Note: Due to technical difficulties during filming, the video is missing the first seven minutes of the event.
In a time of declining fiscal resources and greater demand for public services, districts with fewer resources to spread around are focusing on partnerships that leverage the strengths of multiple organizations to improve student outcomes. Such partnerships form the basis for community schools, which provide an integrated approach to academics, youth development, family support, health and social services, and community development. As important as partnerships may be, however, they are not always easy to build and sustain over time.
Join us for a conversation with community school, district, and union leaders to discuss their strategies for building and maintaining strong relationships with partners. We will launch the conversation with a paper by the Coalition for Community Schools that examines the coalition-building approaches undertaken by seven different community school initiatives around the country. We will continue and expand on the discussion with a panel of distinguished community school experts.
For further reading, the National Education Association also recently released a report on partnerships between families, schools, and their communities that includes profiles of community schools.
Featured presenter:
Martin Blank, President, Institute for Educational Leadership and Director, Coalition for Community Schools
Featured panelists:
Tony Majors, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
Julie Sellers, President, Cincinnati Federation of Teachers
Tony Smith, Superintendent, Oakland Unified School District
Moderator:
Cynthia Brown, Vice President for Education Policy, Center for American Progress