By Christa Rowland, IEL Western Regional Director
Early this summer, IEL hosted the National Community Schools and Family Engagement (CSxFE) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, where we reunited with over 4,500 colleagues from across the U.S. and beyond to learn and grow together in transforming schools for the future.
I had the incredible opportunity to connect with Community School advocates from nearly every western state. In fact, western states accounted for almost 33% of all CSxFE participants. As I traveled home, I reflected on IEL’s partnerships and the remarkable work of Community School advocates throughout the region:
In Alaska, Community Schools have started taking hold, growing through the investment of two federal Full-Service Community School (FSCS) grants across the state. Incredible organizations such as Association of Alaska School Boards and Dillingham School District have used this opportunity to unite their local communities and increase resources to local children and families.
In Arizona, Community Schools are blossoming with organizations like Higher Ground, leading out with a highly data-driven, intentional approach to supporting schools. And efforts are paying off with schools like those in Tucson, AZ, changing school and student outcomes.
In California, a four-billion-dollar state investment in Community Schools has fast-tracked the statewide growth of Community Schools. Using the best practices and lessons learned from decades of experience from areas including Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, California has developed powerful learning opportunities for the continued growth of CS through entities like the Community Schools Learning Exchange, the 8 Regional Technical Assistance Centers, and the collaborative efforts of the partners who make up the State Technical Assistance Center.
In Colorado, statewide partners such as Colorado Department of Education, Mile High United Way, School Districts, and Colorado Education Association have united in a state coalition with the desire to grow awareness and implementation of the Community School strategy. And incredible work in the strategy can be witnessed in the Aurora School District, where Community schools are prioritizing family voice and decision making.
In Hawaiʻi, a statewide network of Community Schools has emerged as additional help and support for school turnaround efforts. Incredible cultural integration and grounding in Community Schools has provided a means for families of all walks of life to learn more about the heritage of the land they live on and to create connections through those ancestral roots. And Community Schools have found opportunities to connect and learn together despite being separated on different islands, through communities of practice facilitated by the Hawaiʻi Afterschool Network and Ceeds of Peace.
I always feel butterflies when thinking about the growth in Community Schools I’ve witnessed in my home state of Idaho. From a brave initiative launched by Boise School District at four schools, to 45 Community Schools statewide in 2023, to being recipients of a $50 million/year federal FSCS investment over the next five years. Community Schools are growing quickly and encouraging us to return to our roots across rural and urban communities of a local community caring for one another and finding community in our local schools.
In Montana, truly grassroot efforts have been ignited from a candle flame in Bozeman, where Community Schools first appeared in the state to multiple districts uniting through the connecting power of Montana Community Health Foundation and identifying opportunities and resources to grow Community Schools.
In Nevada, Las Vegas was the first to pilot Community Schools and the first in the state to be supported by the federal FSCS grant. In 2023, Communities In Schools Nevada received a FSCS grant to spread Community Schools throughout Southern and Northeastern NV, and Community School advocates in Washoe County, NV have been building a coalition of champions to advance Community Schools.
Community Schools in New Mexico have moved to the forefront of state level conversations on education. Community Schools have grown geographically beyond the decades-long exemplar of Albuquerque Community Schools to over 100 Community Schools statewide, supported by local, state, and federal investments. Additional exemplar systems are emerging in rural regions such as Las Cruces, who was one of three communities in NM to recently receive a FSCS grant.
Through a unique partnership between the county, school district, and nonprofit partners, the SUN system in Oregon continues to grow in the Multnomah County area to include 94 schools, while school districts throughout the state have started to explore and implement locally driven Community School strategies. A newly formed coalition facilitated by the Oregon School Based Health Alliance has mobilized a wider conversation statewide about Community School advancement.
In Utah, lessons learned over more than a decade of Community School implementation are being used to deepen Community School efforts in Greater Salt Lake and Ogden. These lessons are influencing a deeper focus on sharing power among educators, students, family, and community, and increasing community connection within classrooms. And United Way networks in Salt Lake City and Northern Utah are broadening the lens to strategize how Community Schools are aligned to, connected by, and supported through larger local and state ecosystems.
Washington continues to see Community Schools transform lives in communities like Vancouver, where federal FSCS grant investments have grown the system of Community Schools so that school culture and Community School values have become intertwined. In 2023, WA saw its second federal FSCS investment in the city of Yakima.
I’ve learned so much from Community School growth and development in these states and feel inspired by watching this movement take hold in these places and spaces. To those who have welcomed me as a collaborator, guest, learner, and friend over the last two years, thank you. And keep up the good work!