Community Schools: A California Definition
A community school is any school serving pre-Kindergarten through high school students using a “whole-child” approach, with “an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement.”
-California Community Schools Framework
California Community Schools Framework
The California Community Schools Framework accelerates the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) efforts to reimagine schools in ways that are aligned with the equity goals that intentionally and collaboratively address the economic and social barriers that are the underlying cause of the opportunity and achievement gaps.
The CCSPP is a cohesive statewide approach to overcoming the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning, cognitive and social development and emotional well-being.
California Community Schools Framework
California’s Community School framework is guided by four pillars, four cornerstone commitments, four key conditions of learning and four proven practices:
The CCSPP Framework leans heavily on the four established pillars of the community schools movement. Current statute regarding the CCSPP aligns well with the research. Specifically, community schools are defined in statute as public schools with “strong and intentional community partnerships ensuring pupil learning and whole child and family development,” including the following features.
- Integrated Student Supports
- Family and Community Engagement
- Collaborative Leadership and Practices
- Extended Learning Time and Opportunities
To strengthen their core instructional programs and achieve school transformation, today’s community schools are guided by the emerging consensus on the ‘science of learning and development’ (SoLD) which synthesizes a wide range of educational research findings regarding well-vetted strategies that support the kinds of relationships and learning opportunities needed to promote children’s well-being, healthy development, and transferable learning into a developmental systems framework.
These key conditions for learning provide the foundation for the four pillars described above. The SoLD framework posits that the following are necessary for student learning and development:
- Supportive Environmental Conditions
- Productive Instructional Strategies
- Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
- System of Supports
While recognizing and appreciating the vast diversity of our state in every way, the CCSPP is an explicitly equity driven initiative in statute, principle, and practice. As such this Framework also identifies the following four commitments as essential components to all California community schools. These commitments are aligned with consistent themes expressed in the initial phase of our community engagement process.
- A Commitment to Assets-Driven & Strengths-Based Practice
- A Commitment to Racially Just and Restorative School Climates
- A Commitment to Powerful, Culturally Proficient and Relevant Instruction
- A Commitment to Shared Decision-Making and Participatory Practices
As school districts and school sites have implemented versions of community school approaches across the nation, there are an array of approaches and practices that have been successful in diverse communities and school sites.
California community schools should both attend to research and listen to interest holder voices to confirm appropriate best practices rooted in the ethos of the specific school community. There are a small set of proven practices that all California community schools should adopt and adapt to meet the needs of their school:
- Community Asset Mapping and Gap Analysis
- The Community School Coordinator
- Site-Based and LEA-Based Advisory Councils
- Integrating and Aligning with Other Relevant Programs
