The community school strategy is a set of partnerships that organizes community resources and builds community-school partnerships to support thriving students while building stronger families and healthier communities. This section provides an introduction to the unique characteristics of community schools and how these components address the underlying factors affecting academic outcomes and other crucial measures of student success. The section addresses questions around the structure, programs, services and core elements of a community school and community school district.

1. A RESOURCE GUIDE FOR
UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
Community School Characteristics
October 2012
Prepared by:
Iris Hemmerich
Urban Strategies Council

2. Community School Characteristics
Table of Contents
A Resource Guide for Understanding Community Schools .......................................................................... 2
Updating the Resource Guide ................................................................................................................... 4
Additional Community School Resources ................................................................................................. 4
Our Community School work with Oakland Unified School District ............................................................. 5
Community School Characteristics: Literature Review ................................................................................. 6
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Review ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
1. Function and Structure of a Community School ............................................................................ 6
2. Programs and Services Offered at Community Schools ................................................................ 7
3. Core Elements of a Community School ......................................................................................... 7
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Community School Characteristics: Annotated Bibliography ....................................................................... 8
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3. A Resource Guide for Understanding Community Schools
INTRODUCTION
Urban Strategies Council has collected and reviewed more than 175 evaluations, case studies,
briefs and reports for use by those considering or planning a community school or community
school district. Our intention is to provide interested individuals and stakeholders the
resources they need to better understand the unique structure and core components of
community schools. The promising practices, recommendations, tools and information shared
in this document have been culled from documents representing the last 20 years of research
and documentation of community schools across the United States.
We highlighted 11 content areas that we believe to be the most foundational for understanding
community schools. Within each of the content areas, you will find:
1. A literature review: The literature reviews for each content area are organized
around core questions and provide a synthesis of the most commonly identified
solutions and responses to each question, as well as highlights, promising practices,
challenges and recommendations.
2. An annotated bibliography: We gathered and annotated literature in each of the
content areas to underscore key themes, some of which include: best practices,
exemplary sites, models and tools. The annotations vary by content area in order to
draw attention to the most pertinent information. For example, the Evaluations content
area includes annotations of the evaluation methodology and indicators of success.
The 11 content areas include the following:
1. Community School Characteristics
Provides a general overview of the structure, function, core elements, programs and
services of a community school.
2. Planning and Design
Explores the general planning and design structures for community schools, and
discusses the initial steps and central components of the planning and design process, as
well as strategies for scaling up community schools.
3. Equity Frameworks and Tools
Examines literature and tools that can be adapted to an equity framework for
community schools. We included equity frameworks and tools that explore
disproportionality and the monitoring of disparities and demographic shifts.
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4. 4. Collaborative Leadership
Addresses how to build, strengthen and expand the collaborative leadership structure at
community schools. Collaborative leadership is a unique governance structure that
brings together community partners and stakeholders to coordinate a range of services
and opportunities for youth, families and the community.
5. Family and Community Engagement
Explores how community and family engagement operates as well as the challenges for
actualizing it at the site level. Family and community engagement is a unique
component of community schools in which the school, families, and community actively
work together to create networks of shared responsibility for student success.
6. Data Collection and Analysis
Addresses the outcomes measured at community schools, methods for collecting data
at community schools, and short and long term indicators.
7. Assessment Tools
Includes tools used to measure outcomes at community schools.
8. Community School Evaluations
Provides evaluations of community school initiatives with special attention paid to
methodology, indicators of success, findings and challenges.
9. Community School Funding
Explores how to leverage revenue streams and allocate resources at community schools.
10. Budget Tools
Includes tools that support the process of budgeting and fiscal mapping.
11. Community School Sustainability
Explores promising practices for creating sustainability plans, partnership development
and leveraging resources for the future.
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5. UPDATING THE RESOURCE GUIDE
Urban Strategies Council will continue its efforts to update the Resource Guide with the most
current information as it becomes available. If you know of topics or resources that are not
currently included in this guide, please contact Alison Feldman, Education Excellence Program,
at alisonf@urbanstrategies.org. We welcome your ideas and feedback for A Resource Guide for
Understanding Community Schools.
ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL RESOURCES
National:
The Coalition for Community Schools
http://www.communityschools.org/
The National Center for Community Schools (Children’s Aid Society)
http://nationalcenterforcommunityschools.childrensaidsociety.org/
Yale University Center in Child Development and Social Policy
http://www.yale.edu/21c/training.html
Regional:
The Center for Community School Partnerships, UC Davis
http://education.ucdavis.edu/community-school-partnerships
Center for Strategic Community Innovation
http://cscinnovation.org/community-schools-project/about-cscis-community-schools-
project/community-school-initiative-services-coaching-and-ta/’
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6. Our Community School work with
Oakland Unified School District
Urban Strategies Council has a long history of working with the Oakland Unified School District
(OUSD) to support planning for improved academic achievement. Most recently, we helped
develop and support the implementation of OUSD’s five-year strategic plan, Community
Schools, Thriving Students. Adopted by the Board of Education in June 2011, the plan calls for
building community schools across the district that ensure high-quality instruction; develop
social, emotional and physical health; and create equitable opportunities for learning. Urban
Strategies Council has worked with the school district, community members and other
stakeholders to support this system reform in several ways:
Community Schools Strategic Planning: Urban Strategies Council facilitated six School
Board retreats over a 14-month period to help develop the strategic plan. As part of that
process, the District created 14 task forces to produce recommendations for the plan, with
Urban Strategies Council facilitating one task force and sitting on several others.
Full Service Community Schools Task Force: Urban Strategies Council convened and co-
facilitated the Full Service Community Schools and District Task Force, which created a
structural framework and tools for planning and implementation, and produced a report
with a set of recommendations that formed the foundation of the strategic plan.
Community Engagement in Planning: Urban Strategies Council partnered with the district
to educate and engage more than 900 school and community stakeholders on how
community schools could best serve them.
Planning for Community Schools Leadership Council: Urban Strategies Council has been
working with OUSD’s Department of Family, School and Community Partnerships to lay the
groundwork for building an interagency, cross-sector partnership body that will provide
high-level system oversight and support, and ensure shared responsibility and coordination
of resources towards the vision of healthy, thriving children supported through community
schools.
Convening Workgroups: Urban Strategies Council continues to partner with the District to
convene and facilitate several workgroups developing specific structures, processes, and
practices supporting community school implementation, as well as informing the eventual
work of the Community Schools Leadership Council.
African American Male Achievement Initiative: Urban Strategies Council is a partner in
OUSD’s African American Male Achievement Initiative (AAMAI), a collaboration supporting
efforts to close the achievement gap and improve other key outcomes for African American
males in OUSD. Urban Strategies Council has developed data-based research; explored
promising practices, programs and policies inside and outside the school district; analyzed
the impact of existing system-wide policies; and developed policy recommendations to
improve outcomes in various areas identified by the AAMAI Task Force.
Boys and Men of Color: Urban Strategies Council is the Regional Convener for the Oakland
Boys and Men of Color site, which adopted community schools as a vehicle to improve
health, education and employment outcomes for boys and men of color.
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7. Community School Characteristics: Literature Review
Introduction
The community school strategy brings together a set of partnerships between the school and
other community resources to improve student learning while building stronger families and
healthier communities1. In order to accomplish this mission, the school becomes a community
hub with an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community
development and community engagement. The unique characteristics of community schools
set them apart from other reform strategies in that they address the underlying factors specific
to the community that affect both academic and non-academic success. We used three central
research questions to guide the literature review of the characteristics of community schools:
