Community Schools go beyond the traditional role of a school, which typically focuses on academics during the school day. In a Community School, the building becomes a hub for academics and a wide range of supports, such as health and mental health services, afterschool and youth development programs and family engagement opportunities — all coordinated in one place. The goal is simple: Community Schools create communities where children, youth and families thrive.
But schools can’t do it alone. Cities have a significant role to play in supporting place-based strategies like Community Schools succeed. A recent interview with Dr. Michelle Lessly Blackburn, Senior Policy Manager with the Institute for Educational Leadership, breaks down what Community Schools are, why they matter and how local leaders can support and scale them.
National League of Cities: How have Community Schools supported not just academic needs, but also community-wide youth and family well-being?
Lessly Blackburn: Community Schools utilize a whole-child, whole-family approach when engaging with students. What happens in the classroom is just as important as what happens on the playground, the lunchroom, after school and when a student is with their family. Community Schools prioritize integrating partners into the school setting who can bring resources and expertise to address the holistic needs of children, youth and families. For some schools, this may look like collaborating with partners who provide housing support, food security resources and mental and physical health support. For other communities, this might mean ensuring that there are summer programs that create opportunities for youth to get hands-on work experience through apprenticeships that also support the local workforce.
An example from Columbus Consolidated Government & Community Schools United (United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley) in Columbus, Georgia, is how Community Schools hosts “Walking School Bus” and invites city leaders. The walk didn’t just shine a light on unsafe conditions; it created a shared experience that galvanized change. City leaders saw the world through the eyes of a child that morning, resulting in a collaborative effort to install speed bumps and streetlights, creating safer conditions for children and families walking to school.
NLC: What are the most impactful roles city leaders can play in supporting or scaling Community Schools in their cities?
Blackburn: Community Schools need cross-sector collaboration to be successful. City leaders play a key role by convening and incentivizing critical resources to partner with Community Schools to create support networks for children, youth and families. City leaders can create opportunities to forge local and state-sponsored sustainability efforts, enable policies and take on the promotion of the Community School strategy in their public relations efforts. (For more ideas, see NLC’s Engaging Students Through Community Schools resource.)
NLC: What does it take to sustain Community Schools long-term, especially when federal or philanthropic funding runs out?
Blackburn: Shared community accountability for the sustainability and continued impact of a Community School is critical to the long-term vision of school and community transformation. City, community and business leaders, as well as the families served by the school, must be bought into the Community School strategy, not as a service delivery model, but a means by which the entire municipality is served from cradle to career. This means that the Community School strategy is not seen as a program, but an investment into the way youth successfully enter adulthood. Community Schools leverage various funding streams and broker public and private partnerships as a part of their sustainability. This could be furthered by supporting Community Schools as a component of city planning to further blend and braid funds, such those that foster business development, youth programs and health services, to name a few.
NLC: What advice do you have for cities just starting out — those that may only have one or two Community Schools or are exploring the model for the first time?
Blackburn: Communities starting the Community School strategy should do two things. First, secure buy-in from key leaders and conduct a needs assessment. Develop a shared vision and commitment from school and district leaders, school boards, city and county leaders, businesses, private funders, educators, community members and families. This should be formalized in written agreements (see Coalition’s Building a Community Schools System Guide).
Second, conduct a critical analysis of what is working and what needs to change or be added. Leaders should ask tough questions: Are current efforts meeting their intended goals? Have community needs shifted beyond available resources? Are they prepared to adapt as needs evolve?
NLC: What governance or partnership models have been most effective in aligning schools with cities, nonprofits and community partners?
Blackburn: Shared governance and accountability structures rooted in collaborative leadership have proven to be the most sustainable methods for implementing Community School strategies. Written agreements such as Joint Powers Agreements and Intergovernmental Agreements are common tools used to share district, city and county resources across municipality borders. Diversifying funding sources and resources to support staffing and demonstrate a strategic commitment from various entities is also key. Blended funding structures that weave state, municipal, school, business and private funding help sustain the model even if one source is withdrawn. Private business partnerships further advance Community School initiatives through corporate responsibility investments, volunteer hours and resource drives.
As cities look for meaningful ways to support children and families, Community Schools offer a proven strategy rooted in collaboration and local leadership. Whether just starting out or deepening investments, city leaders have a unique opportunity to champion Community Schools as a long-term solution that helps entire communities thrive.
Explore the K-12 Education Toolkit
Learn how to support K-12 education in your community with NLC’s new toolkit. This resource explores the ways in which city leaders can impact the lives of students even when they don’t oversee their school districts. Whether through school visits, investments in afterschool programs or leading cross-sector planning efforts, mayors can help shape the conditions that support all children and families.
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