Community Schools

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 10 – Developing the City Dept of Community Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 10

Developing the City Dept of Community Schools

EYE ON RESULTS

The projects presented in the ten innovations areas are all designed to address barriers to vital services. Action teams should review all projects and prioritize those that have the best chance of addressing the barriers identified in the 100% New Mexico countywide survey. Your collaborative and result-focused local work is nothing less than heroic.

12 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “county/city partnership that funds the department of community schools” project

The “convene your fellow community school advocates and enhance your skills in public speaking, committee briefing, and how to get to a school board members or lawmaker” project

The “know your stuff before you meet the mayor, county commissioner or school superintendent” project

The “create a bold vision and strategic plan” project

The “become inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone” project

The “assess what Buffalo, NY has offered to families” project

Project: Community Schools.10.1

Project 1: The “county/city partnership that funds the department of community schools” project

Elevator pitch: We see community schools as a partnership between schools, city government, county government and higher education. When we scan the website for city hall, we should be able to see right next to the Departments of Police, Fire and Parks, the Department of Community Schools — “a partnership between schools and local government.” Why not? Now we know that in some cities like NYC, it is the mayor that controls the schools — including community schools. In other localities it might be the county or the school district. Our bottom line? We want this model institutionalized.

It’s a vital resource we need in order to ensure the safety and success of our students, who are future workers and taxpayers. We can live without well-groomed parks, but lacking vital resources for student health and success is not an option. (And the truth is, we can have both parks and community schools.)

Our partners: mayors, city councilors, school boards, county commissioners and advocates for student health, higher education leadership in programs of education, social work, behavioral health, health care and socially-engaged business leaders.

Deliverables:

Create and execute a plan to connect to all city and county representatives necessary to get this new department established. (Rough time frame: 3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 10 – Developing the City Dept of Community Schools

Project: Community Schools.10.2

Project 2: The “convene your fellow community school advocates and enhance your skills in public speaking, committee briefing, and how to get to a school board members or lawmaker” project

This project is a crash course that you develop with local experts about how to contact local and state leaders, give an elevator pitch on your projects, and the protocol for committee hearings that can lead to funding.

Deliverables:

Find an accomplished colleague with good public speaking skills, along with a professional with experience lobbying/networking with elected leaders. Together, discuss how a workshop for the entire 100% New Mexico team could be created to enhance skills. Assess interest with teams, make a workshop plan, deliver and evaluate. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Project: Community Schools.10.3

Project 3: The “know your stuff before you meet the mayor, county commissioner or school superintendent” project

Innovation #10, in some ways, is putting it all together. By this we mean that, by the time your action team becomes familiar with all ten innovation areas and their projects, you will be prepared to meet with elected officials and stakeholders to discuss ways your school district, city and county can strengthen its support of community schools in their many enriching forms.

Deliverables:

Identify at least one colleague to join you in reviewing every innovation project in this chapter. This means diving into all the research that you can get your hands on, starting with our links to support your project. Conduct an assessment of all 100% New Mexico team members to identify which projects are of interest and in development. From here, present your global overview of project development with the entire 100% New Mexico team for feedback. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Project: Community Schools.10.4

Project 4: The “create a bold vision and strategic plan” project

It’s time to create a detailed plan for this new (or improved) local Department of Community Schools within the school district (or some nonprofit?). As with previous projects, you will have learned its strengths and weaknesses, potential funding sources, and who the players are. You’ll be in a strong position to document what’s great, and needs to be kept as-is or expanded, and what needs to change.

Deliverables:

After an assessment of county community schools (see Innovation #1) and a survey of all 100% New Mexico team members to identify which projects are of interest and in development, develop a draft outline of a strategic plan for a Department of Community Schools. From here, present the draft plan to the entire 100% New Mexico team for feedback. (Suggested time frame: 3–6 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Project: Community Schools.10.5

Project 5: The “become inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone” project

To address generational poverty, the Harlem Children’s Zone believed a partnership between the schools and community was essential for success. Beginning in 1990, the initial focus was on impacting just one city block and growing from there; addressing not just a few, but all problems impacting the families in this area. The model has been so successful, it has received national attention and schools interested in replicating its success can apply for federal dollars to do so.

Harlem Children’s Zone Model: https://aae.how/74

Deliverables:

Explore their website and connect with staff to fully understand their model, how they were formed and funded and their unique way of meeting the needs of students and family members. Present your findings in a one-page brief to the 100% New Mexico team, school community leaders and student support network. (Suggested time frame: 1 month)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Project: Community Schools.10.6

Project 6: “assess what Buffalo, NY has offered to families” project

The goal of community schools in NY is to 1) implement strong educational programs which reduce learning gaps, enrich and expand the curriculum and strengthen parent and community engagement in the school; 2) coordinate with Say Yes Buffalo and other local resources to offer medical, dental, health and wellness services at the school; 3) build partnerships with local organizations to implement high quality extended day and year programs of excellence to the entire community.

Say Yes Buffalo, NY: https://aae.how/75

Deliverables:

Explore their website and connect with staff to fully understand their model, how they were formed and funded, and their unique way of meeting the needs of students and family members. Present your findings in a one-page brief to the 100% New Mexico team, school community leaders, and student support network. (Suggested time frame: 1 month)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

LET'S INNOVATE

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 9 – Strengthening Local Services

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 9

Strengthening Local Services

EYE ON RESULTS

6 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “Kentucky reaches families for care coordination” project

The “NY schools peer-modeling system of family navigators” project

The “Communities in Schools model” project

Project: Community Schools.9.1

Project 1: The “Kentucky reaches families for care coordination” project

The Family Resource and Youth Services Coalition of Kentucky (FRYSCKy) is a nonprofit organization of professionals (including educators and human services providers), who come together to provide legislative advocacy, training and support for Family Resource and Youth Services Centers Coordinators and their staff in Kentucky. The goal of the Coalition is to promote a network that strives to remove barriers to success in school through learning from each other, sharing resources and collaborating more effectively on behalf of children, youth and families.

Family Resource and Youth Services Coalition of Kentucky: https://aae.how/71

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 9 – Strengthening Local Services

Project: Community Schools.9.2

Project 2: The “NY schools peer-modeling system of family navigators” project

Using a peer mentor system, Family Navigators pair parents who have navigated the system successfully, advocating for themselves and their children, with parents who are new to this process. The pairing offers training and support for the navigator, who provides a nonjudgmental supportive partner to the parent. Here, the community is using its own resources to build up the community.

NY Family Navigators: https://aae.how/72

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Project: Community Schools.9.3

Project 3: The “Communities in Schools model” project

The mission of Communities In Schools (CIS) in Texas is to surround students with a community of support, empowering students to stay in school and achieve in life. The CIS model is designed to keep students persisting in education and ultimately graduate from high school. CIS partners with educators, students, and parents to identify needs of students who are at-risk of dropping out of school. Once the needs are identified, CIS customizes supports for students and families and provides individual case management services, engaging the community as part of this process. CIS monitors student level data and tracks education outcomes for those students served.

Communities In Schools (CIS) in Texas: https://aae.how/73

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

LET'S INNOVATE

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 8 – Supporting Cities and Counties

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 8

Supporting Cities and Counties

EYE ON RESULTS

2 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “time to research how school-based care is being delivered” project

Project: Community Schools.8.1

Project 1: The “time to research how school-based care is being delivered” project

This project focused on digging deep into the world of school based health centers (SBHC) and other ways to provide easily accessible, culturally and developmentally appropriate health care services in their schools. You will want to explore innovations in Boston Schools, New London, CT, Seattle and more places experimenting with rolling dental offices and solutions for rural communities.

