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…

Community schools are one of the most efficient and effective strategies to improve outcomes for students as well as families and communities. Community schools leverage public and private investments by generating additional financial resources from partners and other sources. This report looks at how community schools finance their work. It…

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…

Education is the foundation of democracy. As such it must work for all young people. Yet far too often young people disengage from learning and do not reach their full, human potential. Community schools--places where partners come together to offer a range of supports and opportunities for children, youth, families, and communities before,…

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,…

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,…

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 manual provides a guide for improving the coordination of education, health, and human services for at-risk children and families. The guide leads readers through a five-stage process of group collaboration. The milestones in and obstacles to the process are portrayed through vignettes and case studies that describe the personal experiences…

Community schools come in all shapes and sizes, offering wide-ranging support and opportunities for children, families, and the greater community. Elementary principals from several rural and urban community schools explain how close-knit community partnerships created campuses that involved parents, energized teachers, and enhanced children's…

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…

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…