Full Service Community Schools at the Promise Neighborhood Network Conference

By Patricia Weinzapfel

In March, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement brought together its Full Service Community Schools (FSCS) and Promise Neighborhood grantees at the Promise Neighborhoods National Network Conference.

Department officials said the two programs were convened at the same conference for a number of reasons such as coordinating and pooling department resources. They also said much of the work of the FSCS grantees is the same as the work of the Promise Neighborhoods grant recipients. Both put strong schools at the center of efforts to improve the well being and long term success of children and families and both take a “whole child,” cradle to career approach to revitalizing communities. Many of the Promise Neighborhood proposals specifically include resources to support community schools. 

The conference was held in Washington D.C. There were more than 300 participants, including 37 individuals representing most of the FSCS grant recipients. Sessions centered on community and family engagement, financing and sustainability, and building effective collaboration and partnerships. FSCS grantees joined Promise Neighborhoods planning and implementation grant recipients at these sessions. FSCS grantees also took part in two sessions especially designed for them. One of the sessions offered FSCS grantees a chance to talk about their successes and challenges, to network and swap ideas, and to think collaboratively about how to sustain the work as some grants are entering their final year. 

The conference concluded with a presentation by Harlem Children’s Zone President and Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Canada who spoke about the importance of community building through educational opportunities. Harlem Children’s Zone is considered a model for the Promise Neighborhoods initiative.

Patricia Weinzapfel, Director of Community Schools, Center for Family, School and Community Partnerships, Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation

Symposium on Community Schools Research a Hit at AERA

By Reuben Jacobson, Senior Associate for Research and Strategy

This month I delivered two presentations on community schools at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting in Vancouver, B.C. The AERA meeting is the largest convening of education researchers from around the globe. I was very excited that AERA accepted two community school papers we submitted. I was especially pleased that an entire session on community schools was accepted for the Family, School, Community Partnerships division. Getting a paper accepted is rare since so many researchers submit proposals. I think our acceptance signifies that researchers and others are paying increasing attention to the growing community schools strategy.

We organized a well-attended symposium on community schools research titled, “Community Schools: Collective Trust, Collective Action, and Collective Impact.” We wanted participants to get a sense of the theory behind community schools, how they are organized, and their impact. I was glad to be joined by colleagues that have spent a number of years researching community schools. Sebastian Castrechini from the John W. Gardner Center at Stanford University presented “Community Schools as Ecological Systems: A Theoretical Framework,” a paper he co-authored with colleague Rebecca London. I then presented a paper on how systems of community schools are organized based on site visits to Tulsa, Evansville, Portland, and Cincinnati as well as a survey of 17 community school initiatives. The paper was titled, “Community Schools: Structures and Cultures for Collective Action.” Dr. Curt Adams from the University of Oklahoma presented a paper on his excellent research on the impact of the Tulsa Area Community Schools Initiative (TACSI) titled, “The Community School Effect.” Allan Porowski from ICF International presented a paper on the impact of the Communities in Schools model based on a series of studies spanning 10 years in his paper titled, “A National Perspective on Collective Impact: Methods and Results from the Communities in Schools National Evaluation” (watch Allan promote our symposium here). Finally, Dr. John Rogers from UCLA provided comments on the presentations and thoughts on the current state of the community school movement. Rogers wrote a paper in 1998 that analyzed the community school movement over the past 100 years and provided excellent perspective on the significance of these papers and the work being done in the field.

I also presented a paper on community school systems’ efforts to connect early childhood and schools in a paper titled “A Collaborative Approach to Achieving Ready Schools and Ready Students.” This paper was part of a symposium organized by some of our national partners titled “A Cross-Case Analysis of Preschool Through Third Grade (P–3) Alignment: Effective Practices and Policies at State, District, Municipal, and School Levels.”

Finally, Adeline Ray from the Chicago Public Schools Community Schools Initiative and her colleagues presented a paper titled, “Development of a Framework and Accompanying Rubric to Assess Community School Implementation and Sustainability Processes.”

It was clear from my conversation with researchers and the questions we received at the symposia that the academy is interested in studying education reform strategies beyond accountability and teacher evaluation. In short, they were interested in community schools and recognize it as a strategy that is gaining steam. I encourage all of you to reach out to your local colleges and universities and ask them to study your work, to help you improve your strategies, and to communicate your success (and challenges) to the broader education field.

For more information on the reports, contact Reuben Jacobson at jacobsonr[at]iel.org

Early Childhood Linkages with Community Schools: The Perfect Fit with Common Core Standards

As new standards for K-12 instruction are rolled out across the country, many early childhood educators and their input are being left out of the conversation. Rather than being a part of the formation of the Common Core standards, they are only recipients.