Boston Schools Health Care: https://aae.how/62
New London, CT Health Care: https://aae.how/63
International Community Health Services (ICHS) Seattle, WA: https://aae.how/64
Grow Up Smiling (GuS) Dental Care: https://aae.how/65
Rodney B. Cox Elementary school dental care: https://aae.how/66
Big Smiles-Pairing Schools with Dentists: https://aae.how/67
Dental office brought to you in Portland: https://aae.how/68
School-based Nurse Practitioners-Rural Health Info: https://aae.how/69
Scott County, Minnesota Health Care on Wheels: https://aae.how/70

Deliverables:

Research what you can discover online and add to that some informational interviews with folks engaged in the work. Compile your insights and hopefully some evaluation data, and share with the 100% New Mexico team. (Suggested time frame: 3–6 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 8 – Supporting Cities and Counties

LET'S INNOVATE

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 7 – Engaging Higher Education

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 7

Engaging Higher Education

EYE ON RESULTS

6 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “let’s explore the Santa Fe ‘Sky Center’ model” project

The “Can the ‘Madison Public Schools model for care’ work for us?” project

The “analyze the rural Kentucky online care model” project

Project: Community Schools.7.1

Project 1: The “let’s explore the Santa Fe ‘Sky Center’ model” project

Learn how the Sky Center at Ortiz Middle School in Santa Fe, New Mexico brings behavioral health care to students and their parents. The Sky Center specializes in counseling youth and their families who may be experiencing a number of difficulties and behaviors, including suicidal ideation. Students are referred for school difficulties, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts, family conflict and loss, substance use, bullying and a number of other related issues. Counselors specialize in culturally sensitive family treatment. The goal is empowering young people and their families to cope with the stress of painful and traumatic events as well as the everyday pressures and challenges of this modern age. The center is also a teaching facility, training the next generation of school behavioral health care specialists.

Sky Center in Santa Fe, NM: https://aae.how/59

Deliverables:

Explore the Sky Center site and connect with staff to fully understand their model, how they were formed and funded and their unique way of meeting the needs of students and family members. Also ask about their training future counselors model. Present your findings in a one-page brief to the 100% New Mexico team, school community leaders, student support networks, and any local coalition working to prevent violence, bullying, harassment, school drop out, suicide, teen pregnancy, human trafficking, and the harsh impact of poverty. (Suggested time frame: 1–3 month)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 7 – Engaging Higher Education

Project: Community Schools.7.2

Project 2: The “Can the ‘Madison Public Schools model for care’ work for us?” project

Madison, Wisconsin is bringing behavioral healthcare to students. Madison schools recognize that one in five of their students have a diagnosable mental health condition. To meet this need, the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools has partnered with community clinicians and funding partners to provide mental health services to students who do not have access outside of the school’s walls. The program is currently in five of their schools, with plans to expand to the rest of the school district.

Madison Public Schools: https://aae.how/60

Deliverables:

Explore their site and connect with staff to fully understand their model, how they were formed and funded and their unique way of meeting the needs of students and family members. Present your findings in a one-page brief to the 100% New Mexico team, school community leaders and student support network. (Suggested time frame: 1 month)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Project: Community Schools.7.3

Project 3: The “analyze the rural Kentucky online care model” project

Harvard Independent Schools in Eastern Kentucky was faced with the challenge of obtaining confidential mental health care services for their students in a community where many faculty and staff are related to students, and have known them their entire lives. This school has elected to use an online mental health program, called Ripple Effects, to meet the mental health needs of their students. We need to look closely at their evaluation to see if this model can work effectively.

Rural Schools: https://aae.how/61

Deliverables:

Explore their site and connect with staff to fully understand their model, how they were formed and funded, and their unique way of meeting the needs of students and family members. Look closely as any data that may have on any online component. Present your findings in a one-page brief to the 100% New Mexico team, school community leaders, and student support network. (Suggested time frame: 1 month)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

LET'S INNOVATE

two-hispanic-children-using-laptop-at-home

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 6 – Connecting the Education System

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 6

Connecting the Education System

EYE ON RESULTS

6 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “create the Community Schools@100% user-friendly website” project

The “be patient and focused” project

The “email Community Schools@100% often” project

Project: Community Schools.6.1

Project 1: The “create the Community Schools@100% user-friendly website” project

This is where you design and launch your own family-friendly website for the public to post vital information on school services. As mentioned earlier, websites don’t just pop up easily, but there are free services online to help with design.

Deliverables:

Research websites created by schools and districts across your county and state. You might even find great ideas across the nation and globe. Present your findings on user-friendliness of existing local websites to the 100% New Mexico team. After feedback, network with local community school folks (including a web designer and graphic designer) to explore creating a user-friendly website that houses easy-to-understand information. You can also include information on your Community Schools@100% action team and how you are working to improve services as all schools. (Suggested time frame: 3–6 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 6 – Connecting the Education System

Project: Community Schools.6.2

Project 2: The “be patient and focused” project

Even completing a few of these projects will place you among the best-educated one percent when it comes to community schools in your area. One way to put that knowhow to good use is by serving on an advisory board or commission. Many — but not all — school, city, county and higher education organizations have them, and there are often more generic community advisory boards or advisory panels often needing members. This is your opportunity to ensure that community school progress is heard and that alignment of services becomes a reality.

Deliverables:

Attend at least a quarter’s worth of meetings, then present to the 100% New Mexico team your analysis of current committee/task force working groups — including how data-driven and result-focused they appear to be. The goal is to work in alignment and offer mutual support with all those working to improve schools. (Suggested time frame: 4 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Project: Community Schools.6.3

Project 3: The “email Community Schools@100% often” project

Emails and social marketing are good tools for outreach here. Social marketing strategies, just like website development, can be challenging, yet there are “how to” websites that can help you to facilitate this process. You should work to reach all stakeholders who have the concerns of families (and all residents) on their radar. You can send updates on all the work of your action teams to raise awareness and garner support.

Populations to target:

Youth-serving groups
Family-serving groups
Faith-based groups
Cultural groups
Elected officials
School staff
School-based community agencies
School district innovators
School based health care providers
Local health care providers and agencies providing medical, dental and mental health care

Deliverables:

Identify the most tech-savvy in your network, then create a countywide list of stakeholders to email. Create a rough message and graphic identity for your messaging. Test it out with the 100% New Mexico team and community school supporters and providers, tweak, and off you go. If you use a mailing service that can track your email’s performance, check open rates after three months to assess responses. If you simply email your network directly, gauge how many of the messages receive a reply or initiated action. (Suggested time frame: 4 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

LET'S INNOVATE

top-view-of-resident-videocall-sitting-on-desk

January 25 2021

Community School@100% Innovation 5 – Generating Public Awareness

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 5

Generating Public Awareness

EYE ON RESULTS

2 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “plain language for existing websites” project

Project: Community Schools.5.1

Project 1: The “plain language for existing websites” project

In some city, county and school systems, thoughtful professionals spend a great deal of time and effort trying to design perfect websites, with intuitive time listings of student and parent support services offerings, easy-to-read maps to get you to such services and other features making it much easier to figure out how to sign up for school-based support programs. Also, do community schools clearly explain the services and benefits they offer students and their parents? Your mission is to figure out whether your school districts are taking this opportunity to simply and efficiently explain on their websites what supports are offered, offer downloadable and printable brochures and schedules in all relevant languages, or present information through an app.

Deliverables:

Research all county community school sites (or those schools on the verge of becoming community schools), those with school-based health centers and local government websites to identify community school programming. Identify what is being said about the current capacity of schools to serve students and parents. Present your findings to the 100% New Mexico team and local stakeholders in school supports. After feedback, network with local community school advocates and other such folks (including web designers and graphic designers) to explore creating user-friendly text and images to improve current website. The goal is fully describing the benefits of community schools on all current websites. (Suggested time frame: 3–6 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community School@100% Innovation 5 – Generating Public Awareness

LET'S INNOVATE

close-up-of-businesswomen-using-mobile-phones-in-modern-office

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 4 – Harnessing Technology

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 4

Harnessing Technology

EYE ON RESULTS

2 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “let’s collaborate to make community schools the norm” project

Project: Community Schools.4.1

Project 1: The “let’s collaborate to make community schools the norm” project

If all the players work together, we may help turn all schools into community schools through collaboration and the strategic use of data and technology. This starts with joining or creating a countywide and statewide network of community school programs. This will allow you to have a strong voice in your school community, as well as your city, county and state government. You may find that local lawmakers, while sympathetic to the issues, do not see addressing traumatized students who struggle at school as the role of county or city government. For this reason, coalitions matter and they can be a force for awareness.

