The global pandemic has renewed public interest in the community schools approach, a century old reform movement that centers the school in the strengths and needs of local neighborhoods. This movement is often framed as an effort to provide wrap-around services such as health and after-school programs. Community schools also represent a radical rethinking of who has knowledge, how young people learn, and how teachers teach. To support this rethinking, we are launching a new multi-media, open access journal with four features: School Cases, Teacher Scholarship, Youth Research, and Policy ABCs.
This brief describes the policies, structures and practices that support UCLA Community School’s vision and commitment to collaborative decision-making as a core pillar of its approach to community schooling. We demonstrate how collaborative leadership serves to mediate the integration of programs and services in support of its students, families and community.
In this report, we study the experience of seven cohorts of students (n=597) from the UCLA Community School and track their pathways to and through college using four measures: (1) postsecondary plans, (2) immediate college enrollment, (3) college persistence (first to second year, and four-year pathways), (4) college completion (within six years). Overall, the school is preparing almost all graduates to enter college and college enrollment and initial persistence rates are higher than the national average.
As we head into 2020, we celebrate the power of community schools to impact the lives of young people and inspire collective action. This month, we highlight efforts to engage youth in climate education and action, advance bilingual education, reimagine and share migration stories, and explore potential career pathways. As one student reflecting on their internship experience reminds us: “It’s really life changing…everyone should have this opportunity to be a good person, to be a part of the community, and add on to society.”
