Creating Engagement between Schools and their Communities

Lessons from Educational Leaders

Contributions by Carlos Azcoitia, Martin Blank, Francisco Borras, Chris Brown, Karen Glinert Carlson, Judith Dymond, Neil Naftzger, Ted Purinton, Adeline Ray, Mary A. Ronan, Doris Terry Williams Edited by Ted Purinton, Carlos Azcoitia

Not available to order

Publication date:

19 October 2016

Length of book:

160 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498521758

Creating Engagement between Schools and their Communities: Lessons from Educational Leaders addresses how educational leaders have made efforts to reconnect their schools to their communities and the varied goals they achieved. The contributors of this book are educational leaders who have stayed committed to their neighborhoods and who have seen the moral imperative to provide equal opportunity to all students. This book shares their experiences, particularly looking at community-based schools in urban, impoverished, or immigrant communities—communities that often are disconnected from the political and economic centers of the country.
[The book] makes a persuasive case for establishing community schools in every type of setting — urban, exurban, suburban and rural. . . . A community school is a hub for integrated services and support that cultivates opportunity and agency in students, families and neighborhoods. No specific, one-size-fits-all model is prescribed to a community school; collaborative people and partnerships define it. Most importantly, stakeholders in a community school are accountable to one another as they create and sustain a culture of equity and empowerment. . . . Community schools inspire hope for the future of public education. The complexity of helping all students overcome societal challenges and preparing them to thrive in globally connected economies and communities requires a much broader and bolder approach than most education “reforms.” Creating Engagement between Schools and their Communities spotlights the ways in which community schools can achieve that moral imperative.