Your county and state network can educate local lawmakers about a new role for government: ensuring no student is marginalized. This is done through partnerships between school districts and local government. This group can also work to elect officials who will prioritize success for all students. Technology can connect everyone in the network with a shared vision, goals, activities, use of data, use of communication and messaging and evaluation processes. Your action team starts with identifying all current community schools and those wishing to become one.

Deliverables:

Find some passionate change agents and conduct informational interviews with sector stakeholders to assess interest in a county or state coalition. Assess the data-driven and result-focused quality of current coalitions. Create a one-pager to present to your 100% New Mexico team and school stakeholders on your initial findings. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 4 – Harnessing Technology

LET'S INNOVATE

apprentice-building-furniture-in-carpentry

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 3 – Engaging the Private Sector

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 3

Engaging the Private Sector

EYE ON RESULTS

4 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “corporations and foundations should invest wisely in community schools” project

The “know your state and federal options” project

Project: Community Schools.3.1

Project 1: The “corporations and foundations should invest wisely in community schools” project

This is where an action team identifies every potential business and foundation that might support a school becoming a full service community school, including medical, dental and behavioral health care. Rather than funding small, short-term student projects, let potential funders know that this is their opportunity to lift the entire school community: students, parents, teachers, staff and all community-based agencies working with students.

Deliverables:

Do a search of US firms known for philanthropy and foundations to identify potential funding. Present to the 100% New Mexico team and interested stakeholders. (Suggested time frame: 1–3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 3 – Engaging the Private Sector

Project: Community Schools.3.2

Project 2: The “know your state and federal options” project

Rare is the urban or rural school program or agency that doesn’t get by without a lot of help and guidance from the state or federal government (or both). Knowing a bit about those relationships will be useful background information and aid you with your own relationship-building to empower funding for community schools.

Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS): https://aae.how/58

Deliverables:

Learn all you can about Feeding America. Do informational interviews with those involved in their operations. Share a one-page report on your findings and recommend what this network can do for your county. (Suggested time frame: 1 month)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

LET'S INNOVATE

teenager-girl-shows-an-adult-mexican-woman-her-cell-phone-in-slow-motion

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 2 – Ensuring Full Support

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 2

Ensuring Full Support

EYE ON RESULTS

4 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “do we have enough money to create a community school” project

The “Research as much as we can about community schools” project

Project: Community Schools.2.1

Project 1: The “do we have enough money to create a community school” project

By now, you should have a pretty good idea of how your school-based support “system” is doing, which schools are already community schools and which are poised to become fully-resourced as a community school. You will want to ask which areas might need improvement or where support is vitally needed. Sometimes, that may be a matter of using existing budgets differently. Often you will discover that the funding simply isn’t there to transform a regular school into a community school. This is where partnerships are important and sharing what we know about funding. Many models exist for creating and maintaining community schools. We need to make that information widely available. If your county has a community school, focus your assessment on all current school-based programs to know the quality and quantity of services for students and parents.

Deliverables:

Create a short summary of financial support needs for the community school programs and present to the entire 100% New Mexico team and stakeholders. (Suggested time frame: 1–3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 2 – Ensuring Full Support

Project: Community Schools.2.2

Project 2: The “Research as much as we can about community schools” project

This research project asks you to dig deeper into the community schools model.

Coalition for Community Schools: https://aae.how/51
University-Assisted Community Schools: https://aae.how/52
Strong Collaborative Relationships for Strong Community Schools — National Education Policy Center: https://aae.how/53
Community School Standards — Institute for Educational Leadership: https://aae.how/54
Becoming a School: A Study of Oakland Unified School District Community School Implementation, 2015–2016 (PDF): https://aae.how/55
Case Studies of Early Childhood Education & Family Engagement in Community Schools — Institute for Educational Leadership: https://aae.how/56
Community Schools: Transforming Struggling Schools into Thriving Schools: https://aae.how/57

Deliverables:

Find some fellow research enthusiasts with a taste for tiny details and dive into community school design options. (Strong coffee recommended.) Create a one-pager to present to your 100% New Mexico team and school leadership on your initial findings. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

LET'S INNOVATE

diverse-hands-with-pencils-discussing-and-working

January 25 2021

Community Schools@100% Innovation 1 – Tracking Supply and Demand

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Community Schools@100%: Innovation 1

Tracking Supply and Demand

EYE ON RESULTS

6 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

Project Quick Links

The “all-important potential and current community schools analysis” project

The “can you get there from here?” project

The “does our support go where it should?” project

Project: Community Schools.1.1

Project 1: The “all-important potential and current community schools analysis” project

Unlike other services such as transport, we don’t track every single time a student accesses a school nurse or counselor (or needs to see a counselor in a timely manner but one is not available). We don’t always track when a student is accessing school-based dental or medical care, or a school-based mentor or tutor. If we did, we would learn a lot about the needs of students and possibly their parents.

No single number will give you a complete picture of the situation: the totality of student and parent needs. However, by gathering multiple data sources and tracking them over time, you should be able to get an idea of the need and level of support for community schools exists in your community. Here’s your list:

School districts: They may have data on of students in need of various forms of supports and whether they accessed them.
Private schools: They can be reached through each school’s administration.
Domestic Violence Programs: Some may keep data on children and teen participants seeking school-based supports. Unlike the government, they’re not necessarily obligated to give you the data, but they probably will.
Child welfare data: While not easy to acquire, there may be a way to access data on parents and youth seeking school-based support. Maybe.
American Community Survey: The ACS is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about the United States and its people. Information from the survey generates data that help determine how more than $675 billion in federal and state funds are distributed each year.

As mentioned, this won’t be as simple an assessment as the transport situation, but if you get these numbers, you should at least be able to tell if the situation in your community is trending in a positive or negative direction.

Imagine, in some sci-fi future, all residents had a youth pass — a plastic card or mobile app with barcode — that would be used for all forms of school-based wraparound services and programs. Now imagine that an AI program analyzes all these data from all county residents to identify high and low use and where gaps in services exist, offering recommendations for fixes.

In this project, you will be gathering as much data as you can to paint a picture of local schools in the process of becoming community schools and those that already are.

Some community schools will still be adding services. This important information will tell the story of the current status of community schools, a first step in identifying challenges.

Deliverables:

Create a one-page overview/update on the status of public schools and their capacity to address students with ACEs, school administrators’ interest in becoming community schools, and a snapshot of current community schools to present to the 100% New Mexico team and stakeholders. (Rough time frame: 3–6 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Community Schools@100% Innovation 1 – Tracking Supply and Demand

Project: Community Schools.1.2

Project 2: The “can you get there from here?” project

Good community school support planners will figure out students with the highest need are concentrated and then plan services accordingly. A lot of community school programs are good-hearted well-intentioned by lacking in this type of self assessment. Luckily, using census data, your own eyes and Google Maps, you can do it for them.

First, learn how to do custom drawings on Google Maps (an internet search will lead to some tutorials). Looking at the American Community Survey, Google Earth satellite images and the results from your Resilient Community Experience Survey, should get you started.

How to do custom Google Maps: https://aae.how/24
American Community Survey: https://aae.how/25

Deliverables:

After getting comfortable with Google maps and data, present your findings to the 100% New Mexico team and school community leaders. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

Project: Community Schools.1.3

Project 3: The “does our support go where it should?” project

Your school-based support system (notice the term “system,” as it should be one seamless system serving the entire county, even though it may cover a number of school districts) should serve all students and parents, especially your community’s most critical areas: communities with high rates of child welfare involvement, low income areas, areas with high unemployment, and high schools with low achievement and high dropout rates. Find or make a map of the county, then make a map of all “high risk” areas and all school-based support programs. Then see how well those two maps overlap.

Also take a look at service frequency: are services being offered where the need is the highest? Whether school-based programs “serve” the most critical areas depends on more than what the map looks like.

Deliverables:

After analyzing your data, including all you can find on all forms of community school planning challenges and opportunities, send your findings to the 100% New Mexico team and school leadership and advocates. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

NEXT STEPS

Send this project to your action team and advocates.

