positive student outcomes in community schools

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Positive Student Outcomes

in Community SchoolsSebastian Castrechini and Rebecca A. London February 2012

www.americanprogress.o



Positive Student Outcomesin Community Schools

Sebastian Castrechini and Rebecca A. London February 2012



Contents 1 Introduction and summary

5 Background on community schools

9 Redwood City context and research design

15 Study indings

23 Implications or policy, practice, and uture research

33 Conclusion

35 Appendix

37 About the authors

38 Acknowledgements

39 Endnotes



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Introduction and summary

In a naion where 42 percen o children live in low-income amilies, oo many

schools ace he challenge o eaching sudens burdened wih unme needs ha

pose obsacles o learning. I our aim as a counry is o ensure ha all children suc-

ceed academically, paricularly hose living in sruggling communiies wih limied

resources, we simply can’ ask schools o do i alone.

Communiy schools ha align schools and communiy resources are a promising

sraegy or improving suden oucomes by providing wraparound services ha meehe social, physical, cogniive, and economic needs o boh sudens and amilies. And

while much o he curren lieraure on communiy schools ocuses on highlighing

policies and pracices o suppor he implemenaion o communiy school models,

very litle research examines how communiy schools aec suden oucomes.

Since 2007, he John W. Gardner Cener or Youh and Teir Communiies

( JGC) a Sanord Universiy has parnered wih he Redwood Ciy School

Disric (RCSD) in Redwood Ciy, Cali., souh o San Francisco, o conduc

research on paricipaion and oucomes or sudens in he Redwood Ciy

School Disric’s communiy schools. Tis local iniiaive includes ve commu-

niy schools, wih sudens in grades K hrough 8, ha provided more han 250

programs, services, and evens in he 2010-11 school year. Te purpose o his

paper is o provide an in-deph analysis o one disric’s communiy schools using

quaniaive daa o show how sudens and amilies use services a hese schools

and how hose services work ogeher o posiively aec suden oucomes.

Tis analysis uses he Youh Daa Archive, a JGC iniiaive ha maches daa

across agencies ha serve youh in common o ask and answer quesions ha he

agencies could no answer alone. For his analysis, we linked suden achievemendaa rom he Redwood Ciy School Disric, atendance records rom program

providers a communiy schools, and suden survey daa colleced by he JGC,

o examine paricipaion paterns in communiy school programs as well as he

relaionship beween hese services and suden oucomes.



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Te main ndings rom his analysis are:

• Supplemental programs provided at Redwood City S chool District commu-

nity schools reached more than 70 percent of the students enrolled at those

schools. Tese programs generally served he mos socioeconomically disadvan-

aged sudens, including high raes o sudens who were English learners, wereeligible or subsidized meals, and had parens who had no compleed high school.

• English learner students with consistent program participation over time

showed gains in English language development scores. In he elemenary

grades, hese gains were ied o amily engagemen paricipaion, bu coninued

gains during middle school were associaed wih requen exended learning

program paricipaion.

• Community school programs were linked to positive attitudes about school for

middle school students. Sudens wih amily engagemen in elemenary schoolenered middle school more likely o say ha heir school provided a supporive

environmen compared o hose wihou amily engagemen. Once in middle

school, requen paricipaion in exended learning programs was linked o

increases in sudens’ percepions o heir school as a supporive environmen.

Feeling suppored a school was linked o sudens’ moivaion and academic

condence, boh o which were associaed wih gains in achievemen in mah or

all sudens and English language developmen scores or English learners.

Te ndings have imporan implicaions or policy a he sae, ederal, and local

levels. Key implicaions oulined in his paper include:

• Expanding community schools to reach more students. Findings rom his

analysis show ha communiy schools are a promising sraegy or improv-

ing suden oucomes. In he curren climae o budge cus, i is imporan or

policymakers a he sae and ederal levels o advocae or communiy schools

as an ecien, eecive way o use scarce resources by leveraging parnerships.

Disrics can urher help by creaing disric-wide communiy school iniiaives.

•

Supporting improved outcomes for English learners at community schools. Academic score gains linked o communiy school program paricipaion were

especially srong or English learners in our analysis and were ied o receiv-

ing muliple services. Tereore, i is imporan or policymakers o promoe

collaboraive srucures a communiy schools in which sudens and amilies



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are more likely o make use o he muliple services available. One mehod is o

sreamline he muliple and racured unding sources ha go ino communiy

schools o oser collaboraion and common goals insead o compeiion or

resources and disparae daa collecion and reporing. Findings in his analysis

show ha amily engagemen plays a key role, and local leaders can encourage

amily engagemen by reaching ou o parens and inviing hem o be parnersin a variey o dieren opporuniies boh a school and a home.

• Fostering positive attitudes about school as a strategy for raising achievement.

Tis analysis shows he criical role o suden atiudes oward school and learn-

ing as one mechanism hrough which communiy schools aec achievemen.

Te pracices ha oser hese atiudes are well esablished in exising research,

so i is imporan o ensure ha all sa ha inerac wih youh a communiy

schools use hese pracices. Policymakers can adop school climae sandards

and inves in measuring progress oward hose sandards, and local leaders can

inegrae hese pracices ino exising classroom or program observaion rubrics.

• Building capacity for collecting and using data. Alhough daa collecion and

analysis on he broad array o services oered a communiy schools is di-

cul, i is criical o inorming policy and programmaic decision making. Tis

involves sharing daa among he many parners ha provide services a com-

muniy schools, and policymakers can make he process easier by clariying and

aligning regulaions on daa sharing a he ederal and sae levels. Local commu-

niy school leaders can urher help by developing shared goals and indicaors

among parners and creaing a culure o sharing and examining daa ogeher

wih parners. Researchers are an imporan resource or communiy schools o

involve in hese eors, and i will be imporan or he research eld o nd new

sraegies o mee he needs o he expanding communiy schools movemen.

Tis repor, by ocusing on he experience o he Redwood Ciy School Disric,

seeks o inorm communiy school eors in oher pars o he counry wih

insighs ino poenial ways ha communiy schools inerac wih sudens and

amilies o improve suden oucomes.



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Background on community schools

Community schools 101

According o he Coaliion or Communiy Schools,1 an alliance o naional, sae,

and local organizaions, communiy schools “purposeully inegrae academic,

healh, and social services; youh and communiy developmen; and communiy

engagemen—drawing in school parners wih resources o improve suden and

adul learning, srenghen amilies, and promoe healhy communiies.” Alhough

no solely argeing academic oucomes, he heory o change behind com-muniy schools, summarized in he logic model developed by he Coaliion or

Communiy Schools in Figure 1, posis ha providing wraparound suppors or

sudens’ social, physical, cogniive, and economic needs in he shor erm will aid

schools in improving sudens’ academic oucomes in he long erm. Teir sraegy

has been oued as a means or closing he achievemen gap by providing compen-

saory services or underserved sudens who do no oherwise have access o he

services ha communiy schools provide.

Already communiy schools have been implemened on a large scale in several

areas, including New York and Chicago. (Arne Duncan, ormer CEO o Chicago

Public Schools, has advocaed or he expansion o communiy schools naion-

wide in his curren role as U.S. Secreary o Educaion.2) Te Oakland, Cali.,

Unied School Disric is also in he process o implemening a disric-wide

communiy school iniiaive. A leas 5,000 schools in he Unied Saes ideniy

as communiy schools. Based on hese numbers, i is eviden ha he communiy

school sraegy is as becoming a popular way o mee he needs o sudens ha

exend beyond he classroom.3




InputsWhat can happen at

commuity schools? OutputsShort-term

(proximal)

Long-term

(distal) Impact

• Support from

schools andcommunity

• Sufficient staff (expertise +availability)

• Sufficient resources(funding, facilities)

• Available/relevantpartners

• Initiative levelinfrastructure

• Community school

coordinator

• Family engagement

• Extended learningopportunities/youthdevelopment

• Health, mentalhealth, and socialservices; familysupport

• Social and emotionallearning

• Ealry childhooddevelopment

• Adult education

• Professionaldevelopment forteachers, school staff,and partners

• Activities thatincrease linkagesbetween schools andpartners

• Improved relations

with and support forfamilies

• Comprehensiveservices appropriatelytargeted

• Integrated academicenrichment and socialservices to supportchildren’s intellectual,social, emotional, andphysical development

