The Community School Coordinator at each site will:
- Understand the community school approach
- Have definedthe Community School Coordinator role and major points of integration with administration and student/family support personnel
- Be familiar with school structure and culture, and have developed relationships with key personnel on-site, including administrators, teachers, support staff, parent groups, and partners
- Have identified needs, strengths, resources, and gaps in student and family supports
- Established themselves as the point person for developing and troubleshooting partnerships
- Develop a workplan for the rest of school year
Pre-Work (done by supervisor)
- Meet individually with the school principal/leadership team to map the school in preparation for the Community School Coordinator’s orientation and entry. Topics may include:
School priorities, especially those related to student support and partnerships
Leadership teams and structures
Coordination and the reporting structure
Introduction of the Community School Coordinator to the school community
Abbreviated inventory of partners and services
Logistical issues (office space, supplies, phone, etc.)
- Develop an orientation packet and communication tools for the Community School Coordinator
Orientation
First week and ongoing professional development, weekly meeting, as a learning community, with all coordinators:
- Community Schools 101, e.g., training, video, speaker, site visit
- Define roles
Establish expectations, reporting, meeting structures, etc.
Identify existing points of coordination and clarify roles
- Understand structures and school priorities
District organization (regions, zones, cohorts, etc.)
District processes, e.g., funding requests, contracts, provider orientations, etc.
Site leadership structures, e.g., SSC, SST, SAP
Individual school site plan, target populations, special projects, history, site inventories
- Community School Rubric
- Needs assessment process and tools
- Review processes and uses, introduce and test tools, refine, etc.
- Introduce management tools, e.g., workplan, tracking templates
School-Based Work
- Meet with the principal to establish a relationship and identify priorities for the year. Discussion topics should include the Community School Coordinator’s role in leadership and in school committees, introduction to the school community, scope of work, and communication protocols.
- Introductory meetings – mostly introduced by principal
Faculty (with introduction by district leadership)
Grade level teams
SSC, ELAC, PTA
Student/family support teams, e.g., COST, school climate, family engagement
Student groups
- Visit every classroom within the first two weeks
Informal (observe and get a feel for the school, look for high profile kids, etc. Can help at teacher’s specific request too)
- Needs assessment
Needs/priorities and strengths/assets
Services and integration/coordination
Identify gaps
Evidence of success
Partnership process
Interviews, focus groups, meetings, surveys
Analyze and present data to staff and school community
- Spend time with major partners and programs, such as:
Afterschool
School health center or wellness center
Mental health providers
Family center, parent leaders, family workshops, etc.
Partner agency directors
Community Entry Work
- Preliminary partner meeting
Introductory
Part of needs assessment process
Community School Advisory Committee
- Draft/revisit MOUs with each partner
- Identify community leaders (religious, political, activists) and meet with them
- Attend community coalition meeting(s) – get feedback about needs, programs, resources
- Get to know neighborhood(s) – walk around the community and other neighborhoods where kids come from, talk to merchants and CBOs, eat at neighborhood restaurants
- Do home visits with a parent liaison
Produced byThe Center of Healthy Schools and Communities | School Health Works1