Community Schools
January 17, 2017

Resources for Community Schools

Source: NYSUT Research and Educational Services

AFT’s Community Schools Checklist
Checklist for use by teachers and school staff, to complement the overall school-student-family needs assessments, which are completed during the planning of community schools. This tool is meant to be a conversation starter with your members, helping them assess all of the great stuff they already have taking place in their schools, in addition to what more they need to incorporate.

Voluntary Community School Standards (IEL [Institute for Educational Leadership] and the Coalition for Community Schools partnership):
They define best practices, identify seven guiding principles and provide a glossary of terms specific to Community Schools.

Annenberg Institute
Sustainable Community Schools: A Conversation-Starting Activity

American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
AFT Position on Community Schools and links to resources

Center for Community School Strategies
In collaboration with the National Center for Community Schools, of The Children’s Aid Society in New York City, a core team of TACSI (Tulsa Area Community School Initiative) staff conceptualized and launched the Center for Community School Strategies in early 2016, seeing a need in Oklahoma and the surrounding states for consultation, training, and overall support for schools interested in applying all, or just a select few, of the evidence-based strategies that make up the Community School model.

Center for Popular Democracy
The Center for Popular Democracy works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions. The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) is organizing to promote Community Wrap-around Schools as a core strategy to achieve sustainable gains in achievement and improved outcomes for children in high-needs school districts. There are links to publications, including a Community Schools tool kit.

Children’s Aid Society
The Children’s Aid Society has partnered with the New York City Department of Education since 1992; and currently collaborates in 19 community schools, located in Washington Heights, Harlem, the South Bronx and Staten Island. The Children’s Aid Society is an active and founding member of the Coalition for Community Schools.

Coalition for Community Schools
The Coalition for Community Schools, housed at the Institute for Educational Leadership, is an alliance of national, state and local organizations in education K-16, youth development, community planning and development, family support, health and human services, government and philanthropy as well as national, state and local community school networks.

Harvard Family Research Project
Since it was founded in 1983, HFRP has served as a national platform for forward-thinking perspectives on family and community engagement research, practices, policies, and strategies. Their work in family engagement focuses on developing frameworks and tools to promote involvement from early childhood through young adulthood—anywhere, anytime children learn—in the home, in school, and in community settings.

National Education Association (NEA)
NEA position on community Schools and links to resources

The NYC Community Learning Schools Initiative (NYCCLSI)
The NYC Community Learning Schools Initiative (NYCCLSI) aims to improve student achievement by meeting the health, safety and social service needs of students, parents and communities. It does this by facilitating partnerships between schools and non-profits, local businesses and non-governmental organizations, as well as with government agencies. These organizations, in turn, provide vital services to public schools, making each building a hub in the community.