1. What is the structure and function of a community school?
2. What programs and services are offered at a community school?
3. What are the core elements of a community school and community school district?
Review
1. Function and Structure of a Community School
The broadly defined function of a community school is to develop the academic, social,
emotional, physical and civic competencies of students, while strengthening families and the
community2. Most research suggests that community schools accomplish this by integrating
core instructional programming with academic and non-academic enrichment and a range of
health and social services. By removing many of the obstacles that impede academic success,
the schools intend to create better futures for students living in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The foundation for the community school structure is most often defined as collaborative
leadership, planning, governance and oversight among the school, its community partners and
families3. A community school is normally jointly operated through a set of partnerships
between the school system and one or more community agencies. As part of the collaborative
leadership structure, families, youth, principals, teachers and community members help design
and implement activities that promote high educational achievement while using the
1
Coalition for Community Schools. “What is a Community School?” Coalition for Community Schools, 2012. Web.
24 April 2012. <http://www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/what_is_a_community_school.aspx>.
2
Coalition for Community Schools. “What is a Community School?” Coalition for Community Schools, 2012. Web.
24 April 2012. <http://www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/what_is_a_community_school.aspx>.
3
California School Boards Association. “Community Schools: Partnerships Supporting Students, Families and
Communities.” California School Boards Association, October 2010. Web. 19 December 2011.
<http://www.communityschools.org/assets/1/AssetManager/201010_CommunitySchools_PolicyBrief1.pdf>.
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8. community as a resource for learning. The literature suggests that most community schools
employ a full-time coordinator who oversees the delivery of an array of supports provided by
local agency partners. The coordinator also participates on the management team for the
school. Most often, outside partner agencies and organizations are primarily responsible for
programs and services related to health, mental health, and social services. Funding and
revenue streams generally come from local, state and federal grants, in-kind support from
community-based organizations, and partnerships with public and private agencies.
2. Programs and Services Offered at Community Schools
In addition to providing a quality education, the literature discussed community schools as
offering the following range of programs and services (in no particular order): (1) early learning
opportunities; (2) scholastic enrichment programs; (3) job training and leadership programs; (4)
cultural and civic events; (5) youth and community development programs; and (6) health and
family support services. The types of programs and services provided at each school site are
usually informed by an initial community needs assessment.
3. Core Elements of a Community School
The literature most commonly identified the following core elements of a community school:
(1) high quality education; (2) the alignment of school and community resources with the needs
of students and families; (3) a collaborative leadership structure; (4) the expansion of
afterschool and enrichment programs; (5) access to on-site services for students and families,
family and community engagement; and (6) extended school hours.
Conclusion
The unique characteristics of community schools offer a more holistic approach to addressing
the underlying factors affecting children’s success. Factors that detract from student academic
and non-academic success, such as access to healthcare and appropriate behavioral health
services, are integrated as part of several wrap-around services at or near the community
school site. Nonetheless, one of the most important community school characteristics to call
attention to is high quality education. Without quality education at the core of community
schools, targeted programs and support services will be insufficient in improving outcomes for
children and youth.
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9. Community School Characteristics: Annotated Bibliography
Community Schools: Partnerships Supporting Students, Families and Communities
California School Boards Association. California School Boards Association, October 2010. Web.
19 December 2011.
<http://www.communityschools.org/assets/1/AssetManager/201010_CommunitySchools_Poli
cyBrief1.pdf>.
The California School Boards Association defines a community school as a “hub of community”
where an array of public and private agencies collaborate with the school to provide integrated
services designed to meet the learning and developmental needs of students. The community
school structure involves shared collaborative leadership, planning, governance and oversight
among the school district, its community partners, and families. Funding and revenue streams
come from local, state and federal grants, in-kind support from community based
organizations, and partnerships with public and private agencies. The core elements of a
community school include high quality education, the alignment of school and community
resources with the needs of students and families, the expansion of afterschool and enrichment
programs, access to on-site services for students and families, strong parental involvement, and
extended school hours.
Community Schools Fact Sheet
Institute for Educational Leadership and Coalition for Community Schools. Coalition for
Community Schools. Web. 19 December 2011.
<http://www.communityschools.org/assets/1/AssetManager/CS_fact_sheet_final.pdf>.