• High-quality,engaging,instructional

programs

• Partner integrationinto school day

• Children are ready to

enter school

• Students attendschool consistently

• School climate issafe, supportive, andinviting

• Students are activelyinvolved in learningand their community

• Families areincreasingly involvedin their children’seducation

• Families are engagedin own development

• Schools havesustainingrelationships withpartners

• Families providesupportive livingenvironment

• Enhancedcommunity well-being

• Students succeed

academically

• Students are healthyphysically, sociallyand emotionally

• Families are sociallyand economicallysound

• Communities aredesirable placesto live

• Students graduate

ready for college,careers, andcitizenship

FIGURE 1

How community schools work Community schools logic model

In addiion, communiy schools share several common characerisics. Firs,

hey are buil on he ollowing ve key condiions or learning, idenied by he

Coaliion or Communiy Schools:4

• Rigorous core insrucional program• Suden moivaion and engagemen in learning• Provision o services o suppor sudens’ basic physical and menal needs• Muual respec beween amilies and school sa •

Communiy engagemen

Communiy school leaders inenionally orm sraegic parnerships wih public

agencies, nonpros, and privae businesses in he communiy o creae hese

condiions or learning. Tey leverage hese parnerships o urn he school ino a

Source: Coalition for Community Schools



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hub o services, aciviies, and programs ha creae he necessary condiions or

sudens o be successul.

Communiy schools, however, ake on many dieren conguraions according o

he needs o heir paricular populaion and he resources available o hem, mean-

ing ha no wo communiy schools—even in he same communiy—look alike.Communiy schools may oer a variey o services on he school campus, and hese

oen are provided hrough parnerships wih communiy-based organizaions.

ypically here is a communiy school coordinaor who oversees he services. Tis

person may be rom a lead agency ha parners wih he school or a school disric

employee. And as a rule, schools generally ransiion slowly ino becoming ull-

service communiy schools because developing he se o parnerships ha make

up a communiy school akes ime. Some communiy schools have evolved ou o

previous school reorm sraegies, such as school-based healh ceners, whereas oh-

ers se ou direcly o become communiy schools. Recognizing hese dierences,

he Children’s Aid Sociey, a chariy ha provides services o amilies in povery,provides a useul ramework or hinking abou he sages o developmen o com-

muniy schools, ranging rom exploring o emerging o mauring o excelling.5

Current research on community schools

Communiy schools seem like an obvious approach o improving suden ou-

comes, bu analyzing heir eecs on suden oucomes poses an inheren chal-

lenge. Te robus nework o inegraed services and programs oered o boh

sudens and heir amilies does no easily lend isel o a radiional evaluaion

research design ha simply compares oucomes o paricipans o nonparicipans.

As he Children’s Aid Sociey saes, communiy schools are a “sraegy, no a

program.”6 In addiion, communiy schools involve programs and services rom a

variey o service providers who may collec daa dierenly (or no a all) and use

dieren sysems o sore daa. Moreover, schools may no have an inrasrucure

or sharing daa wih nondisric parners, a realiy ha complicaes gahering

consisen and complee daa. Also, he heerogeneiy o communiy school imple-

menaion noed above makes i dicul o accuraely examine oucomes across

muliple communiy schools.

Possibly due o hese challenges, litle rigorous research exiss on communiy

schools, wih no sudies appearing in peer-reviewed journals.7 Te research ha does

exis ends o ocus eiher very broadly on school-wide eecs or very narrowly on a




specic program a a communiy school. Tere are several sudies comparing aver-

age achievemen scores or oher oucomes or communiy schools o oher schools.8

Tese descripive sudies, however, canno explain how and or whom communiy

schools aec oucomes, and hey also atribue changes in oucomes o commu-

niy schools when oher conexual acors, such as neighborhood saey or suden

demographics, could also have had an inuence. Furher, descripive sudies ail oisolae he eecs ha may be due o communiy schools rom hese kinds o conex-

ual acors ha aec school operaions as well as suden and amily paricipaion.

Te oher ype o commonly cied research in he communiy school eld

ocuses on evaluaions o individual communiy school programs. Tere is srong

research, or example, o suppor he ecacy o individual programmaic com-

ponens, such as aer-school programs,9 amily engagemen,10 and school-based

healh ceners.11 Te posiive oucomes documened in hese sudies sugges ha

a wraparound approach such as communiy schools would bene sudens and

amilies. Bu wihou rigorous research ocused on ha coordinaed approach,here is litle inormaion abou he addiive eecs o programs, he imporance o

coordinaion, or he ways ha hey inerac o improve shor-erm oucomes ha

may be linked o longer-erm oucomes.

Tere are several recen noable excepions in he recen body o research on

communiy schools. Communiies in Schools (CIS), a naional organizaion ha

provides wraparound services o sudens in nearly 200 schools naionwide, recenly

disseminaed resuls rom a mehodologically rigorous, muli-year sudy ha used

boh school-level analyses and suden-level randomized conrolled rials o evaluae

communiy schools naionwide. Tis sudy ound posiive eecs or CIS schools

on dropou and reenion, academic es scores, school atendance, discipline, and

suden atiudes, wih he sronges eecs or schools ha had he highes-qualiy

implemenaion o he CIS model.12 Anoher evaluaion, o he ulsa, Okla., com-

muniy school iniiaive, linked he level o implemenaion o he communiy

school sraegy o sudens’ sense o collecive rus a school and ound ha his

sense o rus was linked o higher academic achievemen scores.13

Seeking boh o add rigorous research o he communiy schools eld and o help

local parners undersand and srenghen heir communiy schools, he John W.Gardner Cener or Youh and Teir Communiies a Sanord Universiy, or JGC,

has been working wih he communiy school iniiaive in Redwood Ciy, Cali.,

or he las our years o documen boh he eecs and conex o communiy

schools in his local iniiaive.



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Redwood City context

and research design

History of the Redwood City community schools

Redwood Ciy is a diverse communiy souh o San Francisco ha has wide

dispariies in income and socioeconomic saus, wih some very afuen areas and

ohers ha are high-povery and predominanly Laino and immigran. Te deci-

sion o creae communiy schools in Redwood Ciy grew ou o a desire or greaer

equiy or disadvanaged ciy youh and rom a hisory o collaboraion among

ciy, couny, and school disric leaders.

Nearly wo decades ago, in 1995, represenaives rom each eniy came ogeher

o suppor youh developmen and educaion hrough a collecive body known as

Redwood Ciy 2020. Shorly aer is incepion, his collaboraive secured unding

rom he Caliornia Healhy Sar Iniiaive, a gran program aimed a unding school-

inegraed services o address sudens’ and amilies’ physical, social, emoional, and

learning needs, and esablished our Family Resource Ceners a he public elemen-

ary and middle schools serving he mos disadvanaged Redwood Ciy neighbor-

hoods. Te parners’ long-erm commimen o srenghening and susaining hese

our sies gave rise o he Academy or Communiy Schools Developmen, a muli-

year iniiaive in parnership wih he JGC o build communiy schools in he disric.

Te academy provided an organizing ramework or he our pilo schools as

hey began he process o ransorming heir campuses ino eecive and susain-

able communiy schools. As par o he iniiaive, sakeholders rom each school,

including Family Resource Cener sa, eachers, parens, and sudens, came

ogeher o develop and implemen communiy school plans ha emphasized

high-qualiy academic suppors, comprehensive youh and amily resources,

shared leadership beween school adminisraors and communiy school coordi-naors, and youh engagemen. Over ime, he resource cener sa shed heir old

iles and reemerged as communiy school coordinaors, overseen by he direcor

o school-communiy parnerships a he disric level and working in direc par-

nership wih heir school principal.




oday he communiy schools iniiaive in Redwood Ciy is owned by he school

disric and coninues o receive guidance and resources rom Redwood Ciy

2020. Te iniiaive has garnered wide suppor beyond is original proponens and

is currenly expanding rom he original our schools o an addiional wo schools

ha are in dieren sages o communiy school developmen. Te iniiaive now

includes he our original Family Resource Cener sies, one school in is second year o communiy school implemenaion, and one school ha began implemen-

aion in he 2011-12 school year. Te ve exising communiy schools enrolled a

oal o 3,666 sudens in 2010-11. Sudens enrolled a hese schools in 2010-11

were 89 percen Laino and 5 percen whie, included 68 percen receiving subsi-

dized meals under he Naional School Lunch Program, and included 67 percen

who were English learners. In comparison, sudens a he res o he Redwood

Ciy School Disric schools were 58 percen Laino and 31 percen whie; 42

percen received subsidized meals and 38 percen were English learners.

