Ira
Harkavy, Director, Netter Center for Community Partnership
at the
University of Pennsylvania
Martin
Blank, Director, Coalition
for Community Schools.
The Community Agenda focuses on vital
school/community partnerships to support student outcomes and provide
solutions
to improve the lives of struggling youth, families and neighborhoods.
To RSVP
for this event, please email Maame Ameyaw at .
Space is limited.
The Community AgendaEndorsers - there are over 100 endorsers from a
broad range of community based, health, youth, higher education, school
districts, and parent-focused organizations.
“In
Portland, the
community schools approach is not just about education…it is our
primary
anti-poverty model.” ~
Ted Wheeler, Multnomah
County Chair
“Community
schools offer a powerful
way of involving families in our schools…there is now a positive sense
of
relationship with schools, which ultimately impacts student
achievement.” ~ Carole
Smith, Superintendent of Portland
Public Schools“
We
see our schools as the
anchor of the community. The Community Schools Initiative is one way to
improve
student achievement, increase parental involvement and create
opportunities for
the community to support our schools.” ~ Arne Duncan, CEO of Chicago
Public
Schools
Noteworthy...
New
Publication! As part of their Closing the Achievement Gap
series, Annie E. Casey Foundation released: Closing the
Achievement Gap: School, Community, Family Connections. This publication
argues that
community schools can improve student learning, increase parent
participation,
give teachers more time to focus on instruction, and contribute to
making
schools and the community safer. It highlights
stories about the Harlem Children’s Zone
Practitioners Institute, parent organizing in Texas
and Denver, one California
school district’s innovative
parent engagement policy, and the Foundation’s contribution to results
measurements in the field. Click
here to read more...
NY Times Sunday
Magazine Highlights New Orleans School System
In August
17th’s Sunday NY Times Magazine, Paul Tough discusses the
reconstruction of the New Orleans Public School system by
speaking to various key players: teachers, parents, and
administrators. The article offers the contrasting views of Paul
Pastorek, State Education
Superintendent, as well as Dianne Ravitch.
From
the Hill:Arne
Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of the
Chicago Public Schools, speaks about Community Schools on Capitol Hill
Watch
the video:
Publications and
Tools
Communities In Schools
(CIS) releases results of
seven-state study that shows improvement in math,
reading and graduation rates is linked to integrated service
provision. One
of the most notable findings is that the Communities In Schools Model
of
providing integrated student services has a stronger impact on
school-level
outcomes than providing services for students in an uncoordinated
fashion. Read
more here...
America's Children in Brief: Key
National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008
The
2008 edition of "America's Children: Key National Indicators of
Well-Being," compiled by the 22-member Federal Interagency Forum
on
Child
and Family Statistics, presents indicators in seven sections:
family
and social
environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment
and
safety, behavior, education, and health. This range of
indicators, stresses
the importance of partnerships that schools must establish across these
sectors,
in order to improve all of these student outcomes. Click here for
more details.
Tool!Public
Education Network Launches "Civic Index for
Quality Public
Education"�
The Coalition's partner,
PEN, released a national poll and a groundbreaking "Civic
Index for Quality Public Education" which has shed new light
on the public's views on school progress, politicians' commitment to
education, and the strength of community commitment to helping improve
education.
YMCA
National Magazine Highlights Community Schools
Local YMCAs are organizing
community schools around the country using the assets of entire
communities to better prepare their children and families for success.
“Beyond the Basics” highlights community schools, showing the positive
results that such an approach produces. The first YMCA community
school, Stevenson YMCA in Long Beach, was created 10 years ago. Read
more about Stevenson and other YMCA community schools here.
Leading
Change: Resources for Principal Preparation and
Professional Development.
The Coalition for Community
Schools, with support from the MetLife Foundation, has created a
one-stop-shop for principal preparation and professional development
programs and practicing principals. On this website, you will find the
best research and tools on nine essential topics that will help
principals effectively engage communities and families. Please
visit the website.
Community Schools in
the Education Reform Debate
Randi
Weingarten’s
public support for Community Schools has created a buzz across all
sectors, in news articles and the blogosphere. Click
here to read her
speech .
Participate in the Education Reform debate by sending letters to your
local newspapers, news stations, radio stations, and post on blogs.
To help get you started, here are a few templates that you
can use:
Join Youth Service America and its partners in accepting the National
Learn & Serve Challenge, October 6-12, 2008!
Through service-learning,
young people can "BE A SOLUTION"� to real world challenges that face
our community, nation, and the world. Join your peers from
around the country for a concentrated week of special events and
community outreach activities designed to raise awareness and build
support for service-learning. October 6-12 marks the kickoff
week to raise awareness about service-learning successes across the
country with the spirit of continuing the effort throughout the year.
Organized by the National Service-Learning Partnership, visit
the program's newly revamped official website for the National Learn
& Serve Challenge at http://www.learnandservechallenge.org
for more information, Challenge Gear, activity ideas, and cool tools
you can use.
43rd
Annual NCEA Conference, Nov. 5-8, 2008
Join
National Community
Education Association for their 43rd Annual NCEA Conference and
connect with Community Education colleagues and resources from around
the
country. It will be held in Dallas, TX . Click
here for registration information.
Community
and Family Engagement: Principals Share What Works.
Informed by the work of principals, this paper finds six keys
to community engagement that help school leaders engage families,
staff, partners and the larger community in the life of the
school. To read the paper, click
here.
.