Assessing Community Assets and Needs at Mann UCLA Community School
The Community Schools Implementation Team (CSIT) at Mann UCLA Community School has been meeting all year, every Tuesday, to conduct a comprehensive Assets and Needs Assessment. Led by community school coordinator Shriya Venkatesh, the team includes students, staff, parents, and UCLA researchers who have collected and poured over mountains of existing data to identify three priorities: to better engage families, develop a stronger positive school culture, and create more robust systems for continuous improvement. These priorities along with the full assessment are detailed in the school’s Implementation Plan for 2024-25, submitted this month as part of the statewide California Community Schools Partnership Program. Ms. Venkatesh presented the plan to the school’s Governance Council on May 21st–receiving strong commendation for the integrity of the community-wide inquiry process.
Honoring AAPI Histories and Activism at UCLA Community School
On May 11th, the UCLA Community School and the UCLA Center for Asian American Studies welcomed educators and civic leaders to preview Foundations and Futures: Asian American and Pacific Islander Multimedia Textbook, a comprehensive and open-access anthology of Asian American and Pacific Islander histories and perspectives. Educators had a chance to participate in workshops and explore themes of solidarity to advance ethnic studies curriculum and implementation. In her opening welcome, Principal Queena Kim shared about the rich community activism and social justice vision that is at the core of the shared campus in Koreatown.
CCS Hosts Southern California UACS Conference
On May 8th and 9th, we convened five teams of K-12 and higher education leaders in Southern California to help build the movement to create and sustain University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS). The program included a study tour at the UCLA Community School, a dinner panel on the national UACS movement, and a workshop for team planning–all made possible thanks to generous support from the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania. The five UACS teams included educators from San Diego, Riverside/San Bernardino, Pomona, Anaheim, and Los Angeles. Representatives from 12 universities worked alongside district, county, and community partners to articulate existing K-12/university partnerships and strengthen the systems that support these anchor institution partnerships–providing a strategic solution to the challenge of sustaining community schools over time.
CCSPP Cohort 3 Grantees Announced
On May 8th, the California State Board of Education approved Cohort 3 California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) Implementation Grant Awards. Representing regions from across the state–from Shasta County to Southern California–a total of 288 awards were made which will support approximately 1000 schools to deepen their commitment to community schooling. Today, with the support of CCSPP grants, over 2000 schools in California are engaged in transforming their schools to community schools. To learn more about the work of CCSPP grantees, click here.
Deep Dive Learning Exchange in Shasta County
As part of the Center’s partnership with the State-Transformational Assistance Center for CCSPP Grantees, we were honored to co-lead a two day Learning Exchange with Deep Dive Transformation Partners at the Shasta County Office of Education, West Contra Costa Unified School District, and Anaheim Unified High School District this month. Alongside educators from CCSPP Deep Dive Partners, leaders from the California Department of Education and the Community Engagement Initiative engaged in learning activities about the role of the county office of education in community schools.
Deep Dive Partners also discussed creating and implementing local measures that showcase what the community values while supporting improvement efforts. The Learning Exchange aimed to strengthen collaboration across the state and build capacity to deliver on our commitment to transform education for all students in California.
Mark Your Calendars
Community school practitioners, researchers, partners and advocates are gathering at the 2024 National Community Schools and Family Engagement (CSxFE) conference in Atlanta from May 29-31! Our team is presenting three workshops focused on University-Assisted Community Schools, collaborative leadership, and teaching and learning in community schools.
We are looking forward to the 2024 EMPOWER Summit! Convened by the State-Transformational Assistance Center, the summit is a two-day event open to California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) grantees, Regional Technical Assistance Centers, educators and community members who serve community schools. Join us in Los Angeles from June 13-14!