As evident in recent coverage in EdWeek, early childhood practitioners are playing catch up with these new standards. These standards, which are being implemented in 46 states and the District of Columbia, place emphasis on academic rigor to prepare students for college and career. This laser-like focus to academic structure runs counter to the importance of play and social development in a young toddler’s life.

Instead of developing these standards in concert with the early education practices, those that know the needs of young children best are being forced to round pegs into square holes.

Fortunately, some early childhood folks are making sure that they are in fact a part of the conversations. In Evansville, Ind., you would find these providers at the ‘table’ with the school district (Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation)

EVSC is being proactive and ensuring that the early childhood community is not only represented, but is helping make decisions in aligning community school early childhood efforts to the Common Core.

The EVSC is the third largest urban school district in Indiana. EVSC is embracing the Common Core Standards in order to prepare our students for life long success both in the educational system and the real world. The Standards come at the perfect time for EVSC, as we are building a high quality Early Childhood Program. Our school district and early childhood community are poised to support the implementation of the Common Core.

Best practices in early childhood education can inform K-12 instruction in order to achieve the relevancy and rigor of the Common Core. Development of curricula for early childhood programs is based on the importance of the depth of understanding, the application of knowledge and the opportunity to explore and experience the ‘real world’. Early childhood researchers and teachers know that hands on experiences, research, inquiry and investigation based on children’s interests are the most effective and robust ways to engage learners. The focus on the depth of learning versus the breadth of learning is intentional and informed. The premise that progressive and effective learning is based on the quality of the relationships among students, and between students and teachers and within the community is the foundation of the process. The perspective that students and teachers learn together fosters a respectful, trusting and engaging learning environment in high quality early childhood programs.

Community schools and early childhood programs are focused on the need for this family engagement, community involvement and real world engaging experiences to enhance academic success by looking at the whole child.

EVSC’s school/community approach serves as a catalyst and vehicle to foster those essential trusting relationships among families, service providers, community partners and teachers. These relationships are the infrastructure that enables our community to implement best practices and provide the systemic change and opportunity to learn together in order to create a seamless 0-8 system that we are developing.

Our work in the Mind in the Making project is a perfect opportunity to build on the current early childhood alignment and strengthen instructional strategies in elementary schools, reinforce priorities in the mental health services, and encourage relevant course work for future teachers via higher education.

The early childhood initiatives in Evansville are effectively aligned and scaffold through the work of EVSC Community Schools, 4C of Southern Indiana, Inc. (local child care resource and referral agency), Early Childhood Development Coalition and The Welborn Baptist Foundation.

This is an exciting time for educators at all levels. We have an opportunity to immerse ourselves in each other’s strategies to reflect upon the direction we are going. Most importantly, we have an opportunity to look in the mirror and rise to the occasion for each other and for the future success of our most precious resource - our children. The time has come to focus on conversation, not silence, in the classroom, to embrace creativity and individual interests and to understand that growing together, both students and teachers, makes learning purposeful and fun. It will take each one of us to be committed to reach for the highest hanging fruit in the educational process. The Common Core and best practices in early childhood education can serve as our catalysts.

Erin Ramsey is Director of Early Childhood for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation

Tough Neighborhood Forges Future Community School Leader

By Rosa Martin, Coalition for Community Schools Intern

For the past two and half months I had the opportunity to work with the Coalition for Community Schools through a competitive academic internship program available through my college campus, the University of California, Riverside. The concept of providing students with additional resources to improve their outcomes is a central tenant of community schools and has led me to contemplate the role of such resources and education in my own life.

The opportunities that I have been blessed with including this internship have changed my perspective on life - that I can accomplish great things outside of my hometown city limits. I cannot put a price on the education that I have obtained at UC Riverside. It was here that I had the opportunity to travel across Europe while studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain, a feat that I never fathomed possible as the daughter of a poor immigrant couple. The satisfaction that I have in life comes from the irrevocable knowledge that I gained, learning who I am and what I believe despite the influences’ of mainstream society and my own neighborhood.

I strongly believe that every person should have an equal opportunity at receiving a four-year education because it offers more than higher salaries; it gives individuals the critical thinking skills to defend themselves. It is a higher education that gave me the control to choose what I want for myself. This control is what a lot of people from my neighborhood only wish they had in choosing careers.

I graduated from a high school in San Bernardino County in the June of 2008. San Bernardino consists of a predominantly Hispanic and African American population living in low-income households, I having been one of them. In the 2008-2009 school year, only 24% of San Bernardino County seniors graduated with the necessary coursework to be eligible to attend a UC or CSU campus. Throughout my high school career, I took Honors and AP classes where my group of friends was comprised of these bright individuals. Unfortunately, many of us did not directly continue onto a four-year university although most of us graduated in the top of our class and were well equipped to do so. One of the highest-ranking students unexpectedly became pregnant, causing her to drop her plans to attend UC Davis. Two other peers, one that attended Dartmouth and another that attended UC Santa Barbara, dropped out midyear because they were unhappy with the campus. Although these students excelled on the nation’s difficult Advanced Placement exams and have proven to be academically prepared, they were not mentally prepared for college.

