The Promise of University-Assisted Community Schools to Transform American Schooling: A Report From the Field, 1985-2012

• In Event: Community-School-University Partnerships: Exploring Universities as Catalysts for Comprehensive School Reform

Abstract

Summary:
This paper explores the university-assisted community school approach as it has been developed at the University of Pennsylvania with its school and community partners in West Philadelphia since 1985, as well as adapted nationally.

The approach is grounded in John Dewey’s theory that the neighborhood school can function as the core neighborhood institution that provides comprehensive services, galvanizes other community institutions and groups, and helps solve the myriad problems schools and community confront in a rapidly changing world. Building on Dewey’s ideas, the authors argue that all colleges and universities should make solving the problem of the American schooling system a very high institutional priority; their contributions to its solution should count heavily both in assessing their institutional performance (by themselves and others) and be a critical factor when responding to their requests for renewed or increased resources and financial support.

University-assisted community school partnerships have demonstrated a range of positive impacts, including improved achievement in K-12 schools; application of undergraduates’ and graduates’ knowledge to local, real-world settings; growth of faculty involvement in engaged scholarship; and genuine, collaborative relationships between universities and their local communities (Harkavy & Hartley, 2009).

However, serious impediments have prevented Penn and other institutions from realizing the potential of university-assisted community schools in practice. These impediments—including intellectual fragmentation, a discipline-based faculty rewards system, and the legacy of the ivory tower—have also had the impact of slowing Penn’s development as a truly democratic, cosmopolitan, engaged, civic university (Saltmarsh & Hartley, 2011; Hartley, Harkavy, & Benson, 2009).

Indeed, university-assisted community schools have a long way to go before they can fully mobilize the powerful, untapped resources of their own institutions and of their communities, including those found among individual neighbors and in local institutions (such as businesses, social service agencies, faith-based organizations, and hospitals). Among other things, the authors argue, this will require more effective coordination of public and private funding streams and services. Government is indispensable in this process. Through financial incentives and the bully pulpit, government should encourage community colleges, colleges, and universities to do well by doing good—that is, to better realize their missions by contributing significantly to developing and sustaining democratic schools and communities (Harkavy & Hodges, 2012).

Providing concrete examples from over 20 years of work in West Philadelphia, as well as from initiatives across the country, this paper explores the potential of developing university-assisted community schools as an effective approach for school reform, pre-Kindergarten through higher education.

Authors

• Ira Harkavy, University of Pennsylvania

• Joann M. Weeks, University of Pennsylvania

• Matthew Hartley, University of Pennsylvania

• Rita Axelroth Hodges, University of Pennsylvania