Post and discuss in the 100% New Mexico group.

Visit

Explore the Lab for project support and ideas.

LET'S INNOVATE

mother-in-car-dropping-off-daughter-in-front-of-school

January 18 2021

Community Schools@100%

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Center for

Community Schools@100%

Community Schools@100% means all our students have the resources needed to succeed.

Center for

Community Schools
@100%

Community Schools@100% means all our students have the resources needed to succeed.

Ensuring early fully-resourced community schools for 100% of county residents. The 100% New Mexico action team identifies challenges, researches solutions and supports organizations in strengthening schools and enhancing the learning experience by providing funding for every school to adopt the community school model. This means school acquire the funding and staff to have a full time community school director, extra students tutors and navigators to help students access vital community services. A community school has the resources to welcome and support parents with evening and weekend support programs. The model can also include a school based health clinic. The long-term goal is creating a countywide system of community schools with collaboration and coordination with all city government, county government and non-governmental organizations within the county’s borders.

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team collects and analyzes data then identifies gaps in current school programming and support services. The 100% Community survey data, including informational interviews with residents of all communities within the county’s borders, reveal which populations and communities lack easy access to fully-resourced school with additional support programs for vulnerable students. The survey also reveals why fully-resourced schools with extra services and health care services may be difficult to access. Difficulties may include a lack of awareness of the community school model, lack of awareness of support programs, lack of transport to programs, lack of easy-to-access to services because of times of programs.

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team focuses on identifying which schools currently need capacity-building in order to meet the need. The team identifies partnerships to improve services. This can be done through a process of continuous quality improvement (the data-driven “assess-plan-act-evaluate” process).

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team focuses on identifying which private sector businesses can help schools become fully-resourced and adopt, if they wish, the community school model. The team works to create partnerships between businesses and school support systems and programs.

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team focuses on identifying how to use technology, including websites and apps, to increase awareness of parent supports, increase resources to provide services, and increase alignment of parent support services across all cities and communities within the county’s borders. The team also works to address the digital divide to increase access for all county residents to mobile devices and the Internet through community access points.

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team focuses on reaching all county residents in order to mobilize community teams to address the need for public school supports. The team works to engage all county residents who have free time (retirees, college students, etc.) to support fully resourcing every school. The team also works to create opportunities for all county residents to share their ideas for problem solving.

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team focuses on strengthening the capacity of all schools to increase their capacity to take on the components of a community school, including school-based health care, student supports and parent supports.The team focuses on how to fund schools to adopt the “community school” model with staff who can focus on creating school-based programs to support at-risk students (due to social adversity and adverse childhood experiences) and support parents and caregiving grandparents.

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team focuses on identifying which individuals and programs working with local higher education can support the community schools model and overall student program development and improvement efforts. This includes identifying support for surveying, data analysis, and researching solutions, along with engaging students and staff in fully supporting all public school improvement efforts.

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team focuses on identifying the capacity of city and county government to strengthen their current public school support efforts and expand them to meet the need. This includes a special focus on meeting the needs of the county’s most vulnerable students, parents and caregiving grandparents. Teams will recommend to local government the most up-to-date methods and software to accurately track school-based improvement program effectiveness.

The 100% New Mexico community schools action team focuses on identifying which programs the federal and state government offer to support the development of community schools. This process includes networking, advocating and grant writing.

The 100% New Mexico community action team focuses on the long-term goal of creating a county-city “Department of Community Schools” to focus on supporting the development of community schools (working in partnership with school leadership). This includes surveying residents on their access to fully-resourced public schools, their need for school-based student support programs and why they might be difficult to access. This proposed department could also support ongoing research in community schools and related programs across the county.

EYE ON INNOVATION

Inside The Center

14 min.
Read

Here’s a quick overview of what you will find below.

What Families Face

Short stories from families facing challenges, illustrating the need to address barriers to vital services.

10 Innovations Await

The sidebar menu takes you to ten innovations areas, each one providing projects action team members are implementing to remove barriers to services.

The Root Causes

We provide an overview of why families struggle to access vital services in what we might call “normal times” and in times of public health or economic crisis.

A Pandemic’s Impact on services

A brief review of how the pandemic impacts each county across the state.

Where on Earth

How solutions exist today.

The Center’s Mission

Community Schools for 100%

Welcome to the Center for Community Schools@100%, the nation’s first center to provide county and city stakeholders with research, data-driven strategies, insights and support to end education and health disparities on a countywide scale, ensuring all students can access quality fully-resourced community schools. Disparities may be the lack of access to the array of services and supports in a community school. Lack of school-based services to strengthen the learning environment has been with us for as long as we have created public schools on the planet. In the last few decades societies of all sizes have found ways to provide fully-resourced schools to all students needing such institutions.

In modern societies the cause of education and health disparities can often be tracked down to lack of investment in the human capital and resources to secure the right amount of staffing, programs, supports and health care providers for each public school. In the USA, a country with vast amounts of wealth and resources, we have all the technology and know how to make every school into a fully-resourced community school with a school-based health center offering medical, dental and mental health care.

One quick online search will overwhelm you with solutions to the education and health disparities problem. The enormous number of results shows that there are many people searching for answers, interested in understanding the root causes of disparities and how to solve it by funding the community school model.

When we begin to “Google it” for results:
Community Schools: 2,020,000,000
Wrap around services in schools: 51,000,000
Students needing behavioral health care: 69,200,000
School boards wanting to address ACEs: 12,100,000
Dental services on wheels: 36,000,000

“Education and health disparities, the result of underfunded and under-resourced schools, are a man-made problem, not an act of nature, requiring human ingenuity to solve.”
— From the book Community Schools@100%: How we ensure all county residents can access fully-resourced community schools

Within an internet full of valuable research, inspiring insights and distracting clutter, solutions await you here in the Center for Community Schools@100%. Your introduction to the issues here in the “Center’s Main Hall” guide you to what we call our ten “Innovation Areas” where action team projects await your review and engagement.

What the Center for Community Schools@100% provides you with are the strategies to ensure, county by county, that community school models can work effectively to serve all students and their families. We live in a time of vast knowledge regarding innovations in face-to-face and online learning, where the only reason for a student going without easy access to community schools in your locality is manmade. The human ingenuity you discover here can ensure that 100% survive and thrive.

Community schools, fully-resourced learning environments, have the capacity to empower students and the entire school community. Not only can community schools increase academic achievement, but the resources that are part of the model can also address a host of medical and mental health challenges, including student trauma associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

We can’t stress enough that a key component of ACEs and trauma prevention in the community schools model: schools that are designed to create learning environments where all students, including those with high ACEs scores, have the best chance to achieve success. There are a number of models for community schools with the following four components:

Component One: A Director. Community schools have a full-time community schools director to work with students, staff, families and neighbors to develop a shared vision, then create partnerships with community assets to help achieve that vision.
Component Two: Health Care and Other Services. Community schools ensure that all students and their families have access to the types of integrated support services shown to increase student health and safety and engage student’s families in the learning process. Potential services that are commonly found in community schools include school-based services, such as: health care, behavioral health care, dental services, tutoring, mentoring and out-of-school programs shown to strengthen student learning. These services can address ACEs and other challenges that students and families are facing.
Component Three: Schools as Neighborhood Hubs. Community Schools promote authentic family and community engagement, transforming the school into a neighborhood hub that is open to the community for a variety of uses beyond school hours. They also promote inclusive, shared leadership at the school level so that the school is reflective of the vision of students, staff, families and the neighborhood.
Component Four: Social Engagement. Community Schools offer a community-based curriculum that engages students in community service-learning and neighborhood activism so students become leaders in addressing the social conditions that produce a variety of social challenges, including ACEs.

With these four components in place, a school has the resources to become a community hub for all students, parents, family members and community agency workers. With community schools, if the staff don’t have what parents and students need in-house, they know where in the community resources exist and how to access them. With our 100% New Mexico initiative, our job is to ensure that all nine other vital resources do exist.

There are decades of research to show that community schools increase a student’s capacity to learn and thrive. And having all the four components is key. There are a wide variety of ways to fund community schools. Each state can work to become a leader in this new way of creating school environments, where all students are poised for success.

