Pillars of practice
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- Strong and proven culturally relevant curriculum
- High-quality teaching and learning
- Inclusive leadership
- Positive behavior practices (including restorative justice)
- Family and community partnerships
- Coordinated and integrated wraparound supports (community support services)
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Implementation mechanisms
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- Community School coordinator
- Needs and assets assessment
- School stakeholder problem solving teams
- Community School stakeholder/partner committee
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About 100 school districts have taken on the community schools strategy at scale. One such district is Union Public Schools in Oklahoma, which considers itself a district that has adopted a Community Schools approach. The district’s eight elementary schools — which all receive federal Title I funding — have a community schools coordinator on staff and two schools have full-service medical clinics on-site. These are available to the community as well. In addition, mental health providers see students throughout all district schools and families have access to districtwide clothing support. The Tulsa City-County Health Department also offers nutrition programs and health and wellness programs for students, as well as demonstrations for parents. The Oklahoma Caring Foundation offers free immunizations for all students. Additionally, community schools in the district offer a range of early childhood programming and adult education. Based on standardized test scores, an external evaluation that controlled for individual student poverty and the diffusion of the strategy in a school concluded that Union’s community schools have narrowed the achievement gap between low-income students and their more affluent peers.https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/08/22/454977/building-community-schools-systems/
Perhaps bolstered by a strong inherent sense of community values and kuleana, Hawaiʻi has some bright spots in adopting the Community Schools Model. In particular, schools in the tight-knit communities of Hāna and Kohala have been listening to the needs of its students, staff and families, displaying strategies to support the development of all the members of the community.