Helping Children And Youth To Learn And Grow
How do we ensure that our children and youth can learn and grow? Some of the main community-based approaches to supporting quality education and positive outcomes for children and youth include:
Strengthening neighborhood early childhood education resources
OVERVIEW
- A growing body of research indicates that providing very young children with a stimulating and supportive environment in which to learn and grow has significant positive impacts later in life.*
- Approaches informed by this research emphasize:
- Providing support and assistance to daycare providers to provide high-quality early childhood education.
- Providing support and training to parents, such as “baby colleges” where parents can learn how to help their children learn and grow physically, emotionally and intellectually.
- Early screening of families with risk factors and provision of supports to those families.
RESOURCES AND EXAMPLES
- Zero to Three provides a very substantial body of research, fact sheets, issue briefs, training opportunities, and practical advice.
- Connect for Kids provides a early childhood “Mental Health and Development Toolkit”.
- The Brazleton Touchpoints Center provides assistance to early childhood educators, health care providers, and social service providers across the country to “strengthen the systems of care for young children and their families.
After school enrichment
OVERVIEW
- Research indicates that students involved in afterschool or extracurricular programs get better grades, attend school more and have greater hopes for the future and interest in school.*
- Community-based efforts therefore seek to expand the afterschool resources available to youth, improve their quality, and market these opportunities.
RESOURCES AND EXAMPLES
- The Afterschool Alliance provides a directory of existing afterschool programs and tools to help communities develop and expand after school programs.
- After School has information on curriculum, funding, staffing, evaluating and other areas of interest on afterschool.
- The Beacon Program, in New York City, uses schools to provide a range of afterschool activities as well as resources for parents and families; formal program evaluations have demonstrated significant positive impacts.
- www.nccenet.org The National Center for Community Education’s mission is: “To provide state-of-the-art leadership development training and technical assistance focusing on community and educational change emphasizing community schools.” NCCE workshops cover topics from the concept of community education to training and instructional materials.
Increasing parent engagement in schools
OVERVIEW
- The essence of this approach is the belief that parents have the power and influence to positively affect their child's school achievement and influence schools so that other children can benefit from improved educational environments.*
- Key elements of this approach can include:
- Providing training to parents on how they can advocate for their children within the school system and support their children in and after school.
- Community organizing work to increase the influence of parents in building an effective school system.
- Building partnerships between schools, families and community organizations to plan for how to improve educational outcomes for youth.
RESOURCES AND EXAMPLES
- The Annenberg Institute for School Reform has published a study evaluating the impacts of community organizing for school reform, including detailed case studies. Find the report and many other resources about school reform at their website.
- Read the Annie E Casey Foundation report, Connecting Schools, Families and Communities, highlighting the work and results of seven partnerships between schools, families, and community organizations'
- Read Larry Ferlazzo (2009). Building Parent Engagement in Schools. Linworth.
- Read Deloitte Consulting and the Gates Foundation (2006) report, Harnessing the Energy and Ideas of Community-Based Organizations for Effective Education Reform, Theory of Change Model for Washington, DC Education Compact.
- Families in Schools, an initiative of the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project, provides an array of programs and resources to help parents engage in the education of their children.
- Assets for Colorado Youth relates several examples of local schools strengthening partnerships with parents.
Creating alternatives in the community to conventional public education
OVERVIEW
- This approach focuses on providing parents with alternative educational choices outside conventional public schools.
- Options include the creation of public charter schools and magnet schools, as well as facilitating access to private or parochial schools for families in the community.
RESOURCES AND EXAMPLES
- The Trinity Learning Corridor in Hartford, CT is a 16-acre campus developed through a partnership between Trinity College and numerous other local stakeholders. The campus hosts four public magnet schools as well as a Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scouts Council, and the Aetna Center for Families.
- Foundations, Inc. has supported the development of 33 charter schools now operating in Philadelphia, serving more than 15,000 students.
- The National Center for Arts and Technology promotes the establishment of centers providing innovative career-oriented education serving both youth and adults.
- KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. There are currently 82 KIPP schools serving around 20,000 students. KIPP builds a partnership among parents, students, and teachers by providing outstanding educators, more time in school learning, and a strong culture of achievement.
- Uncommon Schools, in New York and New Jersey, manages urban charter public schools that close the achievement gap and prepare low-income students to graduate from college.
- The Harlem Children’s Zone (Harlem, New York City) serves 8,000 children in a 97-block area of Harlem with the beliefs that “for children to do well, their families have to do well. And for families to do well, their community must do well.” Specific programs include a Charter School, after-school “Beacon” program, a “baby college” for parents, and foster care prevention services, among others.
- Read research and best practices about various community-based initiatives to improve educational outcomes on the Annie E Casey Foundation knowledge sharing website here.
- Find data about your school and the broader educational system at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
- Find performance and testing data about your school here.
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