Community Schools Build Human Connection Lacking in Technocratic School “Reform”
Child Trends, an education policy group that conducts research on strategies to improve the lives of children, has just released a new report (summary) on what are most often calledcommunity schools. These schools are known for their wrap-around social and enrichment services. They are sometimes called community schools, sometimes lighted school houses, sometimes wraparound schools. Child Trends calls these schools with integrated community supports.
According to the National Center for Community Schools, a division of New York City’s Children’s Aid Society, community schools are defined by three “interconnected support systems: a strong core instructional program designed to help all students meet high academic standards; expanded learning opportunities designed to enrich the learning environment for students and their families; and a full range of health, mental health and social services designed to promote children’s well-being and remove barriers to learning.” (Emphasis added.)
Community schools are open before and after school, on weekends, and during the summer with expanded learning experiences; they set out to engage the family in myriad ways. They are defined by formal partnerships with other agencies in the community that can operate in and around the school to improve learning, attendance, health, family engagement, enriched school climate and safer neighborhoods.
All community schools have a lead partner that coordinates the services that surround the