Commitment to Community Schools: Alignment in Purpose | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Commitment to Community Schools: Alignment in Purpose | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Commitment to Community Schools: Alignment in Purpose

The Coalition for Community Schools on behalf of Hartford Public Schools

Story posted October 22, 2013
Results:

• Between the 2009-2010 and 2011- 2012 school years, reading proficiency scores increased by over 10 percentage points
• School attendance for children participating in afterschool programs has increased by 1% – 3%
• Proficiency across math, reading and writing performance increased or remained constant across three years for after-school participants, while decreasing in math and writing for non-after-school participants

Hartford’s community school initiative probably could have been started by any of the four agencies or organizations represented on the leadership team. But what has made the effort so strong in its relatively short five-year life is that partners from across the city are involved and deeply dedicated to expanding and sustaining a model built on best practices.
Mayor Pedro Segarra’s office, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, and the Hartford Public Schools all financially support and participate in the Hartford Community Schools Partnership (HCSP).
“To have all of the partners is a really important commitment,” says Sandra J. Ward, the director of Hartford Partnership for Student Success (HPSS). “At any point we might have had to hit the restart button by having a new leader. But we’ve weathered all that. We had a new mayor and new superintendent since we started this work.”

Forming a Solid Foundation

The initial community schools were chosen as part of the district’s efforts to improve outcomes in its lowest-performing schools. As the work was beginning in 2008, the Hartford Board of