A System-Wide Strategy
A scaled-up system of Community Schools refers to a vertical network of schools, from pre-school through grade 12, that are linked horizontally, within a common geography, across one or more school districts.
A cornerstone of the Community Schools strategy is the Community School Coordinator, the person who oversees implementation of the strategy and shares responsibility for the outcomes. The return on investment for hiring a Coordinator is tremendous, with every dollar invested in a Coordinator returning more than seven dollars in net benefits.
The Coalition offers a six-stage spiraling process for moving toward a scaled-up system. Rather than providing a rigid formula or lockstep set of requirements, Coalition Coaches support school systems and communities through the Scale-Up Spiral at many different starting points, building collaborative leadership and functional capacity—while staying focused on results.
Our Coalition Coaches are exemplar Community School practitioners that build upon both their real-life practice and research to describe the who, what, why, and how of system-wide expansion of Community Schools. They guide a wide audience and support communities at different points in planning for, implementing, and sustaining a system-wide Community Schools strategy.
For those who have individual Community Schools, or who recognize the need to deepen their school and community partnership, the Coalition Team provides an opportunity to think about why and how to take on a scale-up effort. For those already working toward scale-up, Coalition Coaches offer insights and field-based guidance immediately useful in deepening, growing and sustaining your work.
Access our Building a Community Schools System Guide here!
Download the The State Coalition Stages of Development Rubric here!
If you’d like technical assistance for scaling Community Schools, click here.