Center for Civic Partnerships

Partnering for Educational Improvement

Successful school and community partnerships work together to improve educational outcomes by linking students and their families to community resources, informing the community of school performance and local education issues, and involving the community in school programs and activities.

Top Tips

Define the partnership's mission and goals: Determine the purpose of the school/community partnership and why it is important to pursue and achieve educational goals collaboratively.
Identify how partnership goals and activities will improve educational standards in your community: Clearly establish the expectations and responsibilities of the partnership. Insure that goals and activities will have a positive impact on educational outcomes.
Involve family members, neighborhood residents and key community organizations: Identify organizations and community representatives who have a stake in youth and families. Build a community partnership with community leaders, law enforcement, local government, local agencies, the media, schools and others.
Listen to students and their families: A successful partnership will include youth and family involvement. What are their ideas? What skills can they contribute to the partnership? What tools and services can youth and families utilize to insure a successful educational experience?
Encourage business participation: Employers can implement flexible employee leave policies to accommodate parent-teacher conferences and promote school volunteering opportunities. Businesses and community organizations can share expertise to prepare students for college and future careers.
Communicate to educate: Inform the community about academic standards, goals and school performance. Discuss and publicize education issues in schools and the community through local media and outreach activities.
Promote technology in education: Support activities to wire schools for Internet access and provide continuing maintenance and technical support. Provide adequate computer access for students at schools and other community locations.
Support educational activities in the community: Provide community facilities and churches as neighborhood-based meeting sites for parent-teacher conferences and other school-related gatherings. Organize tutoring and mentoring programs. Sponsor, plan, and participate in alcohol- and drug-free activities. Sponsor arts programs, youth clubs, recreational programs and other activities for students.

Online Resources and Tools

America Goes Back to School
http://www.ed.gov/Family/agbts/
Encourages families and communities to launch or expand family-school-community partnerships.

California Department of Education
http://www.cde.ca.gov/
Provides information on schools and educational programs throughout the state of California.

California Healthy Start
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/pf/hs/
Brings schools, businesses, non-profits and governmental agencies together to develop school-linked services.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/cshpdef.htm
Link to the CDC’s eight component model for a coordinated school health program, which includes community and parent involvement.

Communities in Schools
http://www.cisnet.org/index.html
Supports the connection of needed community resources with schools to help students learn.

Institute for Educational Leadership
http://www.iel.org/
Connects leaders and the public with educational institutions.

Learn and Serve
http://www.learnandserve.org/
Site describes service learning programs in schools.

National Education Association
http://www.nea.org/
The NEA's Partnership page highlights examples of school, community and business partnerships that support educational achievement.

National Network of Partnership Schools
http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/
Connects schools, districts, and states that are committed to developing school-family-community partnerships.

National Parent/Teacher Association (PTA)
http://www.pta.org/
A "one-stop" resource for information on the National PTA.

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL)
http://www.ncrel.org/

Pathways to School Improvement
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/pathwayg.htm

Leadership for Learning
http://www.ncrel.org/cscd/

Pulling Together- Research and Development Resources for Rural Schools
http://www.ncrel.org/rural/

Partners in Education
http://napehq.org/
National membership organization providing leadership in the formation and growth of effective partnerships in education.

Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
http://www.ed.gov/about/pubs/intro/index.html
US Department of Education project site which offers resources, ideas, funding and conferences relevant to family involvement in education.

US Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/

Community Update
http://bcol01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OIIA/communityupdate/page1.cfm
Featuring "best practices" and model programs from around the nation, Community Update focuses on how communities can learn from each other as they improve their schools.

WestEd Regional Educational Laboratory
http://www.fwl.org/
Provides educational resources and support for students, schools and communities.

Suggested Reading

America Goes Back to School. Steps to Building Local Partnerships. Tips on how to build a coalition of school and community representatives to improve education. Available online: http://www.ed.gov/Family/agbts/steps_part.html

Ballen, Jennifer & Moles, Oliver (1994). Strong Families, Strong Schools. Discusses building community partnerships for learning. Available online: http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/families/strong/

Decker, Larry E. and Boo, Mary Richardson (1996). Community Schools: Linking Home, School and Community. Article discusses new ways to foster parental and community involvement in education. Available online: http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/community/community_schools/

Dianda, Marcella & McLaren, Ann (1996). Building Partnerships for Student Learning. NEA National Center For Innovation’s guide to creating partnerships to raise the quality of public education. Available online: http://www.nea.org/partners/pocket.html

US Department of Education (1997). A Compact for Learning. An action handbook for developing family, school and community partnerships. Available online: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Compact/

US Department of Education (1995). An Invitation to Your Community: Building Community Partnerships for Learning. Guide provides information on the Goals 2000 program and how to engage the community in education goals. Available online: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CommInvite/

US Department of Housing and Urban Development (1998). Schools and Communities in the 21st Century- Educating Urban America. Transcript of a Community 2020 seminar focused on schools as anchors for revitalized communities and new community partnerships among parents, teachers, community residents and business leaders. Available online: http://www.hud.gov/2020/0924des.html