Community Schools:
Key Strategy for Healthy
Kids
Shital C. Shah
Assistant Director
American Federation of Teachers
What we can 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?
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Highly qualified teachers
Strong leadership
Rigorous and engaging curriculum
Motivated students
Positive school climate
Safety
Effective use of technology
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Health & Education Linkages:
What Matters Beyond School?
• Low birth-weight and non-genetic prenatal
influences on children;
• Inadequate medical, dental, and vision care;
• Asthma;
• Physical activity;
• Teen pregnancy;
• Aggression and violence
Sources:
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
Charles Basch, Healthier Students are Better Learners. AS Research Initiative of the Campaign for Educational
Equity. Teachers College, 2009
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So, What’s the
Solution?
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What is a Community
School?
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A school where:
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The school and partners from across the community
come together to educate and support kids creating
collective impact
Community resources are strategically organized to
support student success
There is a focus on the whole child, integrating
academics, services, supports and opportunities
Oakland Unified Community School Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtFC3awuo&list=UUfjpuPCz1affRXHA3Z5kMCg
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http://bcove.me/g387031h
What are
educators
saying about
community
schools?
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Why are CS necessary?
Creating 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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Key Principles
• Foster strong partnerships
• Results-driven - shared accountability
for results
• Align school and community assets and
expertise
• Coordination
• Set high expectations for all
• Build on the community's strengths
• Embrace diversity
Core Community School
Elements
Family and community engagement
 Increased learning opportunities
 Health and social services
 Engaging curriculum connected to real
world
 Early childhood development
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Health Services in
Community Schools
• Vision care
• Mental health counseling (for students
and families)
• Dental care
• Immunizations
• Health education & programming (dance
classes, health eating, etc.)
• Community gardens
• Peer health promotion
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What Happens in a Community School?
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Shared Focus on Results
Ensuring students are:
• Attending regularly
• Achieving academically
• Engaged and motivated—civically and
academically
• Healthy—physically, emotionally, mentally
Families and Communities:
• Involved and supportive of children and their
education.
• Working together
• Creating a safe environment for all involved
• Make the community a more desirable place
to live
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Community Schools are
Producing Results
• Student gains in academic achievement
and non-academic 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.
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 2010-2011 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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Rules of Engagement for
Schools & Partners
• Learn “school”
• Ally with other partners in the school
• Align the work of partners and the
school toward common results.
• Be represented on the school leadership
team.
• Build structures > cultures > high
expectations
The Community Schools
Advantage
• Garner additional resources and reduce
the demands on school staff
• Provide learning opportunities that
develop both academic and nonacademic competencies
• Build social capital — the networks and
relationships that support learning and
create opportunities for young people
while strengthening their communities
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CS Across America
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Albuquerque, NM
Baltimore, MD
Chicago, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Hartford, CT
Kansas City, MO
McDowell County, WV
Multnomah County, OR (Portland)
Nashville, TN
New York City, NY
Philadelphia, PA
San Francisco, CA
Tukwila, WA
Tulsa, OK
Many more places…there are over 80 systems across the
country
How do you finance this
strategy?
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Financing Community Schools
1. Resources (financial & human capital)
support & strengthen learning
2. District dollars 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
Finding 1:
Most money supports learning
1) 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.
Finding 2:
District dollars leveraged 3:1
2) Diversified funding in community schools
leverages district dollars 3:1.
Educational Streams
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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
General Fund
Non-Educational Public Streams
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Local Sources
◦ City General Fund
◦ County General Fund
◦ Special Levies (Children’s Levies, etc.)
State Sources
◦ Children’s Services
◦ Housing & Community Services (emergency housing programs, etc.)
◦ Energy Assistance Programs
Federal Sources
◦ USDA CACFP (afterschool & suppers) & Summer lunch
◦ Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
◦ Community Services Block Grant
◦ Energy Assistance & Weatherization Funding
◦ SAMHSA
◦ Head Start
◦ TANF & Child Care $
Private Funding Streams
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United Way
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Businesses/Corporations (including Hospitals)
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Foundations
 Community Foundations
 Grantmakers in Education
 Other Foundations
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Universities
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Fees
WVBE Policy 2425: Community
Schools
Paula Fields, Community Schools
Coordinator
NEW Policy Titled:
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: PROMOTING HEALTH,
SAFETY AND WELLBEING FOR
ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF STUDENTS
(Policy 2425)*
*Public comment closed June 16, 2014.
Slated for approval on the July 9, 2014 WVBE Agenda.
The Objectives of the
Community Schools Policy
• to provide a framework for schools as they work
to address the complex needs of students.
• to recognize the needs and understand that
schools cannot meet students’ needs alone . . .
schools must engage the community to ensure
that all students’ and family needs are addressed
so they can be healthy and ready to learn.
• has been prepared as a positive for county
boards to embrace without mandates.
Logo
Resource Guide
Potential Funding
• Innovation Zone Grant
• School Improvement Grants
Paula Fields, Coordinator Community Schools
WVDE Office of Special Programs
305-558-8830
prfields@k12.wv.us
Resources
• Visit AFT’s Community School
page:
–http://www.aft.org/issues/schoolrefo
rm/commschools/index.cfm
• Visit the Coalition for Community
Schools:
www.communityschools.org