Why are Policymakers Supporting Community Schools

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Why are Policymakers Supporting Community Schools?

• A conversation with School and Local Government
  Leaders
• Monday May 18, 2009

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Agenda

• Welcome from the Coalition for Community Schools,
  Marty Blank, Director
• Why Community Schools? Mayor Kathy Taylor, Tulsa,
  OK
• Insight from the Inside Superintendent Dr.
  Karen S. Angello, Allentown, PA
• Local Government Leadership for Community
  Schools, Lolenzo Poe, Senior Policy Advisor,
  Portland, OR

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Why Community Schools?
Presented by Mayor Kathy Taylor, Tulsa, OK
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Tulsas Need

• Number of Tulsa Public School kids in
  poverty 82.9
• Tulsas dropout rate 29.8
• Number of students who did not graduate
• from Oklahomas high schools last
  year 14,700
• Lost lifetime earning for the 2007 class
  
• of drop-outs 3.8 b
• Savings to Oklahoma in health care costs
• if they had earned their diplomas
  137.6 mil
  

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Tulsa Area Community Schools Initiative (TACSI)
Successful Students
Healthy Families
Engaged Communities
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Community Schools Insight from the Inside
Presented by Karen S. Angello, Ph.D.,
Superintendent of Allentown School District
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The Allentown School District

• Fourth largest district in Pennsylvania, 22
  schools,18,000 students
• Lehigh Valleys changing demographics and impact
  on the city of Allentown
• Snapshot of academic performance, forward motion
  and challenges
• Barriers to progress lack of coordinated
  supports for students their families and
  inconsistent communication links

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COMPASS Community Schools Connecting Community,
Creating Pathways

• Purpose linking schools/communities in effective
  ways to address student achievement and poverty
• Key features principal leading vision, full-time
  co-located staff from partner organization,
  parents at table of site-based leadership team,
  results-focused plan, web of partnerships,
  programs, services
• Benefits authentic parent/community engagement,
  process to organize/connect meaningful programs
  and services

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Genuine Positive Results Three ASD Community
Schools

• Contribution to academic progress
• Dozens of examplesimproved parent engagement
• Community School Coordinators as trusted
  relationship managers
• Authentic community engagement and investment in
  student success and neighborhood improvement

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Lehigh Valleys Community School Initiative In
Forward Motion

• Expansion and growth in the Allentown School
  District
• Continued blending of community investors for
  success
• Expanding services and increased parent
  engagement/leadership development
• United Ways commitment to expand Community
  Schools across the region

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Local Government Leadership for Community Schools
Presented by Lolenzo T. Poe, Jr., Senior Policy
Advisor to Chair of the Multnomah County Board of
Commissioners Multnomah County, Oregon
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Multnomah County, Department of County Human
Services

• 53 SUN Community School sites across 6 school
  districts
• This represents about 1/3 of the Countys schools
• Our initiative is a partnership between Multnomah
  County, the City of Portland, School Districts,
  Non-Profit Organizations and business
• SUN Community Schools are part of a larger
  coordinated system of comprehensive services
  delivered countywide called the SUN Service System

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Why Community Schools in Multnomah County

• Community Schools is one of the key priorities of
  the County Chair and is an important anti-poverty
  strategy
• None of us can do it alone - SUN is about
  bringing together all important entities that
  need to work together to ensure success of all of
  our children and families sharing this work
  makes it stronger

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Expansion of Community Schools

• 3 elements of expansion over the past 3 years
• Partnership Development Joint Ownership
• Every School a Community School
• Statewide Initiative

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Challenges the SUN Initiative Has Faced

• Funding
• Politics
• Ownership

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Additional Resources

• Tulsa, OK, Tulsa Area Community Schools
  Initiative www.csctulsa.org/community_schools.htm
  
• Lehigh Valley, COMPASS Initiative
  www.unitedwayglv.org/pages/get/130/COMPASS
• Portland, OR, Schools Uniting Neighborhoods
  www.sunschools.org/Public/EntryPoint?chd569b24c43
  4b1110VgnVCM1000003bc614acRCRD
• Coalition for Community Schools
  www.communityschools.org

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Contact Information for Local Initiatives

• Lehigh Valley, PA - Marci Ronald,
  marcir_at_unitedwayglv.org 
• Tulsa, OK - Jan Creveling, jancreveling_at_aol.com
• Portland, OR - Peggy Samolinski,
  peggy.l.samolinski_at_co.multnomah.or.us

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Thank You for Participating!

• www.communityschools.org
• For more information ccs_at_iel.org