A Collaborative Partnership with Communities to Develop Community Schools and Build Strong Communiti

1
John W. Gardner Centerfor Youth and Their
CommunitiesStanford University
Childrens Aid Society
UC Davis Center for Community School Partnerships

• A Collaborative Partnership with Communities to
  Develop Community Schools and Build Strong
  Communities for Youth

2
Our Mission Its Intersection with Community
Schools

• Through partnerships with local communities,the
  Gardner Center seeks to build new knowledge,
  practice and capacity around youth development
  and learning.
• Community Schools unite the most important
  influences in childrens livesschool, families
  and communitiesto create a web of support that
  nurtures their development toward productive
  adulthood.

3
Separation gtgtgtgtgt Integration
Schools
Private CBO and Business
Children Families
Public Social Service Agencies
City and County Government
4
Theory of Change
JGC - Partnership
Technical Assistance
5
Academy for Community Schools Development The
process
6
Collaborative Partners

• John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their
  Communities
• Research and Practice Institute Stanford
  University
• Long Term University-Community Partners
• The Childrens Aid Society
• New York City Social Services Agency
• National Model of Community Schools
• Lead Agency Partner w/NYC DOE in 13 public
  schools
• California Center for Community-School
  Partnerships
• University of California at Davis
• California Policy and Practice Experts ???????

7
Academy Sessions
AS I Collaboration December 2003 AS
II Comprehensive Family Youth
Resources March 24, 2004 AS III Academic
Supports June 2, 2004 AS IV Shared
Leadership Summer 2004 AS V Youth Engagement
Fall 2004 AS VI Assessment Spring 2005 AS VII
Sustainability Fall 2005 AS VIII Early
Lessons Winter 2006 AS IX Final Session
Fall 2006
8
Gardner Center Childrens Aids Society Academy
Sessions Key Components of Community
School Development

• Collaboration
• Academic Supports
• Comprehensive Family Youth Resources
• Shared Leadership
• Youth Engagement
• Assessment
• Sustainability
• Early Lessons
• Final Session

• Management Governance
• Staffing
• Programs Services
• Parental Involvement
• Community Involvement
• Organizational Partnerships
• Sustainability
• Evaluation

9
Academy for Community Schools Development (ACSD)
Academy Sessions blending research practice

• Others in the field
• Within site
• Cross-team

Technical Assistance
10
Lessons

• Theory to Practice
• Lessons we have learned about developing
  community schools by bridging research, theory
  and practice through the implementation of
  Academy Sessions for key stakeholders

11
Shared Leadership

• Shared leadership concept and the reality of the
  preparation and learning that has to happen
  regarding community schools

12
Leadership team composition

• Parents
• School and Community Representatives
• School Principals, CBO Executives, District
  Leaders
• Teachers, Site Coordinators, Program Officers
• Policy Makers
• School Board Member, City Council Members
• Young People

13
Technical Assistance

• Leadership teams need time and coaching to work
  on their community school development

JGC Community Linked Liaison Positions
Liaisons require assistance from Collaborative
Partners on how to provide technical assistance
to leadership teams
14
Making the Learning and Work Relevant

• Challenges
• Making the content of the Academy Sessions, work
  in between sessions (e.g. organizing team to work
  together, incorporating content and action plans
  developed at Session, etc.)
• Making the technical assistance relevant and
  useful to these different stakeholders

15
From Learning ? Implementation

• Key Factors that contribute moving forward
• Local Capacity
• Time
• Clear Roles Responsibilities of Team members
• Follow Through Between Sessions

16
Topic Redevelopment Making it Relevant to
Community Schools

• Topics, session, trainers, expertise
• Many experts on different components not as
  much experience with community schools context
• We discovered we needed to think about all of the
  individual topics within a community schools
  framework
• Need to align all session learning in the CONTEXT
  of local community, state, national - goals,
  trends, policies, funding, etc.

17
Customization

• Meeting people where they are at how is this
  relevant to them as a stakeholder in this
  initiative and to each community Role of
  Partnership Liaison.
• Growth of teams
• Revisiting information from a year back
• Building on and continuing the work of each
  session.

18
Staff Turnover

• Transfer of knowledge how does it happen? Whos
  responsible for doing this?
• Building blocks jenga
• Replacing staff, transition and bringing new
  staff up to speed

19
Collaborative Training Team Challenges

• Stand alone sessions - but build on each other
• Building upon lessons knowledge from previous
  sessions
• Co-design and co-construction between three
  different collaborative partners
• Incorporation of local resources for ongoing
  assistance to participants
• Providing facilitation throughout the session
  allows each team the opportunity to work and come
  together with guided assistance on key components
  as they develop their evolving community schools

20
Resources

• The John W. Gardner Center
• http//gardnercenter.stanford.edu
• The Childrens Aid Society
• http//www.childrensaidsociety.org
• The California Center for Community-School
  Partnerships
• http//education.ucdavis.edu/cress/ccsp