Building the community school database

Wih he curren lieraure on communiy schools in mind and a desire among

parner agencies in Redwood Ciy o improve undersanding o heir local com-

muniy school iniiaive, he JGC, Redwood Ciy 2020, and he ciy school disric

in 2007 joinly iniiaed a collaboraive research process. Te key quesions ha

have guided he research hroughou his process are:

• How many and which sudens and parens access programs, and in wha com-

binaions, a he communiy schools?

• Wha is he relaionship beween paricipaion in communiy school services

and suden oucomes?

Te research uses he Youh Daa Archive, a JGC iniiaive ha links daa on

individual sudens colleced by muliple agencies in order o answer quesions

ha would no be possible o answer by any single agency alone. Agencies ha are

parners in he Youh Daa Archive share individually idenied daa wih he JGC

and is researchers, who in urn link hese daa on individual youh across agencieso undersand how, in he aggregae, aciviies in muliple setings relae o each

oher and o suden oucomes and atiudes.14



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For he purposes o his paper, we mached daa rom he ollowing sources:

• School district administrative data, including:

– Student demographic characteristics. Te analysis uses suden demographic

daa rom he adminisraive daa colleced by he Redwood Ciy SchoolDisric rom he 2006-07 hrough 2010-11 academic years. Suden demo-

graphic daa available rom each year include gender, ehniciy, English lan-

guage prociency saus, paren educaion level, subsidized meal paricipaion,

and special or gied educaion saus.

– School attendance. School atendance daa provide he number o days su-

dens were presen a school as well as he number o days absen each year.

– Academic achievement. Te measure o academic achievemen or he analy-

sis is sandardized es scores, also provided rom he disric’s adminisraivedaa. Te analysis uses wo dieren ess—he Caliornia Sandards es

(CS) or mah and English language ars (ELA), which all sudens ake each

year rom grades 2 o 8; and he Caliornia English Language Developmen

es (CELD), which sudens who are no English procien ake saring

in kindergaren unil hey are redesignaed as English procien. Because he

CS and CELD scores are no comparable across years or grades, all es

scores are convered o perceniles, normed on he disribuion o scores or

all sudens in he sae, by grade and year.

• Program attendance. Te program atendance daa is colleced by boh ouside

providers and school sa. Te exen o paricipaion daa colleced varied

across programs. Suppor program daa is mainained in he disric adminisra-

ive daa sysem, and paricipaion in hese programs is capured only as a yes

or no response. Exended learning and amily engagemen program daa are

mainained by program providers and repored o a cenralized daa sysem

adminisered by he school disric. Tis sysem conains daily atendance daa

or each program as well as suden demographic daa. Daily atendance daa

only became available or exended learning saring in he 2008-09 school yearand or amily engagemen programs in 2010-11. Prior o hose years, paricipa-

ion was racked only as eiher a yes or a no.




• Survey data on student motivation and experiences at school. Finally, he

analysis uses daa rom a survey developed and colleced by JGC researchers

as par o a larger survey on sudens’ moivaion relaed o learning and heir

experiences o relaed pracices in he classroom.15 Te survey included all

sixh- hrough eighh-grade sudens in he disric and was adminisered in he

spring o 2009, 2010, and 2011. Te survey ocused on hree key measures: (1)sudens’ repored eelings o being suppored a school, (2) sudens’ repored

eelings o condence in heir academic abiliies, and (3) heir moivaion o

learn. Research shows ha eacher pracices ha enorce muual respec among

sudens, such as showing respec or all opinions and no allowing sudens o

pu each oher down, lead sudens o eel suppored in heir school environ-

men.16 Supporive environmens, in urn, promoe moivaion o learn when

coupled wih eachers’ pracices ha promoe moivaion and academic con-

dence, such as seting high bu reasonable expecaions or sudens, avoiding

compeiion, and helping sudens o se goals.17 Academic moivaion and con-

dence have a srong, posiive inuence on academic achievemen.18 Tus, hedaa rom he middle school moivaion survey provide insighs ino shor-erm

oucomes ha link program paricipaion a communiy schools o long-erm

academic oucomes.

Analytic approach

Wih nearly 250 programs and evens a he Redwood Ciy School Disric’s com-

muniy schools in he 2010-11 school year, we classied programs according o

hree main sraegy areas—amily engagemen, exended learning, and suppor—

wih program subcaegories as shown in Figure 2. Tis caegorizaion, which was

devised wih inpu rom he communiy school coordinaors, grealy enhanced

our abiliy o concepualize sudens’ level o involvemen in communiy schools

across he nework o available programs and suppors.



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Aer examining he exen o paricipaion in communiy school programs, we

nex examined he links beween program paricipaion and suden oucomes.

Undersanding he eecs o communiy school programming is dicul because

here are underlying acors abou sudens and amilies ha may inuence

boh heir decision o paricipae in programming as well as sudens’ academic

oucomes. I parens, or example, have avorable atiudes oward school, hey

are probably more likely o paricipae in amily engagemen opporuniies. Te

communicaion o hese atiudes o heir children likely promoes moivaion in

sudens ha leads o working harder in school and higher achievemen. Alhoughi is impossible o claim ha cerain programs cause paricular oucomes in his

ype o analysis, we ook several seps o ensure ha we were isolaing he role o

communiy schools rom oher acors.

FIGURE 2

Redwood City school district programsCommunity school strategies and programs categories

Strategy area Program category Programs

Family engagement Parent leadership

Parent education

Parent volunteer

Parent events

School-home communication

• School site council

• PTO/PTA

• Leadership coaching

After-school

Youth Leadership

• After-school programs• Summer/intercession programs

• Conflict managers

• Legal education program

• ESL classes

• Computer classes

• Volunteer activities

• Outreach

• Movie nights

• Play dates

• School socials

• Report card night

• Morning coffees with the principal

• Back-to-school nights

Extended learning

Counseling

Support

• Individual Counseling

• Group Counseling

• Case Management

• Bus Passes

• Uniform Help

• Holiday Gift Cards

Support




Firs, we esimaed eecs using muli-level individual growh models, which

measure average dierences beween sudens’ iniial scores as well as heir change

over ime, allowing us o diereniae beween any preexising dierences in

suden oucomes. Insead o comparing oucomes or paricipans and nonpar-

icipans in one year, hese models esimae he dierence in rae o growh o ha

oucome over muliple years, aking ino accoun any dierences in saring poins beween paricipans and nonparicipans.

Second, knowing ha here are dierences among he ve Redwood Ciy commu-

niy schools in erms o school climae, policies, and he neighborhoods ha he

schools serve, we included in our models school-level eecs o ake ino accoun

hese ouside eecs and beter isolae he link beween communiy school ser-

vices and suden oucomes.

Finally, by including suden survey daa, we conrolled or preexising suden

atiudes abou school or learning ha poenially underlie achievemen and haoen are no measured in oher research.



FIGURE 3Participation in community school supplemental program

Percent o students enrolled in a community school participating in e

strategy area, 2007-08 to 2010-11

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Study findings

Participation in community school programs

Mos o he sudens enrolled in a Redwood Ciy communiy school in 2010-

11 had some involvemen wih he supplemenal programs provided by he

communiy schools. Figure 3 shows ha paricipaion in he hree main areas o

communiy school programming—exended learning, amily engagemen, and

suppor—has generally increased over ime, which is consisen wih enhanced

implemenaion over ime. Te rae o overall paricipaion in any programacross all ve schools ell rom 72 percen o 70 percen, bu his includes he

addiion o a communiy school in he emerging phase o program implemen-

aion in 2010-11. As is clearly shown, exended learning has consisenly had

he highes level o paricipaion o all sraegy areas. Paricipaion in suppor

programs, however, paricularly in he our esablished communiy schools, has

increased more han oher caegories.

Programs a he communiy schools

generally served he mos socioeco-

nomically disadvanaged sudens.

