Forum Highlights Community Schools as Reform Model
AFT president Randi Weingarten was among a group of high-powered educators, lawmakers and government officials who spoke about the promise of community schools at an Oct. 28 forum at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. 

The Issue
Too many students come to school with needs that impede their ability to thrive academically. If we really want to close the achievement gap, we must supplement their regular coursework by addressing factors that are beyond the control of teachers and schools yet have a direct effect on student outcomes. Important factors such as healthcare, social services and parental involvement are too often divorced from school life, although they are critical to student success. These supports are even more crucial at a time like the present, when a struggling economy puts even greater pressures on families.

The Solution
We propose transforming some of the schools serving our neediest students into community schools that bring together, under one roof, the services and activities that our children and their families need.

With the support of mayors and/or other government leaders, local agencies and community groups, community schools could provide students the services beyond instruction that they need to reach their potential. A variety of federal, state and local funding streams could be drawn upon for these services.

School buildings would be open all day and evening for tutoring, homework assistance and recreational activities. Medical, dental, recreational, counseling and child care services would be available to meet the community's needs.

Community schools would create an inviting environment for parents and other adults by offering parents customized supports such as English language instruction, employment counseling, citizenship programs and GED programs. Having these programs and social services in schools could encourage parents to get more involved in their children's education, and help to stabilize families so they can better support their children's learning.

Community schools are not a new concept. They have their roots in the earliest, richest traditions of public education. The time has come to broaden the debate about accountability to include shared responsibility for the success of our children. Community schools offer a means to eliminate the achievement gap by educating the whole child and providing our neediest students with the supports they need to succeed.