a new approach to raising achievement for low-income children. This approach draws on two reform movements: (1) full-service community schools that provide wraparound health and social services to children and families, and (2) Prenatal through Grade 3 initiatives to improve quality, alignment, and…

This article describes an urban high school's response to gun violence, chronicling how the school's mission, full-service community orientation, and commitment to authentic cariño (caring) allowed students to respond to grief and tragedy and develop an ongoing peace building movement that seeks to transform students' lives and the communities…

The lack of opportunities for youth to engage in meaningful academic practices such as reading, writing, and speaking feeds the school-prison nexus. But budget cuts, teacher layoffs, and program depletions make providing a rigorous, well-rounded, 21st century education increasingly difficult. Yet is still possible to do, especially in a…

School leaders who want success for all students know that it does not come easily. Getting to what activates student improvement often requires a major unearthing of beliefs about instruction and leadership practices. Such inquiry can help schools realize that their current ways of working are not meeting student learning needs and that practices…

This past June, a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court declared integration plans in Louisville and Seattle unconstitutional because of their focus on race as one factor in assigning students to schools. The Court's ruling in the "Parents Involved in Community Schools" v. "Seattle School District No. 1" and…

Defines the full-service community school concept and then describes its evolution, characteristics, and value based on an analysis of 49 evaluation reports, 46 of which reported positive outcomes. Discusses the realities of implementation. Concludes that full-service community schools are a viable alternative to traditional schools, especially in…

Building social capital for poor children is an important endeavor. Disadvantaged children generally lack a network that allows them to thrive in school and achieve a sense of belonging. Schools in impoverished neighborhoods can strengthen ties to students by building links to the community, becoming full-service community schools, and joining…