California Community Schools Partnership Program

Supports are provided to help students meet their academic, physical, social-emotional, and mental health needs.

These supports are coordinated to provide trauma-informed health, mental health, and social services including case-managed health, mental health, social, and academic support.

These supports benefit both children and their families.

Examples of this type of care and support includes health care, dental services, trauma-informed mental health care, educator training on the impact of trauma and toxic stress, family support and education, academic support services, counseling, and nutrition services.

These opportunities include academic support and real-world educational experiences (e.g., internships, apprenticeships and project-based learning).

These opportunities for both extended and expanded learning can be defined as both services which extend the school day as well as the school year.

The implications for whole-child education are that this type of expanded or extended learning can occur during the school day as well.

Community members' expertise to serve as true partners in supporting and educating students. This can include such engagement efforts as home visits, home-school collaboration, community school committees, and culturally responsive community partnerships.

Leaders and educators create a culture which includes collective decision-making efforts, trust-building activities, and community collaboration practices which include students, families, and community members as part of the process. Evidence of this can be seen as formative school culture professional development that focuses its efforts on creating educational opportunities for students in an environment of trauma-informed care, social-emotional learning, and other key areas related to pupil learning and whole child and family development.

Supportive environmental conditions that promote supportive learning environments which maintain the physical, emotional, and psychological safety of students and foster a sense of belonging and purpose on school campus.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) where needed skills, habits, and mindsets are cultivated through social emotional skills for greater success in academics and behavior. These skills include “self-regulation, executive function, intrapersonal awareness and interpersonal skills, a growth mindset, and a sense of agency that supports resilience and productive action.” (Learning Policy Institute).

System of Supports that include multi-tiered systems of academic, health, and social learning supports which provide for rich assistance to educators, students, and families which results in substantial whole child education.

Through the lens of asset-based thinking, the collective wisdom and language of students and family members and the community is seen as a necessity to uplift. Embracing the community's culture and the individual and communal wellness to create wellness initiatives are vitally important. Integrated into the school community are health supports that are healing-centered, repair harm, and sustain emotional and mental health are integrated into the school community in culturally relevant ways and destigmatize the care culture.

The experiences and cultures of students, families and communities are integrated into the instruction that occurs for students and the supports that offered to families and the community. Guidance suggests that this type of instruction should be “inspiring, inquiry-oriented, project-based, multi-modal, collaborative, interactive and informed by the ideals of co-learning." (Learning Policy Institute).

Dynamic shared leadership in all aspects of school governance and operations includes students, families, staff, and community members who share in decision making practices that prioritize transparency and shared accountability while ensuring information is both available, so that all interest holders can fully participate.

Strategies to engage school and community interest holders in a coherent process of identifying and curating assets and wisdom throughout the community. Able to then identify gaps in programs, services and resources that inhibit student achievement and community coherence.

Advisory councils design shared decision-making councils to engage educational and community partners which includes students, staff, families, and community members, to determine the focus and direction of the community school effort.

California community schools are “intentionally situated in a suite of initiatives” designed to transform public schools and further the work of restorative practices , systems of support, mental health services for students and families, expanded learning time, universal transitional kindergarten.¹ Districts will work to “cross stitch” services from all levels with community organizations that serve to promote education initiatives for all students of all abilities.