The model works: Why aren’t all schools community schools?

We have millions of people reading thousands upon thousands of articles and books on how to empower students and increase academic achievement leading to job readiness. We have the research on how best to address, in school-based settings, the prevention and treatment of adverse childhood experiences and family trauma.

In the Center for Community Schools@100%, we address a very complicated system with numerous challenges. We also provide an overview of the community school model to demonstrate that the challenges are solvable. Get ready to be overwhelmed, also inspired. We will guide you through all the steps to put ideas into action.

As a society, we claim to treasure each student, yet our rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma and maltreatment tell a very different story. In 100% Community, one service among the ten we identify as vital are fully-resourced community schools with school-based trauma-informed behavioral health services.

Fully-staffed community schools are places where a new set of eyes, those of educators, tutors and mentors, can be focused on a student, as well as his or her parents. It’s in this context where challenges can be identified and ideally remedied in a timely manner. Furthermore, quality community schools provide parents with the security that their children are in an enriching, positive and safe environment. It’s win-win for everyone.

In the Center for Community Schools@100%, we take on a very complicated system with numerous challenges and opportunities. We provide an overview of early childhood learning program that offer solutions to the disparities challenge. Get ready to be overwhelmed, and also inspired. We will guide you through all the steps to put ideas into action.

One Model: Many Opportunities for Customization

Community schools come in many forms. While each one has the key four components, they may also provide different types of services and programs for students and family members. Our goal is to empower you and your action teams in creating a seamless system of support, enrichments and empowerment focused on student learning within a community school.

Lastly, our countywide system of community schools needs to provide a menu of empowerment/education programs that give student the best chance to be prepared for living and working in a future that’s still evolving. While there are many unknowns regarding the future workforce needs, we know some basic skills will be invaluable: critical thinking, creativity, and communication. In our perfect world, each county would have robust community schools that house a cadre of well-resourced staff with the skills to not only empower and educate students, but to invite parents into the school community through workshops on every topic relevant to child rearing, including awareness of ACEs and trauma. Ideally, all community schools have staff that can also serve as navigators, helping students and parents connect with all the vital services that support families of all income levels and cultures.

“Can’t all students enroll in community schools?”

We have a wealth of insights, ideas and research focused on public education and community schools. This information can provide every city and town with the knowledge needed to create a seamless system of community schools at every level of education.

What Families Face

*These are fictionalized profiles based on real New Mexican residents.

Eric's Story

Eric’s time in school is tough. His anxiety leads to trouble focusing. He endures lectures from teachers on how he’d “better get with the program or get an F.” When he can’t take any more, he just ditches his classes. With a history of abuse and neglect, Eric needs extra support in certain subjects. (He’s great with math and engineering, but a mess with English and history.) He needs a certain style of communication so as not to trigger feelings of trauma. And he needs access to school-based medical and mental health care, along with mentors to help him navigate schoolwork and life in general, in an under-resourced part of town. Eric’s mom also needs support from the school as she does her best to find community resources to help her son. Eric’s school doesn’t have those resources yet, so he, and many students like him, become another data point in a government report: failed to graduate.

Jen and Marie's Story

Jen feels like the luckiest parent in the world as her daughter Marie goes to what is called a community school. The school has a health center that both students and parents can go to. They have staff for parents to help them find the services for surviving and thriving. Marie’s school also has weekend and after school activities for students to give her a safe place to stay until the work day ends, extra mentoring and tutors. Jen always feels welcome at the school and has spent time talking with the community schools director, who manages all these extra activities. Jen wonders why all schools don’t become community schools.

Time for action

You and your action team can, with one innovation, make vital services more accessible and improve the quality of services.

10 Innovations Await

It’s Time For Heroic Acts

You are about to review approximately 20 projects within ten innovation areas that can, if done successfully, improve the quality and accessibility of current services. The long-term goal of these innovations and projects is to ensure that 100% of county residents have access to this vital service. Your task is to review all projects, individually and as part of an action team, to identify which one you wish to implement. In the time it takes to enjoy a latte, you can give our menu of innovations a quick read, starting with Innovation #1: Tracking Supply and Demand and ending with Innovation #10: Developing the City Dept. of Community Schools. These include projects initiated by action teams focused on a county and all the communities within its borders.

Our students endure education and health disparities

Lack of fully-resourced community schools is impacting our most vulnerable students and families with consequences that may include failure to address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma and social adversity, as well as low academic achievement.

WHY STRUGGLING STUDENTS?

UNDERRESOURCED SCHOOLS DIMINISH OUR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITIES

While many opinions exist about how resourced a public school should be, we know that in schools without resources, some students will fall through the cracks. Today, schools are in a dramatic state of change. With research and innovation, they can evolve into safe centers of learning and empowerment. We can also design schools so that they align with parent’s work realities and schedules, creating family-friendly environments that serve students, staff and parents.

Tomorrow’s public schools will be the key frontline defense against many of the challenges facing students and their families, including health disparities. Every school can become what’s called a community school, which means they are funded and staffed to become vital community hubs for health care, food distribution, clothing banks for the needy, and places of important community resources and information in case of a public health and safety crisis. This will only happen, however, if they have the resources, staff and the know-how to do the job. The community school model makes sense especially in times of crisis and change, because schools are the one place that even kids in the most dire of circumstances somehow manage to get to most of the time.

The more fully-funded services we can pack into schools, the better: afterschool and summer programs, mentoring programs, social workers, case managers, employment centers, medical, reproductive and behavioral health services, and on-site tutoring. While coordinating and creating the funding streams for all these services may sound like a huge challenge, successful community school models have been in existence for quite awhile. Some already are performing this type of comprehensive, family-focused and student-centric programming for decades. The results are higher retention and higher graduation rates, as well as overall higher satisfaction from students and their parents.

We take on a very complicated system with numerous challenges. We provide an overview of the community school model within the public education system to demonstrate ways to address these issues. Get ready to be inspired. When a state has a networked system of fully-resourced community schools, our communities have the capacity to be healthier and safer, along with the resources to increase the success of all students. We will guide you through all the steps needed for transforming currently under-resourced schools into fully-resourced community schools.

In the Center for Community Schools@100% we seek to get to real-world solutions. We will guide you through all the steps needed to put ideas and gain buy-in for the model.

What are the root causes of the lack of community schools in the US?

Given we’re living in an epidemic of childhood trauma, why wouldn’t every public school now be funded to support all students with access to behavioral health, along with dental, medical care and tutors. The list is a long one.

Some root causes may include:

People believe that schools are for teaching the basics, not providing emotional support and health care.
We expect students (and their parents) to fix themselves if they face challenges with mental health, substance misuse and lack of resources.
We think that if families need help with community services they should just pay for it, not receive it at school.
Some think that it’s not the job of government to help traumatized students and their struggling parents through school services.
People think that public schools can never find funding to become community schools.
There are those that say, “Facing ACEs can be character-building.” With this belief, there’s certainly not a need to help students who live in households where abuse, neglect, substance misuse, domestic violence and untreated mental health challenges are the norm.
As for why we need to transform our regular public schools into full service community schools, where students and their parents can access the support they need to increase school achievement, the answers are easy to identify.

“Do school classrooms really need to be more than one teacher, thirty desks with four walls? That’s all I had and I turned out fine.”

For students with ACEs, many will become marginalized as their fear of what awaits them at home far outweighs the pressure to study and achieve. Community schools are designed to offer the support needed for all students to thrive and succeed. The model also provides parents with the support needed to address ACEs. We know from child welfare data that most parents engaged with child protective services will be struggling with one or more of the following challenges: substance misuse, domestic violence and mental health challenges. Most parents have difficulty accessing help.

Sometimes, services don’t exist. Other times, parents are not aware of them or how to access them. Again, the community school model provides the staff and resources to engage with students and family members in significant ways, to ensure safer and healthier home environments, where learning is prioritized.

Who’s learning, who’s falling behind and who will fail?