Tis nding is imporan given he

inended ocus on communiy schools

as a sraegy or closing he achieve-

men gap. As Figure 4 shows, sudens

who accessed suppor services were

signicanly more likely o paricipae

in he Naional School Lunch Program

compared wih paricipans in oher

programs and sudens wih no pro-gram paricipaion, and hey were leas

likely o have a paren who compleed

college or scored procien on he

38

22

7

5149

39

26 26

66

34

48

30

39

72

47

28

37

70

0%10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

ExtendedLearning

FamilyEngagement

Support AnyParticipation

NPartici

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Source: Sebastian Castrechini and Rebecca

John W. Gardner Center for Youth and TheCommunities at Stanford University




Caliornia Sandards es. Te Redwood Ciy communiy schools served high

raes o English learner sudens, and amily engagemen programs in paricular

had signicanly higher paricipaion o parens o sudens who were English

learners compared wih paricipans in oher programs and sudens wih no

program paricipaion.

FIGURE 4

Community school student breakdown

Student background characteristics by community school program participation in 2010-11

Extended

Learning

Family

EngagementSupport

Any Program

ParticipationNo Participation

Female 50.3% 47.7% 48.7% 49.2% 44.2%

Male 49.7% 52.3% 51.3% 50.8% 55.8%

Arican American 1.3% 0.3% 1.6% 1.3% 1.7%

Latino 89.6% 95.2% 92.2% 90.5% 84.6%

White 5.7% 2.8% 3.2% 4.7% 6.4%

Other ethnicity 3.4% 1.7% 3.0% 3.5% 7.4%

Special Education 11.7% 9.8% 13.3% 12.0% 11.4%

Gited and Talented 3.2% 2.2% 1.1% 2.6% 2.3%

English learner 65.1% 75.4% 72.3% 67.8% 64.8%

Free/reduced lunch 69.1% 58.4% 71.3% 68.0% 65.3%

Parents HS diploma 31.7% 24.8% 26.7% 29.4% 27.8%

Parents no HS 48.4% 52.1% 50.4% 48.3% 40.3%

Parents college 6.1% 4.7% 2.9% 5.0% 6.4%Profcient 2009-10 Math 49.2% 56.4% 44.2% 50.1% 45.4%

Profcient 2009-10 ELA 34.3% 36.1% 28.5% 33.7% 31.9%

Number o Students 1,728 1,019 1,341 2,578 1,088

Across all schools, many sudens accessed programs rom more han one sra-

egy area. Tis nding speaks o he wraparound naure o services a communiy

schools and he imporance o looking a oucomes rom a muli-agency perspec-

ive. As Figure 5 shows, approximaely 8 percen o sudens enrolled in a commu-niy school accessed programs rom all hree sraegy areas in 2010-11, 24 percen

accessed wo services in dieren combinaions, and 38 percen accessed jus one

service. Among hose accessing wo services, amily engagemen paricipans

were signicanly more likely han sudens who paricipaed in oher programs

Source: Sebastian Castrechini and Rebecca London, John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University



suy | www..

o paricipae in a leas one oher sraegy area, wih only 6 percen o sudens

accessing amily engagemen alone compared wih 19 percen and 12 percen or

exended learning and suppor, respecively. Exended learning and suppor were

he combinaion o programs mos requenly accessed ogeher.

FIGURE 5

Program participation rates in single strategy areas

and combinations o strategy areas in 2010-11

Participation Rate

Accessed One Strategy Area Only 37.6%

Extended Learning Only 19.1%

Family Engagement Only 6.2%

Support Only 12.3%

Accessed Two Strategy Areas 24.4%

Extended Learning and Family Engagement 8.5%

Extended Learning and Support 11.2%

Family Engagement and Support 4.7%

Accessed All Three Strategy Areas 8.4%

No Participation 29.7%

Number o Students 3,666

Linking community school participation to student achievement

We examined he exen o which paricipaion in communiy school programs was

linked o suden achievemen oucomes, aer conrolling or individual characer-

isics and school-level dierences. As previously noed, here are many underlying

acors abou which we do no have daa ha may aec boh suden paricipaion

in programs as well as suden oucomes. Tereore, he ndings in his secion show

relaionships beween paricipaion and oucomes, independen o suden back-

ground characerisics, bu should no be aken o imply a causal relaionship.

Community school participation and English language development

In erms o academics, we ound he sronges links beween amily engagemen

and gains in English Language Developmen scores or English learner sudens.

Source: Sebastian Castrechini and Rebecca London, John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University




Figure 6 shows dierences in Caliornia English Language Developmen es

perceniles based on years o amily engagemen over he ve years rom 2006-07

o 2010-11. Among English learners who scored a levels 1 or 2 (beginning and

early inermediae) on he CELD in 2006-07, sudens wih amily engagemen

in hree or more o he nex our years gained, on average, 3.5 poins per year more

han sudens wih no amily engagemen, which was a saisically signicandierence resuling in a 12-poin gap by 2010-11. Sudens wih one or wo years

o amily engagemen showed smaller gains. Our ndings linking amily engage-

men and achievemen are consisen wih oher research ha has shown similar

resuls19 and are imporan in ha hey provide evidence or using he communiy

school sraegy as a means o improving achievemen or a populaion o sudens

ha is growing and has radiionally had low achievemen.

Te relaionship beween paricipaion

in communiy school programs

and English language developmenscores diers over ime or

sudens. In he early grades, here

is a srong relaionship beween

amily engagemen and Caliornia

English Language Developmen

es scores. Among middle school

sudens, however, i does no appear

ha amily engagemen alone is

sucien o suppor English language

progression. Tis is likely because

amily engagemen levels drop o

subsanially in he Redwood Ciy

School Disric’s middle schools, as is

ypical or middle schools naionally,

making i dicul o examine a link

beween amily engagemen and suden oucomes. In addiion, many sudens

have a hard ime progressing pas CELD level 3 (inermediae), which requires he

acquisiion o academic English,20 and i becomes harder o become procien as

he conen and academic language demands increase in middle school. Coninuinggains in Caliornia English Language Developmen es scores in middle school

were insead associaed wih requen paricipaion in exended learning programs.

FIGURE 6

Redwood City community school gainsin English language proiciency

CELDT percentile trajectories or English learner students at CELDT levels

1 or 2 in 2006-07, by years o amily engagement or students enrolled

at community schools

20 25

31

37

43

18

27

37

46

55

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

0 years 3 or 4 years

Source: Sebastian Castrechini and Rebecca London,John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their

Communities at Stanford University



suy | www..

Among sudens rom his same cohor o sudens a CELD levels 1 and 2 in

2006-07 who were sill a level 3 or lower as middle school sudens in 2009-10,

paricipaing in exended learning programs or a leas 120 days was associaed wih

a 10 percen increased likelihood o reaching level 4 (early advanced) in 2010-11, a

saisically signican dierence.

Community school participation and math and English Language

Arts achievement

Tere were no direc, saisically signican links beween communiy school

program paricipaion and he Caliornia Sandards es scores in eiher mah or

English Language Ars. Sudens’ moivaion o learn and academic condence

were criical o heir mah and English Language Ars achievemen. Te achieve-

men eecs relaed o communiy school program paricipaion, paricularly in

exended learning, only exised or sudens who developed posiive atiudes, which were associaed wih paricipaion in exended learning opporuniies. As i

urns ou, hese atiudes were srong predicors o Caliornia Sandards es mah

achievemen or everyone bu had paricularly srong eecs or English learner

sudens. Middle school sudens who repored condence in heir academic abili-

ies gained, on average, approximaely 7 poins in mah and 6 poins in English

Language Ars scores compared wih sudens who did no have posiive repors

o heir condence; his akes ino accoun suden background characerisics as

well as prior achievemen. I is imporan o noe, however, ha sudens wih high

levels o exended learning paricipaion also enered he year wih signicanly

higher senses o condence in heir abiliies.

Unlike oher communiy school sraegy areas, he link beween suppor programs

and suden oucomes is no always he same in his analysis. Te array o suppor

programs and he exen o he populaion ha hey have reached have increased

over ime, so wha i means o have received suppor services changes over ime.

Also because hese services arge he mos disadvanaged sudens and amilies,

sudens receiving services may have lie circumsances ha are beyond wha we

can accuraely conrol or wih available daa on subsidized school lunch parici-

paion or paren educaion levels. Tis makes i dicul o reliably compare hesudens who received suppor services wih hose who did no.




The role of community school participation in motivating learning

Given he imporan role o suden academic moivaion and condence in explain-

ing links beween communiy school program paricipaion and achievemen, we

examined he relaionship beween program paricipaion and hese atiudes more

deeply. As menioned above, research shows ha creaing supporive environ-mens a school—where sudens eel ha hey belong and ha oher sudens and

aduls are here o help hem—is criical o developing academic moivaion and

condence, boh o which have been shown o promoe academic achievemen.

