When you hear the words "community schools" you may think that it just means a "public school," but it means something much more than that.  It means partnership and teamwork among community residents, businesses, social service agencies and public entities to talk with and support their local school. 

There are many definitions of this type of community engagement in schools.  Moreover, there is a wide range of words that are used to describe community schools, such as community education.  Sometimes schools are working closely with their community in the community school model and are unaware that there is a term for this model of partnership.  The Federation believes that the underlying principles of community schools are what makes this model of educational successful, not the title.  Here are the principles:

The ABCs of Community Schools --

      A = Align out of school time with class learning

      B = Bring communities, families and schools together

+    C = Coordinate resources for children and families

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Success for Students, Families, Schools and Communities