In educational spaces, it is no longer aspirational but imperative that the community--with its richness and diversity--joins educators as key instructional partners to liberate the creativity, uniqueness, and potential of all students. As educators, we can miss the value of this collaboration. This brief defines critical perspectives, why…

This brief summarizes themes from interviews with seven district- and school-level leaders who were asked to share experiences and lessons learned while implementing PBIS [Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports] in their rural school(s). The results offer a starting place for discussion on what is important to consider when implementing…

Policymaking is not linear or neutral, nor is it ever made or enacted in isolation, especially not during a crisis. Framed by theories on the contextual, interactive nature of policy enactment, this year-long, ethnographic study examined how an urban elementary school and nonprofit organization worked to address challenges made visible by the…

Community partnerships empower charter schools by strengthening their capacity to serve the needs of students, families, and staff through deliberate partnerships with community-based entities. The autonomy that charter schools are afforded uniquely equips them with the flexibility to engage partners and even design schools for which one or more…

This Practice Brief was developed as result of the roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 PBIS Leadership Forum in Chicago, Illinois, with the purpose to describe the Family-School-Community Alliance (FSCA) and the FSCA's recent work focused on family-school collaboration in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). An…

After receiving a multiyear federal grant, an urban school district and community agency that focused on family literacy implemented a comprehensive school reform initiative called Providence Full Service Community Schools (PFSCS). A host of community partners collaborated to develop the PFSCS model with the broad goal of strategically connecting…

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…

This is the final external evaluation report prepared by SRI International for the Rural Math Excel Partnership (RMEP) project, an investing in innovation (i3) development project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Operated by Virginia Advanced Study Strategies, Inc. (VASS), the RMEP project included six rural school districts (LEAs) in…

One-fourth of all ninth graders in the United States will not graduate from high school within four years, despite the fact that the 21st Century workplace requires more advanced knowledge and skills than ever before. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive strategy to keep teens in school and ensure that they graduate prepared for the future,…

There is a need within health, physical education, recreation, dance, and sport programs to increase community engagement via experiential learning. The Chase Charlie Races are presented in this article as a model pedagogical strategy to engage community youths and families in a training program and running event to help promote fitness. Key…

School leaders are increasingly called upon to pursue meaningful partnerships with families and community groups, yet many leaders are unprepared to meet the challenges of partnerships, to cross cultural boundaries, or to be accountable to the community. Alliances are needed among educators, families, and community groups that value relationship…

The Austin Community Collaboration to Enhance Student Success (ACCESS) is a community collaboration between the Austin Independent School District (AISD) and public and nonprofit agencies. By implementing a number of innovative prevention and treatment programs to address the emotional, behavioral, and social needs of students, the ACCESS…

Developed for members of the community, this implementation mode is intended to be a stimulus to assist educators with the infusion of career education activities and goals into classroom subject areas. Uses for the booklet are suggested. It begins with a matrix showing the goals of career education. An explanation follows of the seven goals…

The principles and practices of successful parent centers in urban schools are presented so that parents and staff can use them when developing a center. The successful center begins with adoption of a model or philosophy to guide parents and staff. An interactive learning model is suggested as the most workable one, and its principles are…

This paper contains the revised drug education guidelines for the state of California, which emphasize prevention of alcohol and drug abuse. The materials define school-based alcohol and drug abuse prevention programming as a comprehensive process that not only provides students with accurate information about alcohol and drugs, but also enhances…