Comprehensive community schools are needed now more than ever, according to experts who spoke during a Jan. 12 webinar hosted by the Center for Universal Education to launch the Community Schools Forward Task Force’s essential community school resources.
In light of the immediate and lingering impacts of the pandemic on students, families and staff, the community schools model has been identified as a strong strategy to address wide-ranging needs.
“We know that coming out of COVID, there are still long-lasting impacts on inequality, learning, children’s mental health — and the vast needs require a strategy that is commensurate to them. Narrow or short-term remedial approaches, while useful, won’t actually solve the core problems.” said Rebecca Winthrop, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. “The community schools strategy is, in my estimation, one of the best strategies that meets the moment. If schools can partner really effectively with the broad ecosystem of actors … it can help the financial sustainability of the holistic approach to education because school systems aren’t the only ones that have child-focused budgets, and they can blend and braid funding from other sectors.”
Rather than simply providing medical and dental care, or mental and behavioral health services, community schools combine academics with a range of vital in-house services, supports and opportunities to students and their families that are integral to promoting learning and overall development. And because each community school’s operations and offerings reflect local needs, assets and priorities, no two are identical.
The Community Schools Forward Task Force, convened by four national partners — the Learning Policy Institute, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, the Coalition for Community Schools and the Children’s Aid National Center for Community Schools — brought together national and local community school practitioners and advocates to identify and create field-informed resources to align, build and scale evidence-based, effective and sustainable community schools.
The resulting set of essential community school resources include a framework to define community schools; an implementation theory of action and key outcomes and indicators; assessment of capacity-building resources needed to strengthen community schools; and preliminary implementation tools and resources needed to scale community schools.
Community Schools Forward comprises three core strategies on how to best align, build and scale community schools. In support of those goals, the following three tools were developed to guide adoption and implementation:
Framework: Essentials for Community School Transformation: This visual framework shows the essential elements of a fully implemented community school and depicts the integrated nature of community school transformation.
Theory of Action for Community School Transformation: This tool explains the activities practitioners can undertake and the expected outcomes as they implement the essential elements of community school transformation. It also highlights the key structures that support schools to mature and sustain the strategy.
Outcomes and Indicators for Community Schools: A Guide for Implementers and Evaluators: This tool identifies realistic expectations for community school impact areas and long-term outcomes, and it specifies short- and medium-term outcomes and measures to monitor progress and continuously improve.
“Scaling community schools remains extremely challenging both for practitioners and for policymakers,” said Jeannie Oakes, presidential professor emeritus in Educational Equity at UCLA and senior fellow in residence at the Learning Policy Institute. In addition to the aforementioned guidance, a funding tool was developed to aid in starting, scaling and sustaining community schools.
The Community Schools Costing Tool and accompanying user guide are designed to provide a means of estimating the cost of transforming a traditional school into a community school, as well as to help users think about these resources within the context of a comprehensive community schools framework and assist with planning.
California and rural community schools
The California Department of Education in 2021 launched the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP), which supports schools’ efforts to partner with community agencies and local government to align community resources to improve student outcomes. In 2022, the Legislature added additional funding and expanded the program through 2031. There are three separate funding opportunities through the CCSPP: planning grants, implementation grants and extension grants. For more information, visit www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/hs/ccspp.asp
The new guidance can also be used to help rural and urban schools alike kickstart the process of transitioning into community schools, explained Dreama Gentry, founder and CEO of Partners for Rural Impact.
“The community schools model in rural places is just natural. It fits because in rural places the school is the heart of the community,” she said, noting that all community schools will be unique. “We’ve seen community schools on one side of the mountain look very different than one on the other side of the mountain, but what they all have are these essential elements,” outlined in the new tools.
“It works in rural places, it works in urban places — because it is really locally designed,” Gentry continued. “You’re using the evidence-based framework locally to put the kids at the center.”