We could overwhelm you with data on national and state public school attendance, grade averages and drop-out rates. What’s most important is that you paint a picture of the schools in your county. The 100% New Mexico Survey will tell you what parents and youth have to say about their access to schools that have resources. You can also compare and contrast graduation rates with schools in higher and lower income communities, as well as look at the difference between public and private schools.

One thing we can assure you, if a school district were to survey their students for ACEs, it would be a wake-up moment for the entire county. From the very small samples we have, a third to two-thirds of some public classrooms have students reporting three or more ACEs. And surveys from private schools would also make the story complete, documenting to what degree students of all socio-economic levels are enduring ACEs and the problems resulting from the pressure of attaining high scores, including substance misuse and emotional health challenges.

How does student marginalization happen?

Why would students be marginalized because of ACEs and trauma? The list is a long one. First, as we have discussed throughout the book, we have students flooding into the schools having endured (or enduring) trauma.

Students fall through the cracks for many reasons. While a school may call itself trauma-informed, this does not mean that the school has a school-based wellness center with full time behavioral health care staff, along with medical and dental care. Yes, staff may be able to acknowledge the students with high ACEs scores and be sympathetic to their situation. Outside of offering the occasional lessons on sharing feelings, however, students with ACEs in most standard public schools are on their own. School staff and teachers must often tread very, very carefully as they talk with students about their home lives, lest it mean potential abuse or neglect is revealed, requiring a call to Child Protective Services.

Teachers are in an impossible situation

In some schools, if staff reported all the students being potentially maltreated at home to child welfare, large segments of some classrooms would be meeting with child protective services investigators. School would cease to function.

So teachers and staff, who care deeply about students (or they would not be in education) turn a somewhat blind eye to students with ACEs in order to survive the day and do the best they can for all students. Many students with ACEs follow the school rules, doing their best while dreading going home to suffer in silence day after day, year after year. This scenario can change with a community school and a countywide effort to ensure vital family services.

Data Guides Action

Fast forward to your reality today: With data from the 100% New Mexico Survey and other sources, you have a good idea about where the need for community schools may exist in your county, and that’s why it’s difficult to access for families. While global, national and state data on community schools are very interesting and instructive, the real data that informs your work are generated by your 100% New Mexico initiative work diving deep into local neighborhoods and school districts. That said, you may be surprised by your survey results and learn that a challenge is far bigger or smaller or more localized than you originally thought.

But wait, google says there are answers!

With literally millions of people reading articles on ending education and health disparities disparities and thousands of foundations, governmental and non-governmental organizations focusing for decades on supporting student safety and success, why is access to community schools still so prevalent across fifty states? Why might a single mom, showing signs of trauma, not be aware of how helpful a community schools with behavioral health care services could be? Why don’t all parents of school-age children know about the benefits of the community school model? Why might a parent with involvement with child protective services not automatically be linked to a community school with a school-based health center? In a pandemic, can we afford to have any student or parent without a way to access a school-based medical center that can test and treat family members?

We don’t mean to question our good-hearted leaders in political, academic and philanthropic circles, but there appears to be a complete disconnect between those who claim to have answers and the actual implementation of solutions to ensure 100% of our residents are able to access community schools? What are our morals, ethics and values that allow lack of the services community schools can offer, including strengthening families and keeping students safe from ACEs, to exist amid so much abundance?

What kind of society would allow a policy of benign neglect to doom entire zip codes to lack of fully-resourced community schools? Why should our most vulnerable parents ever endure anxiety about raising a child without help from family support specialists working in a community school? If we ever needed a public and private sector solution to lack of community schools, this is the moment.

Truly, why are we all not asking in loud public forums, “What is the root cause of under resourced schools impacting our urban and rural communities in the US?”

Community schools are what we call a “thriving service” (alongside our services for survival). In our 100% New Mexico initiative, we focus on ensuring community schools across a county, serving all the communities within its borders. Simply put, problems related to student’s education and health disparities can generally stand in the way of a safe childhood, high academic achievement and high functioning, self-sufficient family.

Our best bet for addressing a host of challenges related to early disparities is ensuring that community schools are fully supported.

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Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney – Co-author <em>100% Community</em> </div>
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Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney – Co-author 100% Community

We don’t have to guess about what percentage of parents reported needing health services at school. In one county, 32% of parents reported needing health services at the school for their child but 24% of them said it was a challenge to access services. 24% report needing mental health care services at the school for their child but 485 of them said it was difficult to access such services. Barriers to quality education, tutors and school-based parent supports can be assessed with surveys. This information is key, as data on gaps and barriers to services can guide local stakeholders to designing solutions.

Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney – Co-author 100% Community

What We Know

Our county survey will tell you why families may seek school-based health supports but struggle to access health services at schools.

Which Schools Lack Support?

LACK OF FULLY-RESOURCED SCHOOL HAVE MANY CAUSES

With all the research we have on the power of community schools, and state-of-the-art technology delivering empowering and educational media streaming into homes and mobiles, it seems inconceivable that students in our country should suffer from lack of fully-resourced community schools.

In fact, the reality on the ground has been, up to now, difficult to gauge when it comes to specifically measuring the interest in community school services, as well as lack of those services, in communities. Are lots of students lacking basic skills and enduring untreated trauma due to lack of community schools? This is an important question, but the real question is, “What does an under-resourced schools look like?” Four students playing soccer on a school playground may not conjure up images of underfunded schools and student trauma. However, we don’t know how many ACEs on the ten question ACEs survey the students might score. We don’t know what their home environment is like and if it’s set up to empower them with educational experiences to supplement what is taught by teachers. We don’t know if their parents were just laid off and are struggling to find jobs to buy food and pay rent and gas money. We don’t know what special needs the students may have or if the school can address them? We have no idea if the school’s staff can produce job ready graduates.

What percentage of people lacking access to fully resourced schools is acceptable to you and your elected leaders? How does a pandemic impact the question of how difficult access to community schools in both rural and urban communities is? Should any student, anywhere in your county, face barriers to vital quality education and access to school-based health care?

WE ASK: WHAT CHALLENGES CAN A COMMUNITY SCHOOL ADDRESS?

Our list covers a range of problems that can be solved.

Our students and their parents face public health and economic crises. A community school can be a hub for vital resources when problems hit a family.

Financial catastrophe: People lose their jobs for a variety of reasons all the time, often due to circumstances outside of their control. A sudden illness, either physical or mental, can also catastrophically knock out an income stream, forcing hard choices at the end of the month. School-based services can be a lifeline to much-needed services like health care and a food bank.
Relationship catastrophe: Breakups and divorce throw entire families into an unstable situation, especially if one partner was dependent on the other’s income for transportation. A school with a full time navigator can help a struggling parent access vital services.
Low wages: Employers don’t have to pay wages that would allow a full time worker to afford to pay all the bills throughout the month. Unexpected bills or taxes often mean there’s no money at the end of some months for food, utility bills, rent and gas money. A school’s parent liaison can help fix home challenges that impact a student’s mental and physical health.
Chronic mental health issues: Parents with mental health challenges can’t always be a model parent without special supports. A school-based health center can address many mental health challenges that might lead to ACEs.
Students in insecure situations: The fact is that some of our students are parenting themselves, as their parents are struggling with substance misuse, untreated mental health challenges or other problems. For this reason, students may need to be away from unsafe home environments as much as possible. A community school, with after-school, evening and weekend programs, can be a lifesaver for students in difficult home situations.

Data Guide Us

Fast forward to your reality today. With data from the 100% New Mexico Survey and other sources, you have a good idea about where the need for community schools may exist in your county and that’s why it’s difficult to access services for both parents and caregivers. While global, national and state data on community schools are very interesting and instructive, the real data that informs your work are generated by your 100% New Mexico initiative work diving deep into local neighborhoods. That said, you may be surprised by your survey results and learn that a challenge is far bigger or smaller or more localized than you originally thought.

Ensuring Services: A Local Challenge

People face different levels of hardship and risk during a pandemic directly related to their level of access to the 10 vital services for surviving and thriving. Inaccessible medical care, a lack of housing and food programs, and greatly increased joblessness during the associated economic downturn take a tremendous toll on families. It doesn’t have to be this way.