Examining raw daa on he survey responses over hree years or all communiy

school sudens who enered middle school in 2008-09 shows ha sudens’ eelings

o suppor declined over heir ime in middle school (see Figure

7). Te rs se o bars in he gure shows ha repors o eel-

ing suppored among all sudens in his cohor decreased rom

35 percen in sixh- grade o 31 percen in sevenh grade and 28

percen in eighh grade. English learners in his same cohor (hesecond se o bars) had iniially higher repors o eeling suppored

in sixh grade compared wih oher sixh-graders in he communiy

schools, bu he dierence narrowed over ime, wih English learn-

ers’ repors o heir schools being supporive declining over he

nex wo years more, on average, han oher sudens.

Again linking communiy school program paricipaion daa o sur-

vey daa, we ound ha communiy school programs appear o play

a role in esablishing and mainaining sudens’ eelings o being sup-

pored a school, poenially buering agains he declines shown in

Figure 7. Tere are several reasons or his. Firs, sudens whose par-

ens were engaged in elemenary school repored signicanly higher

initial raings o heir schools’ supporiveness in sixh grade com-

pared wih sudens wih no amily engagemen program paricipaion in elemenary

school. Sudens wih one or more years o amily engagemen in elemenary school

were 19 percen more likely o repor eeling suppored in sixh grade.

Second, exended learning paricipaion during middle school, raher han amily

engagemen, was linked o signican increases in sudens’ raings o heir schools’supporiveness over ime. Sudens wih a leas 120 days o paricipaion were

10 percen more likely o repor ha heir schools are supporive environmens

compared wih sudens wih no exended learning paricipaion. Tese ndings

FIGURE 7

Students who view their schoolsas supportive

Percent o students reporting eeling

cared or in the community schools,

2008-09 to 2010-11

35%

45%

31%37%

28% 30%

010

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

All students in

2008-09 6th grade

EL students in

2008-09 6th grade

6th grade 7th grade 8th grade

Source: Sebastian Castrechini and Rebecca London,John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their

Communities at Stanford University



suy | www..

parallel he programmaic areas ha showed links o gains in Caliornia English

Language Developmen es scores in he previous secion.

No surprisingly, consisen wih oher research,21 we ound ha sudens’ eeling

suppored had a signican eec on heir moivaion and condence. All o hese

ndings are saisically signican and ake ino accoun oher suden and school background characerisics, sudens’ previous survey resuls, and heir repors o

experiences in heir classrooms. Tese ndings, however, do no necessarily mean

ha communiy school programming is he cause o dierences in survey resuls

because here could be oher underlying acors or which daa were no available,

such as parens’ atiudes oward school, ha inuence boh heir engagemen and

heir children’s atiudes oward school.



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Implications for policy, practice,

and future research

Te sudy deailed in his repor used linked daa on communiy school program

paricipaion, suden achievemen, and surveys o sudens’ atiudes and belies

abou learning, o examine communiy schools and suden oucomes. We ound

ha paricipaion in exended learning and amily engagemen opporuniies over

ime is associaed wih achievemen gains. We also ound evidence ha sudens’

own moivaion o learn is associaed wih paricipaion in communiy school

programs, which suggess a possible mediaing eec.

Tese resuls poin o some ways ha improving daa and research on com-

muniy schools can urher advance he eld by inorming policy and pracice.

Imporanly, conducing high-qualiy communiy schools research may require

amending or creaing daa sysems so ha hey capure suden and amily parici-

paion and can link o sudens’ academic oucomes. Using daa o inorm com-

muniy schools pracice is a criical componen o our work and has proven o be a

valuable pracice or he Redwood Ciy School Disric.

And while he ndings in his paper are specic o he Redwood Ciy communiy

schools included in he sudy, hey do sugges ha he communiy school sraegy

has promise. Realizing his promise, however, will require acion on he par o

policymakers as well as advances in daa analysis relaed o communiy schools.

We ouline below some specic policy recommendaions or broadening he reach

o communiy schools, leveraging communiy schools o improve oucomes or

English learners, srenghening sudens’ moivaion a school, and improving

research and pracice on communiy schools hrough daa sharing.

Implications for federal and state policy

A he ederal and sae levels, policymakers mus coninue o advocae or he

expansion o communiy schools, even in he curren climae o shrinking budges

and igh resources, o realize he poenial ha communiy schools have in




inuencing posiive academic oucomes or sudens. Tis will require a shi in

he common percepion ha noninsrucional services provided a schools are

unnecessary add-ons and insead see hem as essenial conribuors o sudens’

learning. Tere is recen evidence ha eachers and school adminisraors see

communiy schools services as promoing learning by aciliaing beter connecions

wih amilies, removing acors in sudens’ lives ha are requenly barriers olearning, decreasing suden mobiliy, and reducing eacher sress and burnou.22

Also, communiy schools can and mus be seen as an ecien use o resources.

Tey provide a hub or coordinaing services ha oen already exis, which

creaes an opporuniy or inegraion and collaboraion among service provid-

ers, reducing redundancy, and making opimal use o he resources available. In

ac, a recen repor by he Coaliion or Communiy Schools ound ha every

$1 invesed by school disrics on communiy schools leverages $3 in addiional

resources or unding rom oher sakeholders.23

Anoher key implicaion, given ha our ndings show he imporance o English-

learner sudens accessing muliple services a communiy schools, is o oer

inducemens ha encourage muli-agency collaboraion o inegrae services a

communiy schools. Aligning curricula beween aer-school programs and class-

rooms, creaing cross-program communicaion srucures or providers o make

reerrals and share daa, and inegraing suden programs wih amily engagemen

opporuniies can all promoe greaer eciency and eeciveness o service deliv-

ery. Tis may be especially he case or immigran or non-English speaking parens

who oen are less comorable or less able o seek ou services elsewhere.

Wih he numbers o English learners in U.S. schools seadily increasing and many

policy eors ocused on improving achievemen or hese sudens, he ndings

rom his sudy are imporan because hey sugges ha communiy schools could

be anoher sraegy o reach his goal. Te recen growh o communiy schools and

he suppor ha hey have received rom ederal and sae policymakers have led o

he creaion o several unding sources, such as he Full Service Communiy School

grans, Promise Neighborhoods, and 21s Cenury Learning Ceners.24 Federal and

sae policy can coninue o help by sreamlining unding sources ha go oward

communiy schools in order o preven racured service delivery and compeiionamong service providers wihin a communiy. Te resuls o his sudy show ha he

English learners sand o bene rom he combinaion o boh amily engagemen

and exended learning services, meaning ha srenghening he ies beween hese

services could have long-erm academic benes or sudens.



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Beyond governmen suppor or communiy schools, he philanhropic communiy

has a role in osering collaboraive srucures insead o compeiion or resources

and paricipans. Foundaions, or example, could require join reporing insead

o individual program evaluaions ha would provide an incenive or programs o

collaborae and share inormaion. Furher, racured unding may have a derimen-

al eec on collaboraion and daa collecion on shared goals. As wih collaboraiveservice delivery, collaboraive daa collecion and analysis will prove more ecien

and provide richer resuls han providers working independenly.

Evidence in his sudy and ohers shows ha when sudens eel conneced o

heir schools, here are imporan posiive implicaions or heir academic moiva-

ion and condence, boh o which have srong links o academic perormance.

Promoing suden social and emoional developmen has no been a major policy

prioriy a he naional level. Findings showing a srong link beween posiive

suden atiudes and supplemenal communiy school programs sugges ha

communiy schools, hrough he muliple opporuniies hey provide or posiiveineracions beween sudens and heir schools, could be a promising sraegy or

osering posiive atiudes ha promoe achievemen. Tis means, however, ha

i is imporan or he many sa ha sudens and amilies inerac wih in com-

muniy schools—boh in he classroom and in ouside programs—o consisenly

and uniormly implemen he pracices known o oser posiive atiudes.

Forunaely, here are a number o opporuniies or ederal and sae policymak-

ers o esablish policies o encourage he suppor o posiive suden atiudes.

Illinois, or insance, developed a plan o include social and emoional develop-

men sandards as par o he sae’s learning sandards wih key goals ocused on

sel-managemen, posiive relaionships, and personal responsibiliy.25 Tis serves

as jus one example o how nonacademic insrucional pracice can be incorpo-

raed ino sae sandards and accounabiliy sysems.