The “Community Schools Fact Sheet” defines community schools as the center or “hub” of the
community. Community schools are explained as a set of partnerships between the school and
other community resources with a focus on academics, health and social services, youth and
community development, and community engagement. The core structure of a successful
community school includes cross-boundary leadership, long-term financing and sustainability,
and community and family engagement in decision-making to ensure that schools have the
support they need from all stakeholders. Both private and public schools can be community
schools, but the focus has been on public schools in disadvantaged communities. The function
of community schools is to address student and family needs in order to improve student
learning and build stronger communities. Community schools generally offer youth
development programs, quality education, community development and family support
services.
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10. Community Schools: Partnerships for Excellence
Melaville, Atelia. Coalition for Community Schools, 2002. Web. 19 December 2011.
<http://www.communityschools.org/assets/1/Page/partnershipsforexcellence.pdf>.
“Community Schools: Partnerships for Excellence” describes community schools as open to
students, families and the community before, during and after school hours, seven days a week
throughout the year. The school is jointly operated through a partnership between the school
system and one or more community agencies. Families, youth, principals, teachers and
neighborhood residents help design and implement activities that promote high educational
achievement and use the community as a resource for learning. Ideally, a full-time community
school coordinator would oversee the delivery of an array of supports provided by local agency
partners and would participate on the management team for the school. The report states that
in order to achieve desired results, most community schools consciously link programs and
services in the following areas: quality education; positive youth development; family support
services; family and community engagement in decision-making; and community development.
Full Service Community Schools: Creating New Institutions
Dryfoos, Joy. Phi Delta Kappan, January 2002. Web. 19 December 2011.
<http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/143110112993329507/lib/143110112993329507/Full-service-
community-schools.pdf>.
Joy Dryfoos uses the Coalition for Community Schools definition of a community school: a
school open to students, families and the community before, during and after school hours,
seven days a week throughout the year. The school is jointly operated through a partnership
between the school system and one or more community agencies. Families, youth, principals,
teachers and neighborhood residents help design and implement activities that promote high
educational achievement and use the community as a resource for learning. The school
authorities are responsible for high-quality education, but outside agencies are primarily
responsible for programs and services related to health, mental health, and social services.
Most of the financing for support services would come from categorical state and federal grant
programs as well as foundations. The programs and services that are generally offered include
quality education, youth development, family support services and community development.
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11. Community Schools: Opening Doors of Opportunity. The Children’s Aid Society 2007 Annual
Report
Children’s Aid Society. Children’s Aid Society, 2007. Pages 13-33. Web. 19 December 2011.
<http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/files/upload-docs/CAS-Annual_Report_07.pdf>.
The primary function of the Children’s Aid Society community schools is to provide children
with the support they need to succeed in school and become happy, productive adults. By
removing many of the obstacles that impede academic success, the schools create better
futures for students living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The philosophy is based on a
“developmental triangle” that integrates core instructional programming with academic and
other enrichment and with a range of health and social services that remove barriers to
learning and development. The core structure of the schools involves collaborative leadership
and shared accountability among stakeholders. Children’s Aid Society community school
programs include scholastic enrichment programs, vital medical, dental, and mental health
services, and parent and community engagement activities.
Promise Neighborhoods and Community Schools
Coalition for Community Schools. Coalition for Community Schools. Web. 19 December 2011.
<http://www.communityschools.org/assets/1/AssetManager/PromiseNeighborhoods_Commu
nitySchools.pdf>.
The vision of a community school involves extended hours and extended services as well as
deep and purposeful relationships with community resources. An array of community partners
work together around a set of shared outcomes to develop the academic, social, emotional,
physical and civic competencies of students, while strengthening families and the community.
The structure of the school involves effective partnerships in order to mobilize the resources of
the community to support the school’s core educational function and engage the community in
student support, family strengthening and community building activities. Community schools
typically provide early learning and care opportunities, expanded learning time, comprehensive
services and learning supports, strong family and community engagement, adult education, job
training and cultural and civic events.
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