A Pandemic’s Impact on Services

Vital Questions Require Answers

In so-called “normal” times before the COVID-19 pandemic, health disparities were a fixture of our society. The pandemic has only increased the stresses on the health care systems as well as created more urgency for people to have timely access to prevention and treatment. The most pressing questions for your city, county and state elected leaders and stakeholders include:

How do we collect, analyze and publish the most timely data to guide prevention strategies?
How do we ensure enough COVID-19 tests and testing sites?
How do we ensure providers have the protective equipment required to be safe?
How do we ensure enough contact tracing?
How do we prevent homelessness and hunger if people in lock down or quarantine lose their job?
How do we strengthen mask-wearing and social distancing?
How do we ensure treatment, both hospital beds and providers?
How do we distribute the vaccine with buy-in from the public?
How do we address depression and trauma by ensuring access to behavioral health care?
How are vital family services for surviving and thriving made accessible to 100% of residents?

As you can see, question #10 places access to ten vital services into a comprehensive state and local strategy to prevent the pandemic. The 100% New Mexico initiative’s framework for ending barriers to services is vital and our work is urgently needed in each county. New Mexico State Senator Bill Soules, PhD, wrote in his Op-ed in the Las Cruces Sun News, “100% New Mexico: A model for COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment”:

“…an effective response to the pandemic goes beyond the medical sector. The countywide response required ten accessible services, allowing families to keep stabilized, supported, fed and housed, in order to comply with the state’s public health guidelines and to endure quarantining, isolating, social distancing and mask-wearing.”

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Matt Probst, Medical Director, PA-C, El Centro Family Health, NM </div>
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Matt Probst, Medical Director, PA-C, El Centro Family Health, NM

100% Community is a comprehensive guide to big picture systems change, one we have been needing for decades to address health disparities. With my initiative’s county team empowered by the book, we’ve been empowered to mobilize all family-serving service sector leaders and elected officials, united in creating a system of care across the entire county that I believe will serve as a model for the country. We embrace the opportunity to design the new systems of care and safety we urgently need.

Matt Probst, Medical Director, PA-C, El Centro Family Health, NM

Solutions Abound

We can happily report that many localities across the nation and globe have successfully created community schools, which may include a combination of public and private sector solutions.

Where on earth?

Where has this challenge been fixed?

Community Schools@100% is looking at tested learning program solutions, focused on innovations, projects, policies and programs implemented in large and small cities around the world.

If you have come this far, you know that ending underfunded schools in your community starts with knowing the magnitude of challenges faced that may include high rates of school drop out, low academic achievement, community substance misuse, domestic violence, child maltreatment, unemployment.

We present a challenge to you, your local business people and government leaders: Create a seamless countywide system of community school programs to make education and health disparities history so every student and parent gets the timely services they need so that all families can thrive.

As you will see below, we have offered only a sliver of what’s out there in terms of innovations that have been shown to reduce learning program disparities and to empower students. Some community school models have been with us for decades and are tried, true and evaluated strategies. Some are quite new and merit experimentation and their own evaluation. We do not lack solutions, just the political will to implement them.

Three important frameworks

As we say in 100% Community, we want to reference the data-driven framework called Continuous Quality Improvement and its four phases: assessment, planning, action and evaluation (100% Community, Chapter 29). This four-step process will guide your development of innovations in the arena of community schools. And, as a reminder, you will want to use Collective Impact (100% Community, Chapter 31) to organize your project and Adaptive Leadership (100% Community, Chapter 30) to determine if the particular challenge you seek to solve is technical, with established protocols for moving forward, or adaptive, where you are entering new uncharted territory without a clear path.

Designing a Countywide System

The past: How did we get to this point of needing family-friendly community schools and fully-resourced learning programs? Who exactly needs services to be “family-friendly” anyway? What are the problems the system is supposed to solve? Why don’t people just figure out the systems on their own? Can’t everyone access the services a community school provides in a timely manner?

The present (action agenda): Within this subject, we’ve identified ten strategies — called innovation areas — that can be used to tackle the community schools access problem. Within those we suggest about twenty 100% New Mexico initiative projects that you (yes, you) can take on, thus propelling your community towards fully-resourced schools in their many forms.

The future (goals): With enough work on these innovations/projects, we’ll get to the point where Innovation #10 — The creation of a City/County Department of Community Schools becomes a reality. With a state-of-the-art system of community schools in place, 100% of our county’s students and families could report excellent support and service.

Since we are currently in the present creating the future, your commitment to innovation is most eagerly sought and needed.

Partnerships and teamwork

At the heart of innovation are change agents implementing data-driven projects shown to fix barriers to services.

10 INNOVATIONS TO EXPLORE

CHANGE AGENTS NEEDED NOW

The following innovations represent strategies that have the capacity to increase access to community schools to ensure our student and their families are able to get to vital programs in order for students to be empowered, healthy, safe and successful.

As you will see as you explore Innovations #1–#10, a countywide system of community schools engages all stakeholders within the county’s borders that include data specialists, school leaders, technology experts, public awareness specialists, health care providers, city mayors, council members and county commissioners. Your work will be groundbreaking as it unites leaders in all sectors to achieve one goal: Community Schools for 100%.

Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney – Co-author 100% Community

Among the 20+ innovations in this Center, you will find that some are key to implementing the “7 Steps to Success” in your county. Innovation #1: Tracking Supply and Demand will provide valuable data to add to what your county collects with the 100% New Mexico survey.

Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney – Co-author 100% Community

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

If you join a tech company, you get the latest and greatest hardware plopped on your desk, connected to the fastest internet connection in the world. There is nothing standing between you and getting the job done. We need to ensure that everyone in the public sector and all residents have access to the tech and wifi that supports delivery of services, education and information. We can help you work around the technology obstacles you face in addition to ending the digital divide in your county. Visit Innovation #4: Harnessing Technology to explore how to use the power of tech to increase access to vital services in all ten inter-connected service areas.

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

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Dominic Cappello – Co-author <em>100% Community</em> </div>
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Dominic Cappello – Co-author 100% Community

The 100% New Mexico initiative isn’t just focused on problems, it’s about opportunities. The project comes with realistic, ready-to-go solutions housed here in the EYE. The only missing ingredient is you–the local change agent. To support the “7 Steps to Success,” preview Innovation #5: Generating Public Awareness offers Project 5.1, which focuses on creating a web-based and up-to-date county resource directory. Innovation 10: Developing the City Dept is where you think “big picture” and work to create sustainable services within local government so 100% can thrive.

Dominic Cappello – Co-author 100% Community

LET'S INNOVATE

Innovation #1

Tracking Supply and Demand

January 1 2020

Community Schools@100% – Innovation #10

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Innovation #10 Institutionalizing the work by developing the City/ County/District Department of Community Schools

Community
Schools@100%

Project Quick Links

The “county/city partnership that funds the department of community schools” project

The “convene your fellow community school advocates and enhance your skills in public speaking, committee briefing, and how to get to a school board members or lawmaker” project

The “know your stuff before you meet the mayor, county commissioner or school superintendent” project

The “create a bold vision and strategic plan” project

The “become inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone” project

The “assess what Buffalo, NY has offered to families” project

The “county/city partnership that funds the department of community schools” project

The “convene your fellow community school advocates and enhance your skills in public speaking, committee briefing, and how to get to a school board members or lawmaker” project

The “know your stuff before you meet the mayor, county commissioner or school superintendent” project

The “create a bold vision and strategic plan” project

The “become inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone” project

The “assess what Buffalo, NY has offered to families” project

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Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, <em>100% Community</em> </div>
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Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

Project 1

The “county/city partnership that funds the department of community schools” project

Project 2

The “convene your fellow community school advocates and enhance your skills in public speaking, committee briefing, and how to get to a school board members or lawmaker” project

Deliverables: Find an accomplished colleague with good public speaking skills, along with a professional with experience lobbying/networking with elected leaders. Together, discuss how a workshop for the entire 100% New Mexico team could be created to enhance skills. Assess interest with teams, make a workshop plan, deliver and evaluate. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

Project 3

The “know your stuff before you meet the mayor, county commissioner or school superintendent” project

