County-Level Partnerships to Support Community School Initiatives: The Role of Technical Assistance

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

Abstract

Community school initiatives are increasingly popular across the United States (Partnership for the Future of Learning, n.d.). When implemented well, community schools are grounded in an evidence base showing improvement in student outcomes, including attendance, graduation rates, and the reduction of racial and economic achievement gaps (Author, 2017; Johnston et al, 2020). This paper examines the nature of regional partnerships that form to support the scaling of community schools. Specifically, our objective was to investigate how local government and nonprofit agencies can partner with districts and schools to provide technical assistance (TA). We draw on a framework defining TA as the process of providing targeted supports to build the capacity of individuals and organizations (Trohanis TA Projects, 2014). While the approaches that support effective community school implementation have not been fully studied, TA is often suggested as a structure to systemically support community school expansion and sustainability (National Center for Community Schools, n.d.). This paper explores the various types of TA supports that are needed to launch, sustain, and scale community school initiatives.

Our technique was to examine evidence from two California county agencies that have taken different approaches to supporting community schools. The first is the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), which has established partnerships with nonprofit and county agencies to provide services to participating schools in 15 districts. The second is the Alameda County Health Care Services Association (HCSA) which, along with the nonprofit Seneca Family of Agencies (Seneca), oversees school-based health centers, provides strategic planning support, and offers school- and district-level staffing. Our data came from interviewing staff at county agencies, nonprofit and community-based organizations, and district- and school-level leaders, between September 2020 and May 2020. We also reviewed online documentation related to these initiatives.

We conclude that LACOE, HCSA, and Seneca provide many forms of TA for community school initiatives, including professional development; support for strategic planning; and establishing partnerships that bring personnel, services, and funding to districts and schools. This TA facilitated the increased provision of comprehensive services to schools and helped partners coordinate, deploy, and target their on-campus resources efficiently. The cross-sector partnerships these organizations facilitated also strengthened the development of a shared vision and clear agreements among partners. By weaving together county-level services to support community schools, the regional TA initiatives helped leverage existing resources and funding streams and, in doing so, enhanced the ability of schools to meet the needs of students and families. These findings are significant because research tells us that in order to achieve more equitable learning outcomes, schools should attend to students’ academic, social, and emotional growth as well as to their physical and mental wellness (Darling-Hammond & Cook-Harvey, 2018). Community schools are designed to bring together a comprehensive range of on-campus services and resources in response to these “whole child” needs—an approach that is increasingly important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research suggests that regionally-driven TA efforts may be a key structure to support the implementation and sustainability of community schools.

Authors

• Anna Maier, Learning Policy Institute

• Sarah L. Klevan, Learning Policy Institute

• Naomi Ondrasek, Learning Policy Institute