Achieving Results Through Community School Partnerships

Outlines the importance of and strategies for building and maintaining successful partnerships for community schools that integrate academics, youth development, family support, health and social services, and community development. Makes recommendations

Building partnerships : public schools as a catalysts for community development

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-78).A profile of urban public schools in the United States reveals under-utilized, outdated buildings set in a neighborhood with little or no ties to the surrounding community. A rising trend in urban school reform models is the community school concept where schools serve as centers of communities. These schools are open throughout the year and include a diverse set of programs to enrich the learning experience. They can also provide adult learning opportunities in the evenings and health services for students and their families. The key to providing programs such as these is through the creation of partnerships with surrounding institutions. This thesis discusses three case studies of community schools in Paterson, New Jersey, Brooklyn, New York, and New York City and applies the lessons learned from these schools to the redevelopment of a former Catholic school into a public school in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The school district, Lawrence Public Schools, and a grassroots community development corporation, Lawrence Community Works, are identified as the two key partners in this project. This partnership forms the core of a leadership team responsible for creating a community school in the North Common neighborhood in Lawrence. Recommendations are made for other potential partnerships and key challenges for the two main partners are identified.by Antonio Francisco González.M.C.P

Positive Student Outcomes in Community Schools

Analyzes links between participation in community school supplemental programs in extended learning, family engagement, and support, and student outcomes such as English language development scores and attitudes about school. Makes policy recommendations

Afterschool in Action: Innovative Afterschool Programs Supporting Middle School Youth

This report, released by Afterschool Alliance in partnership with MetLife Foundation, highlights the work of quality afterschool programs that support children, families and communities across the nation.This compendium is a compilation of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: arts enrichment, parent engagement, school improvement and digital learning. The compendium also includes in-depth profiles of the 2012 Afterschool Innovator Award winners, as well as highlights from 2008-2011 award winners.The 2012 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Award winners are:The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, CALatino Arts Strings & Mariachi Juvenil, Milwaukee, WIKid Power Inc., The VeggieTime Project, Washington, D.C.Parma Learning Center, Parma, IDGreen Energy Technologies in the City, Lansing, M

A Diverse System Delivers for Pre-K: Lessons Learned in New York State

Today, policymakers with an interest in school success no longer debate why states should provide pre-kindergarten; that case has been made successfully to voters, educators, and researchers. Instead, policymakers now wrestle with how to get the job done. Increasingly, they turn to what those in the pre-k field call 'diverse' or 'mixed' delivery, which uses both community-based and school sites to provide pre-k services. This report examines the experience of one state - New York - using a diverse system to deliver pre-k services and provides lessons for other states as they build and expand their pre-k programs

Inside Success: Strategies of 25 Effective Small High Schools in NYC

For decades, New York City's high school graduation rates hovered at or below 50 percent. In attempt to turn around these disappointing results, the NYC Department of Education enacted a series of large-scale reforms, including opening hundreds of new "small schools of choice" (SSCs). Recent research by MDRC has shown that these schools have had large and sustained positive effects on students' graduation rates and other outcomes. How have they done it? What decisions -- made by the educators who created, supported, and operated these schools -- have been critical to their success? What challenges do these schools face as they try to maintain that success over time? The Research Alliance set out to answer these questions, conducting in-depth interviews with teachers and principals in 25 of the most highly effective SSCs. Educators reported three features as essential to their success:Personalization, which was widely seen as the most important success factor. This includes structures that foster strong relationships with students and their families, systems for monitoring student progress -- beyond just grades and test scores, and working to address students' social and emotional needs, as well as academic ones.High expectations -- for students and for educators -- and instructional programs that are aligned with these ambitious goals.Dedicated and flexible teachers, who were willing to take on multiple roles, sometimes outside their areas of expertise.The findings, presented in this report, paint a picture of how these features were developed in practice. The report also describes challenges these schools face and outlines lessons for other schools and districts that can be drawn from the SSCs' experience. These include the need to avoid teacher burnout, improving the fit between schools and external partners, and expanding current notions of accountability

Pull and Push: Strengthening Demand for Innovation in Education

Examines policy, information, and cultural barriers that minimize the "demand pull" for educational innovation. Calls for encouraging early adopters, bolstering smart adoption, providing better information, and rewarding productivity improvements

Opportunity-Rich Schools and Sustainable Communities: Seven Steps to Align High-Quality Education With Innovations in City and Metropolitan Planning and Development

Details challenges and steps for linking quality education and community and economic vitality, including establishing a shared vision and metrics, aligning investments for prosperity, and expanding access via transportation. Lists promising practices

Making the Most of Out-of-School Time

Evaluates the MOST initiative, which was launched in 1994 in Boston, Chicago, and Seattle, to improve the quantity and quality of before- and after-school programs for 5- to 14-year-olds, especially for families in low-income communities