A recording of the webinar and presentation slides are available at https://bit.ly/3krtrxJ
Shule za Jumuiya za Jumla zinahitajika sasa zaidi kuliko hapo awali, kulingana na wataalam ambao walizungumza wakati wa webinar ya Januari 12 iliyoandaliwa na Kituo cha Elimu ya Ulimwenguni ili kuzindua rasilimali muhimu za shule za Jumuiya za Shule za Jumuiya. Kwa kuzingatia athari za haraka na za muda mrefu za janga hilo kwa wanafunzi, familia na wafanyikazi, mfano wa shule za jamii umegunduliwa kama mkakati mzuri wa kukabiliana na mahitaji mbalimbali. "Tunajua kwamba baada ya COVID, bado kuna athari za muda mrefu juu ya ukosefu wa usawa, kujifunza, afya ya akili ya watoto, na mahitaji makubwa yanahitaji mkakati unaolingana nao. """ "Mafunzo ya muda mfupi, ingawa ni muhimu, hayatatue matatizo ya msingi,"" alisema Rebecca Winthrop, mwanachama mwandamizi na mkurugenzi wa Kituo cha Elimu ya Ulimwenguni katika Taasisi ya Brookings." <unk>Mkakati wa shule za jamii ni, kwa makadirio yangu, moja ya mikakati bora ambayo inakutana na wakati. "Ikiwa shule zinaweza kushirikiana kwa ufanisi na mfumo pana wa watendaji, inaweza kusaidia uendelevu wa kifedha wa mbinu ya jumla ya elimu, kwa sababu mifumo ya shule sio tu ambayo ina bajeti za watoto, na wanaweza kuchanganya na kuunganisha fedha kutoka kwa sekta zingine. ""Kulingana na kutoa huduma za matibabu na meno, au huduma za afya ya akili na tabia, shule za jamii huchanganya wasomi na huduma muhimu za ndani, msaada na fursa kwa wanafunzi na familia zao." Na kwa sababu kila shughuli na matoleo ya shule ya jamii huonyesha mahitaji ya ndani, mali na vipaumbele, hakuna mbili zinazofanana. Shirika la Shule za Jumuiya (CTF) lililoanzishwa na washirika wanne wa kitaifa - Taasisi ya Sera ya Kujifunza, Kituo cha Elimu ya Ulimwenguni katika Brookings, Muungano wa Shule za Jumuiya na Kituo cha Kitaifa cha Shule za Jumuiya cha Watoto - lilileta pamoja watendaji wa shule za jamii za kitaifa na za mitaa na watetezi wa kutambua na kuunda rasilimali za habari za uwanja ili kuunganisha, kujenga na kuongeza shule za jamii za ushahidi. Mfumo wa rasilimali muhimu za shule za jamii ni pamoja na mfumo wa kuelezea shule za jamii, nadharia ya utekelezaji wa hatua na matokeo na viashiria muhimu, tathmini ya rasilimali za kujenga uwezo zinazohitajika kuimarisha shule za jamii, na zana za utekelezaji wa awali na rasilimali zinazohitajika kupanua shule za jamii. Shule za Jumuiya Mbele inajumuisha mikakati mitatu ya msingi juu ya jinsi ya kulinganisha, kujenga na kuongeza shule za jamii. Kwa kuunga mkono malengo hayo, zana tatu zifuatazo ziliundwa kuongoza kupitishwa na utekelezaji: Mfumo: Mambo muhimu kwa mabadiliko ya shule ya jamii: Mfumo huu wa kuona unaonyesha mambo muhimu ya shule ya jamii iliyotekelezwa kikamilifu na inaonyesha asili ya ushirikiano wa mabadiliko ya shule ya jamii. Nadharia ya Hatua kwa ajili ya Shule ya Jamii: Chombo hiki huelezea shughuli ambazo wataalamu wanaweza kufanya na matokeo yanayotarajiwa wakati wanafanya mambo muhimu ya mabadiliko ya shule ya jamii. Pia inaangazia miundo muhimu ambayo huunga mkono shule kukomaa na kudumisha mkakati. Matokeo na Viashiria kwa Shule za Jumuiya: Mwongozo kwa Watendaji na Watathmini: Chombo hiki kinatambua matarajio ya kweli kwa maeneo ya athari ya shule ya jamii na matokeo ya muda mrefu, na hufafanua matokeo ya muda mfupi na wa kati na hatua za kufuatilia maendeleo na kuboresha daima. "Kupanda shule za jamii bado ni changamoto kubwa kwa watendaji na watunga sera, ""alisema Jeannie Oakes, profesa wa rais wa elimu ya elimu katika UCLA na mwanachama mwandamizi katika makazi katika Taasisi ya Sera ya Kujifunza." Kwa kuongezea mwongozo uliotajwa hapo juu, chombo cha ufadhili kilitengenezwa kusaidia katika kuanzisha, kupanua na kudumisha shule za jamii. "Kifaa cha ""Mashine ya Gharama ya Shule za Jumuiya"" na mwongozo wa mtumiaji unaoambatana na hiyo ni ""kuandaa njia ya kukadiria gharama ya kubadilisha shule ya jadi kuwa shule ya jamii, na pia kusaidia watumiaji kufikiria rasilimali hizi ndani ya muktadha wa mfumo wa shule za jamii na kusaidia na mipango.""" Idara ya Elimu ya California ilianzisha Programu ya Ushirikiano wa Shule za Jumuiya ya California (CCSPP) mnamo 2021, ambayo inasaidia juhudi za shule kushirikiana na mashirika ya jamii na serikali za mitaa ili kusawazisha rasilimali za jamii ili kuboresha matokeo ya wanafunzi. Mwaka 2022, Bunge liliongeza fedha za ziada na kupanua mpango huo hadi 2031. Kuna fursa tatu tofauti za ufadhili kupitia CCSPP: ruzuku ya mipango, ruzuku ya utekelezaji na ruzuku ya upanuzi. "Kwa maelezo zaidi, tembelea www.cde.ca.gov.gov.au.s.cps.asp Mwongozo huu mpya unaweza pia kutumika kusaidia shule za vijijini na mijini kuanzisha mchakato wa kuhamia shule za jamii, ""alieleza Dreama Gentry, mwanzilishi na Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Washirika wa Athari za Vijijini." <unk>Mfano wa shule za jamii katika maeneo ya vijijini ni ya kawaida tu. "Hiyo inafaa kwa sababu katika maeneo ya vijijini shule ni moyo wa jamii,"" alisema, akibainisha kuwa shule zote za jamii zitakuwa za kipekee." "Tumeona shule za jamii upande mmoja wa mlima zinaonekana tofauti sana na moja upande mwingine wa mlima, lakini kile wanacho kuwa nacho wote ni mambo haya muhimu", imeelezwa katika zana mpya. "Inafanya kazi katika maeneo ya vijijini, inafanya kazi katika maeneo ya mijini <unk> kwa sababu ni kweli ndani ya eneo hilo iliyoundwa, <unk> Gentry aliendelea. "Kama unavyoona, ""Mimi ni msaidizi wa watoto"" ni moja ya njia za kuanzisha mtandao wa kijamii na wavuti ya wavuti, ambayo inapatikana kwenye tovuti ya www.bitt.com."