As I pondered the factors that caused these students to stay in San Bernardino, I realized the answer did not lie in the factors that were present, but rather the factors that were not present. Although the everyday curriculum of these students included rigorous coursework, it failed to make a connection to life in college. As an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) student throughout all four years of high school, I had a plethora of valuable resources that made this connection to college. AVID is a program that works to empower students in the academic middle that have a willingness to work toward college acceptance. AVID teachers frequently engaged families in parent nights where students play an active role in the actions of the event. During the AVID elective class, students learned about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and watched videos on college success. Students were provided with field trips to four-year universities and frequent guest speakers on higher education institutions and college programs.

The value of these relatively inexpensive resources in student lives is often taken for granted. In 2008-09, 89% of AVID graduating seniors were accepted to at least one four-year university, 65% higher than the County average. Of my AVID friends that went onto four-year universities, none have dropped out. I strongly believe that if my other peers had been exposed to the same resources, their college experiences would have been different.

Academics are not always enough and it is unfair to expect a student to succeed in a higher education institution when they have had minimal exposure to it. While learning more about the community school strategy at the Coalition, I was able to understand the connection between student success and the resources provided by AVID and community schools. The main difference between the two lies in that the community school strategy uses a diverse array of programs and resources to address the needs of all its students rather than a determined few. Community schools provide a variety of health, academic, and family resources whether in the form of afterschool programs, school-based health clinics, or college workshops. I hope to expand the community school work in California where there are many students that could benefit from the community schools strategy.

Beyond University-Assisted Partnership: The Professional Development School within a Community School

Dr. JoAnne Ferrara, Chairperson of Curriculum and Instruction at Manhattanville College explains the college's partnership with Thomas A. Edison School, a community school in Port Chester, NY. Two Edison teachers, Barbara Terracciano and Amy Simmons, provide first-hand accounts of teacher development in their community school

With the national focus on student achievement and accountability becoming extremely laser-like, school leaders are seeking creative ways to maximize resources for teachers and student success. Community schools provide the perfect setting where partnering with a higher education institution in the form of a professional development school (PDS), provides a comprehensive strategy for maximizing resources and addressing student’s academic needs. Community schools create a space that facilitates teachers’ professional growth and improves everyone’s practices, including pre-service teachers, college professors and administrators.

In our university-assisted partnership model, addressing the needs of the teachers is equally as important as helping students achieve academic success. Those of us that work in PDS settings believe that student achievement is deeply dependent upon many factors including the quality of teacher education, opportunities for professional development, and access to educational research. Teachers learn best in collaborative, collegial school cultures the where their professional growth and well-being are the norm rather than the exception. For more than a decade, Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York and the Thomas A. Edison School have sustained a PDS partnership focused on providing opportunities for practicing teachers, pre-service teachers, and college faculty to participate in a rich community of learners. In my work as PDS liaison I have witnessed teachers benefit from the professional growth opportunities made available in the strong integrated learning setting of a community school with a PDS component. Community schools/PDSs have the potential to create environments where teachers engage in rich learning experiences beyond their daily life within the classroom.

This unique example of a university assisted partnership enhances teachers’ instructional practices in two critical ways. First, it encourages teachers to open their classrooms to a wide range of members of the college community including professors, undergraduate and graduate pre-service teachers; by turning their classrooms into learning laboratories teachers not only increase their repertoire of skills, but are exposed to cutting-edge research that may improve their practice. Second, as a result of a strong college presence at the school, teachers or principals request on-site staff development related to a need expressed by the staff or goal of the school. The advantage of this type of partnership is that it allows immediate and on- going access to professional development when, and where, it is most needed. The following reflections from two of Edison’s teachers capture their beliefs about the benefits of teaching in a community school.

Barbara Terracciano is a first grade in an inclusive classroom at the Thomas A. Edison School. Prior to working at Edison, Barbara was a middle school social studies teacher at a suburban Catholic school.

Barbara:

“I was a Catholic school teacher for sixteen years before joining the vibrant community of the Thomas A. Edison School. Initially there seemed to be few similarities; however as I became more involved with the various partnerships that exist, specifically the special relationship with Manhattanville College, the parallels became more evident. In a Catholic school, parents and parishioners work together with the teachers and administration to form the school community. Together they nurture academic, social, athletic and religious development in the children through the parish school. In a similar manner, the partners of the community school work together with teachers, administrators and families to form their school community. This network supports the needs specific to our children and their families before, during and after school.