Addiionally, his sudy shows he imporance o daa and research in improving

communiy schools. Federal and sae policymakers can enable and aciliae he

ype o cross-agency analysis presened in his repor in several ways. One way is by

simpliying and easing regulaions on daa sharing o allow he muliple providers a

communiy schools o link and collecively analyze daa on he sudens hey servein common. Alhough curren laws do allow or his ype o daa sharing, he regula-

ions in he Family Educaional Righs and Privacy Ac (FERPA) and he Healh

Insurance Porabiliy and Accounabiliy Ac (HIPAA) are oen cied as reasons or

agencies o no share daa wih parner agencies or ear o repercussions.




Te U.S. Deparmen o Educaion recenly released new regulaions making i

easier o use educaional daa, bu ear o violaing HIPAA’s daa condenial-

iy requiremens sill remains a barrier or using healh or social service daa.

Furher sae law oen layers on addiional regulaions and procedures. Easing

regulaions does no mean ha daa condenialiy or sudens and amilies

should be compromised, bu ways need o be ound o make daa-sharing lesscomplex and dauning. Federal and sae unding or daa inrasrucure is essen-

ial o making his a realiy.

Implications for districts and schools

Policies ha suppor communiy school eors a he disric level, insead o

isolaed communiy schools wihin larger communiies, will maximize he poen-

ial ha communiy schools. Tis is paricularly imporan given ha sudens in

many ciies and owns do no atend heir neighborhood schools, and hey may eed ino schools in neighboring communiies.

Te Coaliion or Communiy Schools argues ha scaling up communiy school

iniiaives o a sysem level ensures he greaes possible benes or youh and

heir communiies.26 Te Oakland Unied School Disric recenly adoped his

approach, showing ha a large school sysem can become a communiy school

disric. Superinenden ony Smih’s sraegy o gaining approval o urn Oakland

ino a “ull-service communiy school disric” ocused on he imporance o a

sysem-level iniiaive or increasing equiy among Oakland schools as a way o

improving suden oucomes, wih he disric playing a key role in aciliaing

school-level implemenaion. Te implemenaion process included an inensive

inpu process rom over 350 communiy meeings as well as youh surveys and

amily ocus groups. Aer his iniial engagemen process, he disric se up a

robus inrasrucure o school and disric commitees o suppor he work and

adoped a balanced scorecard sysem or measuring ongoing progress and provid-

ing accounabiliy oward he iniiaives’ goals.27 Smih atribues approval o his

plan o selling i as a sraegy o improve achievemen and o he developmen o a

concree plan or implemenaion.28

Wihin communiy schools, amily engagemen is a sraegy ha requires ar-

reaching collaboraion o be successul. Te ndings rom his repor sugges ha

orging parnerships wih amilies a communiy schools can have srong benes

or English learner sudens. Tis aligns wih he broader amily engagemen



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lieraure ha shows ha amily engagemen is linked o posiive suden

oucomes.29 Schools and disrics, however, ace many challenges in engaging

parens in meaningul ways. Mainaining engagemen aer sudens move on o

middle school, or insance, has been a challenge boh in Redwood Ciy as well as

in oher communiies naionwide.30 Sill, communiy schools have an advanage

because hey can engage amilies hrough many access poins where sa canreer hem o addiional opporuniies and broaden engagemen. And while

he ndings rom his sudy show specic benes or English learner sudens,

parens wih limied English prociency requenly are relucan o engage in

school aciviies. Engagemen sraegies such as uilizing peer-o-peer paren

menoring and providing opporuniies or paren inpu in decision making can

help o improve parenal involvemen a school.31

Moreover, amily engagemen needs o exend beyond parens coming o school

or programs or evens.32 Family engagemen boh a school and a home is impor-

an o suden success, and programs a communiy schools can provide a venueor parens o gain he skills and condence o be more acively involved in heir

children’s educaion a home.

Te research in his repor also suppors he imporan role communiy schools

can play in osering supporive setings ha promoe suden moivaion. School

and disric leaders can capialize on he poenial achievemen gains relaed o

supporive school environmens and moivaion highlighed by his research in

several ways. Disric superinendens or school boards, or insance, can ake an

explici sance on he imporance o pracices ha creae supporive environmens

and promoe suden moivaion by draing disric policies mandaing school

leaders o include hese componens in school improvemen plans.

Second, as research underscores he imporance o eacher pracices in osering

suden moivaion, disric leaders can engage eachers in any planning eors o

insiuionalize hese pracices. Tis is especially he case or communiy schools,

where eachers are criical when i comes o providing inpu abou specic class-

room pracices ha align wih he communiy school goals. Disric leaders can

hen ensure ha sa members are using hese pracices by adaping curren class-

room or program observaion rubrics used in eacher and program evaluaionso hold sa accounable or using pracices ha promoe suden moivaion.

Such measures should be accompanied by ongoing proessional developmen ha

includes eacher inpu in order o ensure suden moivaion improvemen goals

are par o school-wide goals or learning and achievemen.33




Addiionally, regardless o where disric or school leaders are on he communiy

school developmen coninuum, hey can inves in daa collecion eors o beter

undersand and rack school climae and suden moivaion. Developing a sysem

o indicaors ha includes a variey o measures o suden success, including

hose ocused specically on academics and hose ocused on oher aspecs o

posiive youh developmen34

, is criical or undersanding he ecacy o commu-niy schools. Adoping a sysem o indicaors will enable disrics o reliably ag

and inervene wih sudens in need o suppor.35 Such measures are no ypically

included in school adminisraive records and would hereore require new daa

collecion or a link o an exising one, or example, he Caliornia Healhy Kids

Survey colleced by he WesEd research group.

Wheher communiy schools are implemened a he disric or school level,

involved leaders play a criical role in building shared daa sysems o suppor

communiy schools. Developing common goals and indicaors ha cu across

programs can help o solidiy parnerships. Redwood Ciy 2020 is working owardhis by developing common indicaors or which programs are expeced o collec

and repor, hereby downplaying individual program evaluaions.

Undersanding how o arge inervenions o he appropriae sudens and par-

ens is a paricular challenge, as daa sysems are oen designed more or accoun-

abiliy reporing han ideniying suden needs. Tis repor clearly shows ha

program paricipans are hose who came ino he school year already eeling more

srongly moivaed and conneced a school. Te daa also show ha radiional

demographic acors ha are readily available in school daa sysems do no seem

o ully describe he prole o sudens who are disconneced rom heir schools.

Tese ndings underscore he imporance o prioriizing he needs o sudens

who have no developed hese posiive atiudes.

Sharing program paricipaion records among providers can help praciioners a

communiy schools o ideniy youh and parens who have a paricular need or

oureach. Addiionally, sharing survey daa on suden atiudes and pracices a

school can provide imporan inormaion abou how educaors and service pro-

viders can improve programs o beter sui sudens’ needs and make hem more

appealing o heir inended audiences. Enhancing recruimen sraegies aerideniying sudens in need o inervenion is also crucial, paricularly or older

sudens. Research has shown ha direc oureach and adaping programs o mee

suden needs and schedules becomes increasingly imporan as sudens progress

beyond elemenary school.36



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Implications for community school researchers

Researchers play a key role in helping policymakers and praciioners undersand,

improve, and susain he work o communiy schools, and i will be imporan

o improve he qualiy o daa collecion and analysis o mee he needs o his

advancing eld. As previously noed, individual program evaluaions, on he onehand, lose he richness o he wraparound service model ha makes communiy

schools unique, and simply looking a whole-school oucomes over ime on he

oher hand masks poenial dierences wihin school and ails o explain how and

or which sudens he communiy school sraegy works. Alhough challenging, i

is imperaive ha researchers develop improved srucures ha allow or:

• Consisen, accurae daa collecion• Linking daa and sharing i across communiy school iniiaives• Analyzing sraegies ha mirror he complex ways in which communiy schools

work while also communicaing hose daa in a manner ha is accessible o andacionable or boh praciioners and policymakers

Creaing an inrasrucure or sharing daa and examining ha daa as a group ha

includes disric and school personnel, service providers, and even communiy

sakeholders is vial o he success o a school-wide analysis approach. Policymakers

play a key role in encouraging collaboraive daa analysis as well as promoing poli-

cies ha allow or daa sharing. Bu hey are no alone; researchers working wih

communiy schools daa also have o play a role in building hese collaboraive par-

nerships. For one, capuring paricipaion in all o he programs and evens ha hap-

pen a communiy schools is complicaed and akes concered eors on he par o

praciioners along wih he experise o researchers o help design relevan sysems.

