The Empowerment of Educational Leaders in Community Schools

• In Event: Community Schools Research: Advancing Equity and Collaboration Through a Holistic Approach

Abstract

A principal with a vision and purpose must reach out to community stakeholders and seek their assistance and support. The opportunity of enlisting the diverse human capital in school communities must be accessed, recognized, and conducive to action. Relational accountability also applies to educational leaders as a matter of personal responsibility. Schools have to become productive spaces for the aspirations of the community. Principals bring their passion, knowledge, and commitment to align resources with parents and community members. Do we become principals for the public benefit? Do we build a sense of connectedness across the boundaries of a school community to address quality of life issues? Sometimes leadership markets fear and fault and operate with self-interest instead of possibilities, curiosity, and hope. All issues that have a human origin have a human solution. Community leaders have the capacity to exercise power through relationships and interconnectedness.
This paper highlights effective leadership practices from strategic thinking and service leadership to collaborative relationships connected to instructional leadership. It describes principles of community education and the characteristics of effective community schools leading to relational trust and relational accountability. It addresses the development of social and emotional skills in educational leaders and their impact on the quality of community schools.
This paper also presents a case study of a progressive community school from Pre-School through High School. It emphasizes effective practices as well as evidence of growth. It examines leadership congruency, trust, empowerment, and inclusiveness in the context of equity and excellence. The intrinsic case study of a particular school is a process of research in which consideration is given over a period of time to highlight its growth in the following areas: attendance, graduation, high school and elementary school improvement, innovative scheduling, and freshmen on track over a period of five years.
It has scholarly significance because it connects effective educational leadership practices in a community school with overall improvement. It also connects families and community partnerships to support and enhance the educational agenda of the school. Sometimes community schools are perceived only within the context of extended learning time, after school programs, and wrap around services. However, this paper emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the work as well as the cross-boundary role played by the educational leader.

Author

• Carlos M. Azcoitia, National Louis University
  Presenting Author