Community Schools Forward Resources

Community schools are a time-tested, century-old strategy for building on the potential of our local public schools. They are not a fad, and they help deliver the promise of education as a public good.

Community schools are an improvement strategy for existing public schools based on the strengths and needs of the local community. They neither replace nor detract from local public education. In fact, they are shown to strengthen districts as a whole! In recent years, we’ve seen exciting, increased focus and investment in this approach as a proven strategy.

Community Schools Forward resources help policymakers and practitioners align around a conception of community schools that addresses key questions: What are community schools? How do they work? What goals and outcomes are they working toward? The answers are found in three tools to guide adoption and implementation. These tools reflect the collective wisdom and experience of the field along with the research base on community schools and the science of learning and development.

Framework: Essentials for Community School Transformation | This visual framework shows the essential elements of a fully implemented community school and depicts the integrated nature of community school transformation.

Theory of Action for Community School Transformation | This tool explains the activities practitioners can undertake and the expected outcomes as they implement the essential elements of community school transformation. It also highlights the key structures that support schools to mature and sustain the strategy.

Outcomes and Indicators for Community Schools: A Guide for Implementers and Evaluators | This tool identifies realistic expectations for community school impact areas and long-term outcomes, and it specifies short- and medium-term outcomes and measures to monitor progress and continuously improve.

Also see:

• Community Schools Costing Tool & User Guide

• Technical Assistance Needs Assessment

• Stages of Development

• Community schools and a critical moment in the fight against education inequality

• Community schools implementation and administration: Policy opportunities

• Increased government funding recognizes the need for strong community school technical assistance

Get a comprehensive tour of new resources in Moving Community Schools Forward with foundational resources by Hayin Kimner for Brookings Institution.

Want to dig deeper? Check out our Community Schools Story Map!