Researchers also need o work closely wih praciioners o balance he need or

horough and complee daa on one hand, wih he risk o a burdensome daa col-

lecion process or praciioners on he oher. Researchers and praciioners can

make his happen by creaing processes ha mee he needs o boh groups. I is

imporan or researchers o engage sakeholders requenly hrough he research

process, including aer analysis is compleed, o discuss resuls and implicaions.

Tis sep helps o build ineres in and undersanding o he ndings as a means o improving pracice as opposed o an imposed evaluaion process.

Tis approach also creaes buy-in ha ulimaely helps o improve daa collecion

and sharpen he research sraegy. Addiionally, researchers will need o develop




consisen ways o collecing and recording daa o ensure ha he daa can laer

be used o look a paricipaion and oucomes across he many program setings in

which sudens and amilies paricipae a communiy schools.

Once robus cross-agency daa sysems are esablished, he challenge remains o

analyze he daa in a way ha is rue o he communiy school sraegy. Te nd-ings presened in his analysis provide a ramework or examining he cumulaive

eecs o he combinaion o muliple services and programs oered a commu-

niy schools over ime. Tis enails using a youh developmen ramework or he

analysis ha looks a he combinaion o youh paricipaion setings and analyz-

ing muliple indicaors o undersand he progression o shor-erm o long-erm

oucomes. Our analysis o Redwood Ciy’s communiy schools seeks o do his,

and we believe i provides richer insighs ino he eecs o communiy schools

on suden oucomes han isolaed evaluaions o he individual programs ha

comprise communiy schools.

Sill, challenges abound when searching or approaches ha accuraely mirror

he complex ways in which services and programs a communiy schools inerac.

Moreover, each communiy school iniiaive is unique and will require approaches

ha are ailored o he realiies on he ground. Some successul sraegies we’ve

idenied based on our parnership in Redwood Ciy include:

• Involve sakeholders hroughou he research process o ensure ha he daa

analysis is ramed in ways ha mach how hey view communiy schools.

• Use a logic model o guide he research so ha i builds on an exising shared

undersanding o he goals o he communiy school. I here is no an exising

logic model, develop one in parnership wih he school or disric o help o

build undersanding and buy-in or he research process.

• Look a an array o indicaors—beyond he radiionally used measures o

achievemen, graduaion, and atendance daa—o undersand processes

hrough which communiy schools improve long-erm suden oucomes (see

Appendix 1 on indicaors as well as he Communiy Schools Evaluaion oolki,

available a htp://www.communiyschools.org/resources/communiy_schools_evaluaion_oolki.aspx ).

http://www.communityschools.org/resources/community_schools_evaluation_toolkit.aspx






il ly, , uu | www..

• Gaher and have he exibiliy o respond o eedback rom disric and school

adminisraors, school personnel, and communiy sakeholders hroughou he

research process o ensure ha he research design reecs praciioners’ impres-

sions and ha he ndings are acionable.

•

Successul communiy engagemen in research involves nding accessible wayso communicae complex analyses, a pracice ha is dicul bu crucial o crea-

ing an environmen in which communiy schools eel comorable and able o

use evidence o implemen sraegies and improve pracice.



clu | www..

Conclusion

We believe he ndings rom his sudy conribue o he communiy school eld

by providing evidence o some imporan ways in which communiy schools

link o suden oucomes. Te paterns o paricipaion across he dense nework

o services and he relaionships beween programs and oucomes are complex,

wih some only maerializing aer several years o engaging in communiy school

programming. Furhermore, he associaions demonsraed beween communiy

schools and suden oucomes do no necessarily mean ha communiy schools

give rise o hese oucomes.

Sill, he daa show some clear paterns linking paricipaion o improvemens in

English language developmen or English learners. Underlying his connecion, we

ound ha communiy school paricipaion is linked o sudens’ eeling ha heir

schools suppor hem as well as heir condence and moivaion, which in urn link

o longer-erm improvemens in achievemen, paricularly or English learners. Our

ndings are aligned wih he communiy school logic model in ha paricipaion

inuences sudens’ shor-erm belies, which in urn aecs heir achievemen.

Te research presened in his repor inuenced policy and pracice a he com-

muniy schools in Redwood Ciy in several ways. Firs, examining program paric-

ipan characerisics has spurred improvemens in daa collecion by communiy

school coordinaors o ensure ha he aciviies in which sudens and amilies

paricipae are accuraely capured. Te careul examinaion o proles o sudens

and amilies paricipaing in services has also simulaed discussions o sraegies

or argeing groups o nonparicipans.

Addiionally, he srong ndings relaed o amily engagemen creaed he

impeus or disric-wide proessional developmen workshops or communiy school coordinaors and principals on amily engagemen pracice. Tese have

also promped a ollow-up qualiaive sudy by he John W. Gardner Cener or

Youh and Teir Communiies on amily engagemen in he communiy schools

o urher undersand successul pracices or engaging amilies o improve




oucomes or youh. Alhough hese ndings and acions are specic o he

Redwood Ciy School Disric, he process by which Redwood Ciy has uilized

parnerships o collec daa on heir communiy schools and coninue o use

hose daa o inorm policy and pracice serve as a prime example or how oher

communiy school eors can urher heir work o improve oucomes and

equiy or youh and communiies.



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Community school results ramework mapped to indicators and potential data sources

Conditions or

LearningResults

Indicators

Data Sources

Early childhood

development is

ostered through

high-quality,

comprehensive

programs that

nurture learning anddevelopment.

Children are

ready to enter

school

Immunization ratesSchool immunization records

Health center records

Blood lead levels Health center records

Parents read to children Parent surveys

Children attend early childhood programs ECE center attendance records

Receptive vocabulary level Kindergarten readiness tests

Families connected to support networks/

servicesAttendance records rom parent programs

The school has a

core instructional

program with

qualied teachers, a

challenging curriculum,

and high standards

and expectations or

students.

Students succeed

academically

Standardized test scores School district achievement data

Students demonstrate competencies

via multiple modes

School district achievement data

Ater-school program/CBO records

Graduation ratesSchool district achievement data

community college records

Dropout rates School district achievement data

Teacher attendance rates School district human resources records

Students are motivated

and engaged in

learning—both in

school and in

community settings,

during and ater school.

Students are

actively involved

in learning and

the community

Attendance rates School district attendance data

Suspension rates School district discipline data

Truancy ratesSchool district attendance data

Police/probation records

Students reporting eeling connected

to the school

Youth development surveys

School counseling records

Ater-school program participation

Percent o students engaged in and

contributing to communityProgram participation records rom CBOs

Homework completion ratesTeacher grade books

Student surveys

Students

are healthy

physically,

socially, and

emotionally

Percent o students demonstrating social

and personal competencies Student surveys

Percent o students demonstrating

well-being on a range o health indices

(immunizations, obesity, vision, hearing,

asthma, STDs, pregnancy, substance abuse)

School physical tness test scores

Health center records

Public health department records

Students have access to good nutritionSchool nutrition audits

Community eating environment assessments

Appendix




Community school results ramework mapped to indicators and potential data sources

Conditions or

LearningResults

Indicators

Data Sources

The basic physical,

social, emotional, and

economic needs o

young people and their

amilies are met.

Students live and

learn in stableand supportive

environments

Percent o amilies whose basic needs

are metHuman Services Agency/DCFS records

Student mobility rates School attendance data

Percent o students reporting relationshipwith caring adults

Youth development program surveys

Incidence o bullying Discipline records

Incidence o school vandalism Discipline records

There is mutual

respect and efective

collaboration among

parents, amilies, and

school staf.

Families are

actively involved

in children’s

education

Percent o amilies who report involvement

with children’s educationParent survey

Percent o amilies who participate in parent

teacher conerencesParent program attendance records

Percent o amilies who report positive

interactions with schoolParent surveys

Percent o teachers who report positiveinteraction with amilies

Teacher surveys

The community is

engaged in the school

and promotes a

school climate that is

sae, supportive, and

respectul and that

connects students to

a broader learning

community.