Deliverables: Identify at least one colleague to join you in reviewing every innovation project in this chapter. This means diving into all the research that you can get your hands on, starting with our links to support your project. Conduct an assessment of all 100% New Mexico team members to identify which projects are of interest and in development. From here, present your global overview of project development with the entire 100% New Mexico team for feedback. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

Project 4

The “create a bold vision and strategic plan” project

Deliverables: After an assessment of county community schools (see Innovation #1) and a survey of all 100% New Mexico team members to identify which projects are of interest and in development, develop a draft outline of a strategic plan for a Department of Community Schools. From here, present the draft plan to the entire 100% New Mexico team for feedback. (Suggested time frame: 3–6 months)

Project 5

The “become inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone” project

Deliverables: Explore their website and connect with staff to fully understand their model, how they were formed and funded and their unique way of meeting the needs of students and family members. Present your findings in a one-page brief to the 100% New Mexico team, school community leaders and student support network. (Suggested time frame: 1 month)

Harlem Children’s Zone Model: https://aae.how/74

Project 6

The “assess what Buffalo, NY has offered to families” project

Deliverables: Explore their website and connect with staff to fully understand their model, how they were formed and funded, and their unique way of meeting the needs of students and family members. Present your findings in a one-page brief to the 100% New Mexico team, school community leaders, and student support network. (Suggested time frame: 1 month)

Say Yes Buffalo, NY: https://aae.how/75

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

This is the place where CQI can go

January 1 2020

Community Schools@100% – Innovation #6

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Innovation #6 Generating public awareness and engagement

Community
Schools@100%

Project Quick Links

The “create the Community Schools@100% user-friendly website” project

The “be patient and focused” project

The “email Community Schools@100% often” project

The “create the Community Schools@100% user-friendly website” project

The “be patient and focused” project

The “email Community Schools@100% often” project

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

Project 1

The “create the Community Schools@100% user-friendly website” project

Deliverables: Research websites created by schools and districts across your county and state. You might even find great ideas across the nation and globe. Present your findings on user-friendliness of existing local websites to the 100% New Mexico team. After feedback, network with local community school folks (including a web designer and graphic designer) to explore creating a user-friendly website that houses easy-to-understand information. You can also include information on your Community Schools@100% action team and how you are working to improve services as all schools. (Suggested time frame: 3–6 months)

Project 2

The “be patient and focused” project

Even completing a few of these projects will place you among the best-educated one percent when it comes to community schools in your area. One way to put that knowhow to good use is by serving on an advisory board or commission. Many, but not all, school, city, county and higher education organizations have them, and there are often more generic community advisory boards or advisory panels often needing members. This is your opportunity to ensure that community school progress is heard and that alignment of services becomes a reality.

Deliverables: Attend at least a quarter’s worth of meetings, then present to the 100% New Mexico team your analysis of current committee/task force working groups — including how data-driven and result-focused they appear to be. The goal is to work in alignment and offer mutual support with all those working to improve schools. (Suggested time frame: 4 months)

Project 3

The “email Community Schools@100% often” project

Populations to target:

Youth-serving groups
Family-serving groups
Faith-based groups
Cultural groups
Elected officials
School staff
School-based community agencies
School district innovators
School based health care providers
Local health care providers and agencies providing medical, dental and mental health care

Deliverables: Identify the most tech-savvy in your network, then create a countywide list of stakeholders to email. Create a rough message and graphic identity for your messaging. Test it out with the 100% New Mexico team and community school supporters and providers, tweak, and off you go. If you use a mailing service that can track your email’s performance, check open rates after three months to assess responses. If you simply email your network directly, gauge how many of the messages receive a reply or initiated action. (Suggested time frame: 4 months)

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

This is the place where CQI can go

January 1 2020

Community Schools@100% – Innovation #5

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Innovation #5 Harnessing technology to create an online directory and resources

Community
Schools@100%

Project Quick Links

The “plain language for existing websites” project

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

Project 1

The “plain language for existing websites” project

Deliverables: Research all county community school sites (or those schools on the verge of becoming community schools), those with school-based health centers and local government websites to identify community school programming. Identify what is being said about the current capacity of schools to serve students and parents. Present your findings to the 100% New Mexico team and local stakeholders in school supports. After feedback, network with local community school advocates and other such folks (including web designers and graphic designers) to explore creating user-friendly text and images to improve current website. The goal is fully describing the benefits of community schools on all current websites. (Suggested time frame: 3–6 months)

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

This is the place where CQI can go

January 1 2020

Community Schools@100% – Innovation #4

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Innovation #4 Creating or Strengthening the Countywide and Statewide Community Schools Network

Community
Schools@100%

Project Quick Links

The “let’s collaborate to make community schools the norm” project

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

Project 1

The “let’s collaborate to make community schools the norm” project

Deliverables: Find some passionate change agents and conduct informational interviews with sector stakeholders to assess interest in a county or state coalition. Assess the data-driven and result-focused quality of current coalitions. Create a one-pager to present to your 100% New Mexico team and school stakeholders on your initial findings. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

This is the place where CQI can go

January 1 2020

Community Schools@100% – Innovation #3

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Innovation #3 Engaging the feds, private sector and foundations in supporting community school innovations

Community
Schools@100%

Project Quick Links

The “corporations and foundations should invest wisely in community schools” project

The “know your state and federal options” project

The “corporations and foundations should invest wisely in community schools” project

The “know your state and federal options” project

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

Project 1

The “corporations and foundations should invest wisely in community schools” project

Deliverables: Do a search of US firms known for philanthropy and foundations to identify potential funding. Present to the 100% New Mexico team and interested stakeholders. (Suggested time frame: 1–3 months)

Project 2

The “know your state and federal options” project

Deliverables: Find some fellow research enthusiasts with a taste for tiny details and dive into federal and state funding options. (Strong coffee recommended.) Create a one-pager to present to your 100% New Mexico team and school leadership on your initial findings. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS): https://aae.how/58

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

This is the place where CQI can go

January 1 2020

Community Schools@100% – Innovation #2

Institute StaffCommunity Schools

Innovation #2 Ensuring potential and current community school programs are fully supported

Community
Schools@100%

Project Quick Links

The “do we have enough money to create a community school” project

The “Research as much as we can about community schools” project

The “all-important potential and current community schools analysis” project

The “Research as much as we can about community schools” project

Gregory Sherrow – Technology Advisor, 100% Community

Project 1

The “do we have enough money to create a community school” project

Deliverables: create a short summary of financial support needs for the community school programs and present to the entire 100% New Mexico team and stakeholders. (Suggested time frame: 1–3 months)

Project 2

The “Research as much as we can about community schools” project

This research project asks you to dig deeper into the community schools model.

Deliverables: Find some fellow research enthusiasts with a taste for tiny details and dive into community school design options. (Strong coffee recommended.) Create a one-pager to present to your 100% New Mexico team and school leadership on your initial findings. (Suggested time frame: 3 months)

Community Schools

Developing the City Dept of Community Schools

Project Quick Links

Project 1: The “county/city partnership that funds the department of community schools” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

Share

Share

Visit

Project 2: The “convene your fellow community school advocates and enhance your skills in public speaking, committee briefing, and how to get to a school board members or lawmaker” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

Share

Share

Visit

Project 3: The “know your stuff before you meet the mayor, county commissioner or school superintendent” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

Share

Share

Visit

Project 4: The “create a bold vision and strategic plan” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

Share

Share

Visit

Project 5: The “become inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

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Share

Visit

Project 6: “assess what Buffalo, NY has offered to families” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

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Visit

RETURN

Strengthening Local Services

Project Quick Links

Project 1: The “Kentucky reaches families for care coordination” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

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Project 2: The “NY schools peer-modeling system of family navigators” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

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Project 3: The “Communities in Schools model” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

Share

Share

Visit

RETURN

NEXT

Supporting Cities and Counties

Project Quick Links

Project 1: The “time to research how school-based care is being delivered” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

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Share

Visit

RETURN

NEXT

Engaging Higher Education

Project Quick Links

Project 1: The “let’s explore the Santa Fe ‘Sky Center’ model” project

Deliverables:

NEXT STEPS

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Visit