How can educational leaders cultivate and sustain collaborative partnerships that promote the holistic development of students?
Community school leaders strategically align resources by conducting comprehensive needs and assets assessments to address the deeper needs of students and families that extend beyond traditional school accountability metrics. They collaborate with out-of-schooltime partners, mental health clinicians, education experts, student representatives, and families, who contribute their expertise to advance a community school vision through the following strategies:
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Shared understanding and commitment: Equity-minded leaders facilitate a shared understanding and commitment within the school community to transform the educational experience, prioritizing the lives, interests, and needs of historically marginalized students and their families.
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Partnerships with families and the community: Effective community school leaders actively cultivate relationships with families and the broader community. These partnerships mobilize resources, support, and engagement, which positively influence student learning and socio-emotional development.
Community school leaders recognize that advancing equity requires more than relying solely on state-funded grants. Leaders committed to equity understand the importance of fostering a shared vision for the community school. They actively create opportunities for ongoing dialogue with the community, ensuring full commitment to realizing a collective vision.
In this two-part series, participants will:
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Visit a Bay Area community school, and family center
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Hear stories from community school leaders, partners, teachers, staff, students, and families
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Unpack and explore the conditions that foster community school transformation, such as building shared understanding and commitment, and forging partnerships with families and the community
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Engage with other Bay Area community school teams to exchange ideas
- Reflect on the necessary steps to implement cohesive community school practices in their unique contexts