Social Justice Humanitas Academy: The Power of School-Level Partnerships

• In Event: Taking Collective Action and Responsibility to Address Inequity: The Case of Partnerships for Community Schools

Abstract

In 2011 Social Justice Humanitas Academy (SJ Humanitas), a teacher-led community school within the Los Angeles Unified School District, opened its doors to students in the San Fernando Valley. The school was the result of more than a decade of collaboration between community members, local non-profits, and local school leaders who worked to address a range of issues impeding the success of local families. This presentation shares findings from an in-depth investigation of SJ Humanitas and the opportunities and challenges it has faced in creating and sustaining partnerships as their schooling environment.

Our investigation of SJ Humanitas formed part of a larger research agenda that endeavored to understand community schooling as an instantiation of whole child education. Whole child education strategies create learning environments that simultaneously attend to students’ academic, social, and emotional supports and are grounded in the science of learning and development. While community schools and whole child education are typically discussed as disparate reforms, our study identified how the two approaches are in fact reinforcing and congruent. The case study illustrates the clear connections between the two approaches and exemplifies how they are implemented at SJ Humanitas to fuel rich and meaningful learning.

This case study details how SJ Humanitas brings together the resources and strengths of all stakeholders to serve and support the community by providing a supportive learning environment that is foundational to both community schools and whole child education reforms. The research team engaged in an in-depth case study to generate understanding of a real-life phenomena in context and its interplay with its environment. The team conducted 43 interviews with key stakeholders, observed key school events and classroom instruction, and reviewed and analyzed organizational documents and publicly available data. Researchers engaged in a multi-step process of analysis using a preliminary code list based on the principles of whole child education and the community school pillars.

The findings of this case study underscore the importance of establishing a supportive school environment and culture that attends to students’ whole selves and values relationship building. At SJ Humanitas, community partnerships buttress this environment. We highlight how the school addresses barriers to learning and seeks to meet the individualized needs of students and families through strong partnerships that deliver in-school and out-of-school services and provide enriching expanded learning opportunities. Partnerships also create and contribute to a learning environment that cultivates the successful growth, well-being, and healthy development of all its students by shining a light on the wealth of assets and resources within the community. As one administrator shared, “we know that the best knowledge and the best practices that will help a community solve its issues are within the community.”

This study illustrates how community schools can be a vehicle for advancing whole child educational practices that promote equitable learning, and help students overcome barriers to learning through effective family and community partnerships targeted to meet students’ holistic needs. The study has important implications for future research and design of schools that support the whole child.

Authors

• Lorea Martínez, HEART in Mind/Teachers College, Columbia University

• Marisa Saunders, University of California - Los Angeles

• Lisa Flook, Learning Policy Institute