San Francisco Joins National Community Schools Movement

San Francisco's public schools will soon join the national Community Schools movement that works to make schools the centers of their community, providing a range of services within the school to students, parents, and community members and a curriculum connected to real-life learning. At a symposium, approximately 150 educators, community service providers, city departments and parent activists will begin the Community School planning process. "It is amazing that the Community School idea has captured the imagination of so many people – especially in light of current budget realities," says Margaret Brodkin, Director of New Day for Learning and one of the sponsors of the symposium. "Most people understand that it takes a multi-faceted approach for students to reach their full potential, and this works best when the entire community is involved." Speakers at the event are leaders in the Community Schools field who are looking at community schools from an individual school level, a city-wide level and a political/policy level. After each speaker, local leaders attending the symposium will caucus to develop a local version of how Community Schools could be cultivated. Pilot Community Schools across the country have been credited with significant academic gains among students, increased school attendance, and safer neighborhoods. The Community School movement envisions schools to be open from early morning to late evening, over the weekend and throughout the summer – with activities and services for the entire community. "San Francisco has an opportunity to invent its own version of Community Schools," says Brodkin. "In many communities, the idea of Community Schools ends at the classroom door. In order to address the achievement gap and the drop-out problem, our schools must become vibrant, relevant full-service institutions. This requires a new kind of connection to the community and a new kind of curriculum that is rooted in real-life experiences." Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has embraced Community Schools and includes funding for this vision in his stimulus package. "I'm a big believer in community schools," says Duncan, "Give the community the key to the school and you give our children the key to so much more — exploration and enrichment, safety, opportunity and hope. It becomes the center of their lives." Speakers at the San Francisco forum include:

• Lolenzo Poe, one of the architects of the nationally-renowned Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Service System, a county-city-school partnership in Portland, Oregon. Community Schools there serve as both an anti-poverty program, as well as an education reform effort.
• Robert Cabeza, Executive Director, YMCA of Greater Long Beach, California. Mr. Cabeza was involved in the development of the first YMCA Community School in Long Beach Unified School District. Today there are over one hundred YMCA-led community schools across the country, where the deep partnership between the YMCA and school district provides a network of support designed to remove obstacles to learning and become an extension of a student's family.
• Leonard McNeil, Mayor of San Pablo, California. McNeil featured a Community School vision in his election campaign, and followed up by creating a joint school/city center that is a model for joint use and shared responsibility.
• Milbrey McLaughlin, Stanford University. Milbrey is one of the "mothers" of the Community School movement. She will unveil Stanford's toolkit on how to create Community Schools.

The San Francisco Board of Education has charged New Day for Learning with developing the city's Community School and partnership plan in a resolution passed on December 8, 2009. Source: www.sfusd.edu