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Community schools approach

Product or Programme · All products and programmes
Evidence · 11 claims (11 for) · 5 studies (3 qualitative, 2 review), q2 · 0 of 5 report an effect size · 11 claims rest on one study

Description

A whole-child, whole-school, whole-community framework organized around integrated student supports, expanded learning opportunities, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership, used by schools and community partners.

Components

  • The four-pillar framework of community schools: The report organizes the community schools approach around four common features, or pillars: integrated student supports, expanded learning time and opportunities, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership and practice. The review states that although community schools vary by local context, four features—or pillars—appear in most community schools and support the conditions for teaching and learning found in high-quality schools. The framework structures the report's evidence review: each pillar is reviewed in its own chapter, and the pillars are mapped onto characteristics of high-quality schools (Table 3, Figure 1) and onto addressing out-of-school barriers to learning. (Maier et al. (2017))
  • Community schools strategy with four key pillars: The report describes the community schools approach as "an evidence-based approach for increasing the school success of students living in communities of poverty that should become the norm in New Mexico's high-poverty schools." Although community schools vary to reflect local conditions, "they are built with four key pillars: integrated supports, expanded learning time and opportunities, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership." The report recommends making the strategy the norm in schools where at least 80% of students come from low-income families, and notes Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe have created more than three dozen community schools. (Oakes et al. (2020))
  • Community schools as a place-based integrated-support strategy: Community schools are "a place-based strategy in which schools partner with community agencies and allocate resources to provide an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and family and community engagement". Many operate on all-day and year-round schedules serving both children and adults, functioning as academic and social centers for innovative learning, recreation, health care, and social services. The report describes them as associated with reduced absenteeism, improved academic outcomes, and more positive school climates, and notes statewide initiatives in California, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont. (Cookson et al. (2022))
  • New Mexico's six key practices framework for community schools: The New Mexico Public Education Department's community schools framework identifies six site-level practices for implementation: collaborative leadership, shared power, and voice; powerful student and family engagement; rigorous, community-connected classroom instruction; expanded, culturally enriched learning opportunities; a culture of belonging, safety, and care; and integrated systems of support. The brief states these practices are "grounded in research and the expertise of community school practitioners participating in the national Community Schools Forward task force" and were integrated into the strategic vision and daily operation of the profiled schools. (Germain et al. (2025))
  • Community schools as a whole-child strategy partnering with local organizations and families: The brief defines community schools, quoting the New Mexico PED, as "a whole child, comprehensive strategy to transform schools into places where educators, local community members, families, and students work together to strengthen conditions for student learning and healthy development." Schools achieve this by partnering with local organizations and families to organize in- and out-of-school resources such as health services, meals, and after-school programming. The strategy is positioned as an equity-centered, evidence-based approach to school transformation. (Germain et al. (2025))
  • New Mexico's six key site-level practices of community schools: The New Mexico Public Education Department defines a community school as "a whole child, comprehensive strategy to transform schools" where educators, families, community members, and students organize in- and out-of-school resources so young people thrive. PED identifies six key site-level practices grounded in research and practitioner expertise: expanded culturally enriched learning opportunities; rigorous community-connected classroom instruction; a culture of belonging, safety, and care; integrated systems of support; powerful student and family engagement; and collaborative leadership with shared power and voice. Los Padillas's transformation is organized around these practices. (Germain (2024))
  • New Mexico PED community school framework with six key site-level practices: The New Mexico Public Education Department defines a community school as "a whole child, comprehensive strategy to transform schools" where educators, families, community members, and students organize in- and out-of-school resources so young people thrive. PED identifies six key site-level practices: expanded culturally enriched learning opportunities; rigorous community-connected classroom instruction; a culture of belonging, safety, and care; integrated systems of support; powerful student and family engagement; and collaborative leadership, shared power and voice. The Roswell profile documents implementation of several of these practices at Sierra and University High. (Espinoza (2024))
  • Community schools as a whole child transformation strategy anchored by a cross-boundary coordinator role: The report frames community schools as an evidence-based school transformation strategy that unites students, families, educators, and community partners to improve learning and well-being through a whole child approach. Its central organizing concept is the coordinator: "a school-based staff member not traditionally found in schools, who is charged with organizing access to a range of public and private resources tailored to student and family needs and weaving them into the fabric and daily operations of the school." Coordinators act as cross-boundary leaders and connectors between schools, community partners, and families, and require targeted capacity building because the role is new and distinct from typical school positions. (Germain et al. (2026))

Claims

Key Sources

  • Maier, A., Daniel, J., Oakes, J., & Lam, L. (2017). Community schools as an effective school improvement strategy: A review of the evidence. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/community-schools-effective-school-improvement-report
  • Oakes, J., Espinoza, D., Darling-Hammond, L., Gonzales, C., DePaoli, J., Kini, T., Hoachlander, G., Burns, D., Griffith, M., & Leung, M. (2020). Improving education the New Mexico way: An evidence-based approach. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/improving-education-new-mexico-way
  • Cookson, P. W., Jr., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2022). Building school communities for students living in deep poverty. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/121.698
  • Germain, E., Maier, A., & Espinoza, D. (2025). New Mexico community schools: Improving student opportunities and outcomes. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/new-mexico-community-schools-outcomes-brief
  • Germain, E. (2024). New Mexico community school profile: Los Padillas Elementary School. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/new-mexico-community-school-los-padillas-brief
  • Espinoza, D. (2024). New Mexico community school profile: Roswell Independent School District. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/new-mexico-community-school-roswell-brief
  • Germain, E., Klevan, S., & Espinoza, D. (2026). Community schools in Lynwood Unified: Building capacity for districtwide implementation. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/947.934
Page metadata
Field Value
type product
id community-schools-approach
title Community schools approach
description A whole-child, whole-school, whole-community framework organized around integrated student supports, expanded learning opportunities, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership, used by schools and community partners.
status review
product_kind framework
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-10
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content

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