From statehouse to schoolhouse, interest in community schools and expanded learning opportunities (ELO) has grown. This report captures the interaction between these two mutually beneficial education reforms in local communities and draws important lessons that will help schools, districts, community partners, and others. It illustrates the…

From their beginning, community schools have expanded the learning day as a central component of their comprehensive strategy. Community schools of the early twentieth century served as centers of the community where students, families, and community members came to learn, to become civically engaged, and to prepare for the workforce. In this way,…

In 2009, the Coalition for Community Schools at the Institute for Educational Leadership (CCS-IEL) embarked on an ambitious action research and development project, leveraging the community school system infrastructure present in three geographic regions (Tulsa, Oklahoma; Multnomah County, Oregon; Albuquerque, New Mexico) to advance research and…

Students learn best when their physical, mental, emotional, and other needs are met, but schools rarely have the time and resources available to meet those needs. If schools can find a way to engage families and communities, students are more likely to succeed. But how? One answer is the community schools strategy. A community school has a set of…

A community school is a place and a set of partnerships connecting a school, the families of students, and the surrounding community. A community school is distinguished by an integrated focus on academics, youth development, family support, health and social services, and community development. The community school strategy is central to efforts…

Schools and communities can work together in unison to benefit children and families. This paper explores the issues and potential inherent in closer relationships between schools and community-building organizations. Drawing from interviews and conversations with community builders and school leaders in urban areas, it attempts to help educators…

Leaders in the nation's schools and communities are working together across the boundaries of education, government, and public, private and community-based agencies to create community schools. The 11 communities profiled in this report illustrate how cross-boundary leadership helps community schools move from pilot projects to large-scale,…

This tool contains a series of checklists to assist school and community leaders in creating or strengthening community school partnerships. The first checklist helps assess the development of the community school partnership. The second checklist helps take inventory of existing programs and services in or connected to the school that support…

Community schools foster a learning environment that extends far beyond the classroom walls. Students learn and problem solve in the context of their lives and communities. Community schools nurture this natural engagement. Because of the deep and purposeful connections between schools and communities, the curriculum is influenced and enhanced,…

This paper explores ways in which principals of community schools--and other principals who, though they may not yet identify their schools as community schools, are responding in a very similar manner--work successfully with community partners, families, and other key stakeholders to improve student outcomes. By reflecting on the topic from the…

Summarizes data from evaluations of 20 community-school initiatives that demonstrate their impact on outcomes that directly affect student learning. Collective results show that community schools improve student learning; promote family engagement with students and schools; function more effectively; and add vitality to communities. (Author/MLF)

Through this report, the Coalition for Community Schools, an alliance of more than 160 national, state, and local organizations, makes the case that community schools offer a practical and effective strategy for educating all children to their full potential. It outlines the advantages of community schools and the conditions for learning that…

Real progress toward large-scale comprehensive service delivery to children and their families is possible only when community agencies move beyond cooperation to genuinely collaborative ventures at both the service delivery and system level. The following factors that affect the success of collaborative efforts were developed from an analysis of…

This study, the second of 2 conducted by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) on the governance of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program, describes the growth and development of collaborative decision-making in 4 of the initial grantee communities after 2 years of funding. IEL's first report asked the original 99…

This study reviews the research on community schools and reports on evaluations of community schools initiatives across the United States. It explains that community schools are important solutions in improving student learning. It uses research and evaluation data, as well as local school experiences, to illustrate why community schools are…