Community Schools
Community learning centers. Full-service schools. Community hubs. Whatever you call them, community schools make a difference in the lives of children, families, educators, and their communities each and every day. By moving beyond the normal confines of the school and partnering with local stakeholders, community schools provide real solutions to the unique problems of the students and families they serve, and are another major step forward in reclaiming the promise of public education.
Community schools aren’t just centers of education; they’re the new heart of the community itself that help create better conditions for both teaching and learning. They’re a place where teachers, families, community members and service providers can come together in coordinated, purposeful and results-focused partnerships. They become the center of their communities by providing services to students, families and neighbors that best serve their needs, while at the same time promoting stable, healthy neighborhoods.
The community schools strategy engages a wide variety of stakeholders to provide opportunities and access to our students and families for life success. While it is important to understand why a school is undertaking school turnaround, identifying how the various stakeholders can contribute is just as significant. Across the country, unions, teachers and school staff are actively helping with planning, implementing and educating people about the community schools strategy, at both the school and district levels, in the following ways:
- Deepening and supporting instructional components;
- Ensuring fidelity to the community school strategy;
- Building relationships and ensuring transparency;
- Convening conversations;
- Educating and engaging teachers, school staff, families, community members and policymakers;
- Advocating for supportive policies and pro-community school elected officials; and
- Leveraging labor-management collaboration to drive and sustain the strategy.
Learn more: http://www.aft.org/position/community-schools
For more information or to help support the community schools strategy, contact Shital Shah at sshah@aft.org.