Community Schools 101

Community Schools 101: A Primer on the Future of Public Education 

What Are Community Schools?

Community Schools embody how education should function in a healthy democracy – they’re public schools that provide services and support which fit each neighborhood’s needs, created and run by the people who know our children best – families, educators, community organizations, local governments, and the students themselves – all working together.

Community schools provide not only tremendous opportunities for learning and success for students, but they also offer hope, opportunity, and transformation to entire communities. They are schools built with the understanding that students often come to the classroom with challenges that impact their ability to learn, explore, and develop to their greatest potential. Because learning never happens in isolation, community schools provide free healthy meals, health care, tutoring, mental health counseling, and other tailored services before, during, and after school. The days of attempting to compartmentalize problems that are inextricably linked has failed, and community schools provide an evidence-based pathway to lifting all students and the communities they live within. A better future of education is possible, and the NEA has the blueprint and is ready to get to work.

Check out the entire article here.