Communities are

desirable places

to live

Employment/employability rates Labor/economic statistics

Rate o participation in adult education

programsProgram participation records

Rate o participation at school events Program participation records

Percent o residents with health insurance Public health department records

Neighborhood crime rates Police department data



abu u | www..

About the authors

Sebastian Castrechini, EdM, is a Senior Policy Analys a he John W. Gardner

Cener or Youh and Teir Communiies a Sanord Universiy, working pri-

marily wih he Youh Daa Archive. Casrechini has been a he JGC or nearly

our years and previously worked as boh a school eacher and adminisraor.Casrechini’s areas o research experise include communiy schools and youh

ness and wellness. He has published quaniaive and GIS-based research in

he Journal of School Health and Penn GSE Perspectives on Urban Education and

presened a he Naional Insiues o Healh, American Educaional Research

Associaion, and Coaliion or Communiy Schools conerences. Casrechini

holds a B.S. in secondary educaion in social sudies rom Penn Sae Universiy

and a Maser’s o Educaion in educaion policy rom he Harvard Graduae

School o Educaion.

Rebecca A. London, Ph.D., is Senior Researcher a he John W. Gardner Cener or Youh and Teir Communiies and he researcher overseeing all analyses con-

duced wih he Youh Daa Archive. Troughou her career, London’s research

has bridged academia and policy, ocusing on he policies and programs inended

o serve low-income or disadvanaged amilies and youh. Using boh qualia-

ive and quaniaive mehods, London has conduced research on a variey o

policy-relevan opics such as physical ness and academic achievemen, second-

ary o possecondary ransiions, he eecs o aer-school program paricipa-

ion, he digial divide or youh, he eecs o welare reorm, college atendance

among low-income mohers, children’s living arrangemens, and healh insur-

ance or low-wage workers. Her work has been published in journals such as he

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Social Science Quarterly, the Journal of

Higher Education, Youth & Society, and Economic Journal. London holds a Ph.D. in

Human Developmen and Social Policy rom Norhwesern Universiy’s School o

Educaion and Social Policy, an M.A. in Economics, also rom Norhwesern, and

a B.A. in Economics rom he Universiy o Michigan.

The John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC) at Stanford

University parners wih communiies o develop leadership, conduc research,

and eec change o improve he lives o youh. Founded in 2001 by Dr. Milbrey McLaughlin, he JGC works boh in local communiies in he San Francisco Bay

Area and naionally o promoe communiy youh developmen.




Acknowledgements

We would like o hank Pa Brown a Redwood Ciy 2020 and Sandra Porasio

and Jan Chrisensen a he Redwood Ciy School Disric or working wih us

o rame he analysis and inerpre he resuls. Kara Dukakis, Amy Gersein,

and Milbrey McLaughlin provided valuable inpu in earlier sages o he work. We hank paricipans a he American Educaion Research Associaion 2011

Annual Conerence or commens on an earlier version o his work. We also

hank he Cener on American Progress or commissioning his paper and

Redwood Ciy 2020, he Redwood Ciy School Disric, he Walon Family

Foundaion, and William V. Power and Ellen W. Power Family rus or unding

our research in Redwood Ciy.

Te Cener or American Progress hanks he JPMorgan Chase Foundaion or

generously providing suppor or his paper.



e | www..

Endnotes

1 cl cuy sl, “cuy sl rB 09” (2009), vlbl ://www.uyl.//1/am/ccs%20r%20r2009..

2 sl c. s , “cuy l vlu lk:a u uy l w w u ll y v uy l” (W:iu eul L, 2009).

3 cl cuy sl, “quly ak Quabu cuy sl,” vlbl ://www.u-yl./bul/q.x.

4 m J. Blk , “mk : r p cuy sl” (W: cl c-uy sl, 2003).

5 J cu-Zu, “nl il a cl’ a s y l,” J.g. dy, J. Q u, c. Bk,., Community schools in Action: Lessons from a Decade of Practice (nw Yk: ox Uvy p, 2005).

6 J Qu, “cuy sl: a sy, n pbl” (nwYk: t cl’ a sy), vlbl ://www..///he/uyl..

7 cu m. a, “t cuy sl e: ev

evlu tul a cuy sl iv” (tul:okl c eu ply, 2010); rub s. Jb sl c. s, “t cuy sl evlu tlk:mv r a w” (pll: cl cuy sl nl u, 2010).

8 cl cuy sl, “cuy l b 09”; m J. Blk , “mk d: r p cuy sl”; cl cuy sl,“cuy sl—rul tu au l sl”(2010).

9 Kl m. my rl J. W-Wl, “t l- bw ou--sl av pv Yu dvl-: a iv iu cu ly,” Adolescence 40 (157) (2005):67-85; db L. Vll, elzb r.r, K m. p, “ou Lk h- Quly a-l p: Lul suy pal p” (W: ply su a, 2007).

10 a t. h K L. m, “a w Wv ev: ti sl, ly, cuy c suav” (au: nl c ly cuyc w sl, 2002).

11 s c. Wlk , “i sl-B hl cU a ou,” Journal of Adolescent Health 46(3)(2010):251-257; s.p. g , “sl-b hlc a p: r, cll, r,” Journal of School Health 74(9) (2004):347-352.

12 ic il, “cu sl nl evlu: vY suy r ” (2010).

13 cu m.a, “t cuy sl e: ev evlu tul a cuy sl iv” (tul:okl c eu ply, 2010).

14 m Yu d av y b u ://..u/u_wk/y.l.)

15 K sbl, “p p ml sl su’mv av” (pl al, cl.: t J W. gc Yu t cu s Uvy,2010).

16 hl pk, all m. ry, av Kl, “ely al’p cl sl ev, mvlBl, e,” Journal of Educational Psychology 99(1)(2007): 83-98.

17 Bb g dv, Tools for Teaching (s : Jy-B,1993).

18 m-t W Jquly s. el, “al Bvl,el, cv e tj sl

t dl rl eul su ,” Journal of Research on Adolescence (2011).

19 Jy L. e sv B. sl, “mv w: i r sl, ly, cuy p,” c..c r. sl, ., SAGE Handbook for Research in Education:Engaging Ideas and Enriching Inquiry (tu ok: s publ-, 2006).

20 Kj hku, Yuk g Bul, d W, “hw L d i tk el L a pfy?” (dv, cl.: Uvy cl Lu my r iu, 2000).

21 m-t W Jquly s. el, “al Bvl,el, cv e tj sl

t dl rl eul su” Journal of Research on Adolescence (2011).

22 t c cly Lwy, “L L: a Lk u Wy cuy sl c su e v t-”( W: c a p, 2012).

23 m J. Blk , “ cuy sl: Lv- ru su su su” (W: cl cuy sl, 2010).

24 ibl ow, “Bk ml: cb cuy slw ex L t hl eully dvsu” (W: c a p, 2010).

25 ill s B eu, “ill L s: sl/el L (seL),” vlbl ://www.b./l/-l_l/..

26 al mlvll, rub Jb, m J. Blk, “slu sl cuy p: t cuy sl

sy” (W: cl cuy sl, 2011).

27 okl Uf sl d, “cuy sl, tvsu: a v Y s pl” (2011).

28 cl cuy sl, “c ull-sv c-uy sl d: i vw w ty s, su okl Uf sl d” (2011), vlbl ://www.uyl.//1/am/ty%20s%20ivw%20tl1.#xl=://-001.-l./v/.?=&di=203&ix=%3%5s%5uyl&hcu=7&=20+21+22+23+24+25+26+&=21&q=%22c++ull%2dsv+cuy+sl+d.

29 a t. h K L. m, “a nw Wv ev: t i sl, ly, cuy c su av” (au: nl c ly cuy c w sl, 2002); Jy L. e

sv B. sl, “mv w: i r sl,ly, puy ,” c.. c r. sl,.,. SAGE Handbook for Research in Education: Engaging Ideas and Enriching Inquiry (tu ok: s publ, 2006).

30 J Juv , “u W Y: cll a ml sl (s m: rand eu,2004).

http://www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/faqs.aspx


http://cs210net.stanford.edu:81/our_work/yda.html


http://www.isbe.net/ils/social_emotional/standards.htm











31 K L. m s h, “dbuk my h--r p,” s L. c ay L. rly, .,Handbook of School-Family Partnerships, (nw Yk: rul,2009).

32 oz e c dvl,” Wp c d hl t cl su” (2011).

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35 J W. g c Yu t cu, “elyW sy: i xl l” (2011).

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