Community Schools
What is the goal of a Community School?
The goal of a Community School is to empower families to empower students. This goal is accomplished through strategies that bring together school administrators, teachers, families, students, and community partners for the benefit of the “whole child” to address the gaps that may be preventing them from reaching their full potential. Whether it’s bringing medical services to the school or providing boxes of meals, these partnerships allow families and students to focus their efforts on academics.
The Alisal Union School District is a member of the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP), which supports schools’ efforts to partner with community agencies and local governments to align community resources to improve student outcomes. These partnerships help our schools focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement.
Community school strategies can help mitigate the academic and social impacts that affect local communities, improve school responsiveness to student and family needs, and organize school and community resources to address barriers to learning. Community schools often include four evidence-informed programmatic features, which are aligned and integrated into high-quality, rigorous teaching and learning practices and environments:
- Integrated support services
- Family and community engagement
- Collaborative leadership and practices for educators and administrators
- Extended learning time and opportunities.
What is a community school?
¿Qué es una escuela comunitaria?
What is next with Community Schools at AUSD?
Twelve Community School Coordinators will be hired, 1 per school site. Each coordinator will lead each site's inclusive and collaborative Community School Advisory Council. We encourage parents and school community members to join these councils to help steer the work at a site level to meet school needs.
Why is a Community School Advisory Council Team important?
Identifies needs and assets: The council can help identify student and family needs/assets and recommend ideas to address needs and leverage assets Fosters collaboration: The council can bring together people from the school and community to work together and develop a shared understanding and commitment to the Community School strategy
- Ensures effective implementation of the Community School strategy: The council can review data to ensure that programs and services support student and family development
- Offers community feedback: The council can provide input from the community, which leads to ownership from the school community.
In May of 2024, Alisal Union School District was notified they would be awarded $17,100,000 for all 12 schools to implement the Community Schools Strategy.
Congratulations Team!
Find out more about what we have been doing, thank you to the parent and community for always providing your input.
Quicklinks
- Community Schools Presentation (August 31, 2023) / Presentacion sobre las Escuelas Comunitarias (31 de agosto de 2023)
- District representatives and parents created this shared vision at the August 31, 2023 meeting.
Community Schools EMPOWER Summit Presentation