At Edison learning as a professional educator never ends! In my 16 year tenure in Catholic school, professional development was sporadic and rarely involved innovation that would impact the world of teaching. At Edison, we are on the cutting edge of creating the new best practices in our field. I have grown as an innovative and dynamic teacher. I solved problems using a multitude of resources including children’s input. This includes qualitative as well as quantitative research. The children’s reflections upon how it feels to be a student in our community school validate the important work that we do. I’ve extended my teaching (and learning) to the university level where I both take and teach classes. One example is the on-site science methods class that I hosted along with a university professor. It started as a conversation. We met to look at the possibility of developing a syllabus that was mutually beneficial to the needs of our students. What emerged was a model that is now adapted for other site-based courses.

When we first began discussing the possibility of a collaborative field-based science methods class, I was both excited and anxious. Even though I was an experienced teacher, I worried that I lacked the expertise in teaching science for this endeavor. Then there was the issue of time that concerned me. In these days of extensive testing, most of our effort is spent implementing initiatives focused on improving test scores. Science had been relegated to the back burner before we initiated this collaborative model.

Our conversations evoked memories of my own experiences as a science student-using a text book to memorize information for a test with limited hands-on experiences. I rarely recalled the information once the test was complete. I think about the constrained way that I had been teaching science to my students. This is particularly evident when I describe my lessons about insects below.

Before we worked together, I was really apprehensive about teaching with insects. I simply avoided any hands-on lessons, preferring instead to use diagrams and pictures. On my first trip to the pet store to purchase mealworms, I turned and left without buying the insects. My partner in this endeavor, the college professor, came to the classroom and helped me through the process of putting the mealworms in their own habitat using a spoon and oatmeal. She gave me the confidence to attempt something I never would have done alone. When the children returned after lunch, their excitement was contagious! During the next couple of weeks we observed our mealworms’ metamorphous, learning so much through the experience. Another example was with our butterfly garden. With her guidance, I was able to hang the chrysalis. Who would have thought I could do that? Working with this college professor provided me with more confidence in dealing with insects, but more importantly, it has enabled me to provide the type of inquiry-based learning to my students that results in greater understanding.

In addition to what I have learned about teaching science, I enjoy the time talking with the pre-service teachers about their lessons. Each of the pre-service teachers comes in to discuss their lesson plan a week before they are scheduled. When they come to me, I ask them, what they want to do, and we talk about how their lesson fits into our class curriculum, given time constraints and student needs. It’s so rewarding for me to sit and talk to the pre-service teachers; (hopefully) helping them relax. It also encourages me to be more reflective of my own instructional practice.

This inspiration is a gift I have received from working in the setting of Edison School where all the teachers are learners and collaborators. The types of intellectual conversations that exist before, during and after school at Edison enhance the learning environment for all of our children and adults.

Amy Simmons is a second grade teacher at the Thomas A. Edison School and alum of Manhattanville College. In a former life, Amy was employed in the business sector.

Amy:

Without a doubt, working at Edison is more complicated than working at most other schools. We compare Edison to a training hospital that has patients, interns, doctors, specialists, researchers, and outside agencies all working for the good of the patients and the overall improvement of the practices in medicine. The same is true at our school. All of our students, teachers, professional partners, specialists and pre-service teachers work collaboratively to reach the needs of our economically-challenged and mostly immigrant population, as well as to improve our overall educational practices. Last year, working with the PDS and community school partners we were able to develop and execute powerful literacy workshops and interventions for the families of our struggling readers and writers. Coordinated by Manhattanville College, SER of Westchester (our social services partner) and I, tapped into each other’s expertise. As the teacher, I knew the students, their families and the demands of the curriculum. Our PDS partner was able to address pedagogy and provide immediate tutoring opportunities outside of school for these students, and our social services partner provided further workshop opportunities to teach the parents (most of the new to the U.S.) about the cultural norms of education in the United States. From the outside looking in, this is an intricate and intense setting.

The learning curve is steep for a new teacher in general, but at Edison the rewards are immense, benefitting teachers, students, families, the community and the educational profession as a whole. I was trained as a student teacher at Edison through their PDS partnership with Manhattanville College. Because I have never worked in any other environment, I don’t know any other way but to work in this highly collaborative and deeply reflective manner. The expectations are high but this working model is producing a crop of teachers with a uniquely valuable skill set that sets them apart from almost any other beginning teacher.

Although we’ve worked together for several years, we continue to be amazed by the dynamic evolution of our Community School/PDS partnership as it responds to the needs of our community and the current trends in education. We believe the Community School/PDS takes whole child education to a new level.