Community Schools
The Essentials of Community Schools
The Essentials of Community Schools![]()
The Essentials of Community Schools
What is a Community School?
Community Schools is an equity enhancing strategy led by CDE whose purpose is to transform schools into a thriving community of partnerships that support the whole child; this means that we are caring for more than each student’s academic learning and performance; we are supporting their social-emotional, physical, and mental health also.
Why this Strategy? Research has shown that the community schools model helps students, staff, parents and community members to develop empowerment and flourish through key partnerships with one another. A fundamental aspect of successfully engaging all educational partners is to provide continuous opportunities for them to be seen, valued and heard.
How does this strategy work?
The Community Schools strategy operates from four foundational pillars: Integrated Student Supports, Family and Community Engagement, Collabortive Leadership and Practices, and Extended Learning Time and Opportunities. These four pillars are key components that work together to provide support for the whole child approach to learning.
Madera County Superintendent of Schools launched the work for this statewide program in Spring of 2022 with the successful application for a Planning Grant to support the initial steps of planning and collaboration.
Since the initial work began, here are some important updates:
- An Implementation Grant was awarded in Spring 2024 from CDE for $3.4 million dollars over the next five years to support the identified needs of eligible schools.
- The collection of valued feedback from all educational partners allowed for the identification of needs and desired outcomes.
- The continued development of a Community Resource Center that will serve as a wellness and support hub for students and families.
- A county wide effort via a Community of Practice, will assist in networking and establishing community partnerships with organizations in order to connect resources to students/families in need of those resources.
Implementation Plans
Implementation Plans ![]()
Implementation Plans
Endeavor/Voyager
Gould Educational Center
MCIA
Pioneer Technical Center
resources
resources![]()
resources
MCSOS provides technical assistance to all of our districts with this grant program. We partner with the CV-RTAC and S-TAC teams and invite all of education partners to explore the Community Schools Framework.
Contact
Contact![]()
Contact
Kristi Castillo
Program Director, Student Support Systems
Community Schools Coordinator
(559) 662-3864
kcastillo@mcsos.org
Program Director, Student Support Systems
Community Schools Coordinator
(559) 662-3864
kcastillo@mcsos.org
