Community Schools Initiative Update: Engaging Families in Community Schools
During the 2009-10 school year, a major focus of the Community Schools Initiative will be creating school-specific plans to engage families in supporting their children’s academic and social development.
“We believe the focus on family engagement is timely and critical,” said Mauricio Palma, director of Early Learning and Education Initiatives. “Families play such an important role in helping to determine how children approach and experience learning.”
Research shows that one of the most accurate predictors of a student’s achievement in school is not income or social status but the extent to which a student’s family creates a home environment that encourages learning; expresses high expectations for their child’s achievement and future; and becomes involved in their child’s education at school and in the community.
Mauricio explains that, “the community foundation will be a strategic partner in creating a peer support and learning network among community school practitioners to identify and implement best practices. We will also establish a cadre of experts in the field of family engagement and leadership to advise us on implementing models of excellence at each community schools site.”
Community schools integrate academics, health and human services, youth and community development, and family and community engagement into a single coordinated strategy that improves student learning, creates supportive school settings, stronger families and healthier communities. Using public schools as hubs, community schools knit together inventive, enduring relationships among many partners who contribute expertise and resources for effective learning environments. These partners include health and social service agencies, family support groups, youth development organizations, institutions of higher education, community organizations, and business, civic and faith-based groups.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation has supported efforts to link communities and schools for well over a decade. In 2005, it launched the San Mateo County Community Schools Initiative to support emerging and maturing community schools in three communities: Belle Haven Elementary School in east Menlo Park, Manuel F. Cunha Intermediate School in Half Moon Bay and Fair Oaks Elementary School and John F. Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City. These schools serve a predominantly low-income and English Learner student population.
The community foundation has provided more than $8 million dollars in funding and staff resources to advance community school efforts in these communities over the last four years. Evaluation results have shown increases in test scores in English Language Arts and Mathematics among students participating in after school and mental health programs as part of the community school.
“Together with our current partners, we determined that focusing on family engagement will have the largest impact on connecting students to a broader learning community. Work is already under way to convene community school practitioners and experts. We hope to start implementing best practices by the end of the school year.”
