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Webinar Series

Professional Learning Series on Community Schools

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, American Federation of Teachers, Coalition for Community Schools, LPI, National Center for Community Schools, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and the National Education Association
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This six-part learning series takes an in-depth look at how community schools can transform student learning and outcomes by lifting up best practices and identifying how federal relief funds have been used to support community schools. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers, Coalition for Community Schools, Learning Policy Institute, National Center for Community Schools, National Education Association, and the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, the series took place over several weeks in summer 2022.

Community School Leadership

September 22, 2022, 3 p.m. ET | Panelists at this webinar discussed the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that can help community school leaders be effective. The discussion included a focus on the community school coordinator’s role as well as the role of educators and partners in implementing the community schools model. Experts from the field shared real-world examples of community school leadership and how they have leveraged local, district, and state resources; built sustainable partnerships with institutions, organizations, and across agencies; engaged staff and their communities as key stakeholders in community schools planning and implementation; and utilized data to guide the process. Watch video recording >>

Implementing High-Quality Community Schools: Leveraging Community School Resources and Forming Partnerships with Technical Assistance

August 18, 2022 | This webinar explored how policymakers, coordinators, educators, community leaders, and technical assistance providers can support the high-quality implementation of community schools. Experts from the field shared real-world examples of how they have leveraged local, district, and state resources; built sustainable partnerships with institutions, organizations, and across agencies; and utilized technical assistance to translate the strong evidence base for community schools into practice. Watch video recording >>

Effectively Using Data for Continuous Improvement in Community Schools

July 21, 2022 | This webinar explored the central role that data and continuous improvement play in community schools and the diverse voices that community schools engage to inform improvement. The webinar also examined a community school in New York City that used data and continuous improvement to significantly decrease their chronic absenteeism rate and a federal Full-Service Community Schools Program grantee that collected and used data for continuous improvement. Watch video recording >>

Launching a Community School: Using Deep Engagement and Visioning to Understand Root Causes and Identify Shared Priorities

June 23, 2022 | This webinar focused on the initial stages of launching a community school, and specifically on the process of engaging students, staff, families and community members in a deep and collaborative needs and assets assessment. The panelists discussed ways to engage stakeholders both before and after hiring a full-time community school coordinator. Watch video recording >>

Pursuing the Full-Service Community Schools Federal Grant and Other Funding to Braid, Blend, and Sustain Funding for Community Schools

June 3, 2022 | This live-streamed panel explored key federal, state, and local funding sources that can be leveraged for Community Schools and how to approach a process of combining and integrating funding to help sustain efforts. The panel featured speakers from the U.S. Department of Education discussing the Full-Service Community Schools grant, which will open the application process in a few weeks. Also speaking were leaders from University of Pennsylvania’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships and the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL). Watch video recording >>

Community Schools: An Evidence-based Whole Child Approach to Education

May 26, 2022 | The first event in the series focused on community schools as a whole child strategy with promise for addressing both the impacts the pandemic has had on schools and students and for reimagining public schools to better serve all students. Participants discussed what it takes to operate a quality, sustainable community school; how community schools have enabled educators to support students through the pandemic; and what makes community schools an effective strategy for supporting the whole child. Watch video recording >>

Logos of sponsoring organizations of the Professional Learning Series on Community Schools