Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Background on Redwood City's Community Schools <br /> <br />In 1995, representatives from the City and County of Redwood City, as well as from <br />the school district, formed the Redwood City 2020 collaborative. The collaborative <br />was established to support the success of all youth and families to engage and <br />strengthen the community. With the goal of bringing high-quality services to under- <br />resourced schools, Redwood City 2020 used funding from the California Healthy <br />Start Initiative to establish Family Resource Centers at four schools: Fair Oaks (K-S), <br />Hoover (K-8), Kennedy (6-8), and Taft (K-5). <br /> <br />Building on these Famiiy Resource Centers, in 2003 the collaborative implemented <br />a community school model at each school. At community schools, designated staff <br />members work in partnership with the school, service providers, youth, parents, <br />and community members to create a system that promotes healthy families and <br />communities, and supports student success. Redwood City 2020 continues to play <br />a critical role in each community school. The collaborative helps to form and <br />sustain relationships with local partners, raises funds for staffing and <br />administrative needs at each site, works with the district and each school principal, <br />and provides support to each site by creating yearly community school work- plans, <br />aiding with problem-solving, and providing technical assistance. <br /> <br />Today Fair Oaks, Hoover, Kennedy, and <br />Taft are thriving community schools. But <br />what does the community school model <br />bring to school reform? At many schools, <br />especially those that are under-resourced <br />and enroll youth from under-served <br />populations, students face multiple <br />barriers to learning. These barriers <br />include many of the difficulties that can <br />attend low family income: poor <br />preparation for schooling; lack of English <br />language skills; difficult family <br />circumstances; inadequate health care; <br />behavioral issues; and low rates of <br />parental involvement in their children's <br />education. School reform efforts often try <br />to address these barriers with after-school <br />programs, and referrals to services that <br />are sometimes on-site. While these efforts <br />bring valuable programs and services to <br />the youth at these schools, the <br />community school goes beyond add-on <br />programs and even co-location of <br />services. Research into school reform has <br />shown that because the barriers to learning are multi-dimensional (physical, social, <br />emotional, economic as well as cognitive), the solutions must also be multi- <br />dimensional. To give students an equal opportunity to learn requires a <br /> <br />from Co-Location to <br />Integration: <br />How Community Schools are <br />Different <br /> <br />In a community school, [programs <br />and services for youth and <br />families] do not function as stand- <br />alone co-located services and <br />supports.... In an integrated <br />approach, various community <br />structures, systems, and <br />stakeholders are working <br />collaboratively to maximize their <br />resources and strengths to <br />develop a more comprehensive <br />and seamless system of services, <br />supports, and opportunities. <br /> <br />(From John W. Cardner Center for <br />Youth and Their Communities, <br />"Academy for Community Schools <br />Development: Mid-Course Research <br />Report: Executive Summary," August <br />2005.) <br /> <br />2 <br />