Community Schools Show Promise As School Improvement Strategy

Washington, D.C. - Community schools can be a successful strategy for improving schools under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), according to a report released today by the National Education Policy Center and the Learning Policy Institute. The report, Community Schools: An Evidence-Based Strategy for Equitable School Improvement, reveals that community schools, an increasingly popular school improvement strategy, are strongly supported by research evidence, as required by ESSA. The report was released at an event organized by the Coalition for Community Schools.

Community schools are schools that partner with community agencies and local government to provide an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, and youth and community development. They provide expanded learning time and opportunities, engage families actively, and emphasize collaborative practices. Lead author Jeannie Oakes noted that, “Although the approach is appropriate for students of all backgrounds, many community schools serve neighborhoods where poverty and racism erect barriers to learning, and where families have few resources to supplement what typical schools provide.”

Authors Oakes, Anna Maier, and Julia Daniel examined 125 peer-reviewed studies, program evaluations, and published research reviews investigating the impact of community schools or their component parts on a range of outcomes. The authors evaluated the studies against the criteria set forth in ESSA for determining which interventions may be considered “evidence-based” and found that there is sufficient evidence to support the broad use of community schools as an “evidence-based” reform strategy. The report stresses that community schools can be a particularly important strategy for transforming high-poverty schools.

Community Schools details how implementing the community schools strategy affects multiple domains — achievement, attendance, behavior, adult and peer relationships, and attitudes—but cautions that those effects will likely take time to be fully realized. Accordingly, the report provides research-based lessons that describe the evidence-based characteristics of well-implemented successful programs.

These lessons stress the importance of:

  • taking a comprehensive approach;
  • adapting the strategy to local contexts;
  • providing sufficient planning time to build trusting relationships between the school and partners;
  • involving young people, parents, and community members as part of the needs assessment, design, planning and implementation processes;
  • using evaluation strategies that provide useful information about implementation and exposure to services, as well as progress toward hoped-for outcomes; and
  • using data for continuous program refinement, while allowing sufficient time for the strategy to fully mature.

The report also recommends support for further rigorous studies of community schools in order to develop a better understanding of the conditions under which the various elements of the community schools strategy are most effective.

Jeannie Oakes summed up the report’s significance: “The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires that federally funded interventions be ‘evidence-based.’ Our review makes clear that policymakers, educators, and communities can make community schools part of their evidence-based ESSA state plans.”

Find Community Schools: An Evidence-Based Strategy for Equitable School Improvement, by Jeannie Oakes, Anna Maier, and Julia Daniel, at: nepc.colorado.edu/publication.

 

Featured

  • MiEN Releases White Paper on Community College Space Innovation

    MiEN Company recently released a new white paper called “Designing New Innovative Spaces for Community Colleges” to address the needs of community colleges post-pandemic, according to a news release. The eight-page guide by Dr. Christina Counts, MiEN Company VP of Education and Marketing, covers topics like the enrollment drop that these schools have seen since COVID-19, the roles they play in higher education and local workforces, and five suggested key changes that can improve students’ experiences.

  • Image courtesy of Armstrong International

    The Modern Hot Water System Approach to Keep Higher Education Buildings Safe and Operational

    Higher education campuses face unique structural and operational demands. With a range of old and new buildings, a variety of facility types, and ambitious sustainability goals, it's essential that no aspect of infrastructural performance is overlooked. Facility managers must be equipped to provide a safe, reliable and efficient space for students, faculty and guests.

  • ProTeam Launches GoFit 6 HEPA Backpack Vacuum

    Technology leader Emerson recently introduced the new ProTeam GoFit 6 HEPA backpack vacuum, according to a news release. The vacuum was designed to capture 99.97% of particulates down to 0.3 microns—including atmospheric hazards like lead dust, mold spores, and other particulates—through an advanced filtration system.

  • Aims Community College to Build Workforce Innovation Center

    Aims Community College in Greeley, Colo., recently announced that it has broken ground on its new Aims Workforce Innovation Center (AWIC), according to a news release. The facility for workforce development, entrepreneurship, and education has a scheduled opening date of fall 2026.

Digital Edition