American Indian Education KnowledgeBase

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

The American Indian Education KnowledgeBase is an online resource to aid education professionals in their efforts to improve the education of American Indian students and close the achievement gap American Indian students have faced in public, Bureau of Indian Education and other schools.

Community Schools Initiative

As defined by the Coalition for Community Schools, a community school is both a set of partnerships and a place where services, supports and opportunities lead to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities. The idea of bringing together schools, community organizations and partners is a strategy that high poverty schools might consider to address environmental concerns that impact a child's ability to learn.

There are many examples of effective community school initiatives. While there are differing perspectives on their impact on student academic achievement, improving a child's life circumstances may really be the first step in leaving no child behind. One such initiative widely recognized for its effectiveness is "Bridges to Success" jointly sponsored by the Indianapolis Public Schools and the United Way of Central Indiana.

The aim of Bridges to Success is to facilitate partnerships among community organizations, businesses, families and schools to help children succeed. At the macro community level, it brings together local leaders to create needed resources and break through barriers that schools face. At the micro school level, it facilitates teams with schools, neighborhoods, families, businesses and other community groups address specific needs their children have. Organizationally, there is an overall leadership council that interacts with school based site teams comprised of involved stakeholders. There are five support staff that work with the 43 Indianapolis Public Schools involved with the initiative. Programmatically, there is a wide range of services offered depending on each school's needs. Programs include health clinics, mental health counselors, vision care, after school programs and a city-wide school supply drive for example.

Key lessons learned since the program's inception in 1994 include:

• District and school level leadership attuned to the community school concept is essential.

• Bringing schools and business together involves a melding of different operational cultures. As such, it is easy for culture clash to occur.

• Efforts to engage parents have had mixed results.

• Neighborhoods have differing needs. Programs need to be school focused addressing neighborhood needs.

• It is important to orient all stakeholders about the community schools concept.

• Tracking students through the program to measure continuing academic achievement has proved difficult.

The outcomes of the program to date include:

• Students at Bridges to Success schools are showing improved academic achievement. Likewise, they are showing higher attendance rates and lower expulsion/suspension rates compared to students at non-program schools.

• Initially starting with six pilot schools the program has grown to 43 schools, involving 300 community partners sourcing more than 500 programs at a value of $9 million.

• Participating schools are using their site teams as a vehicle to help with their school improvement plans.

• New school buildings are being designed to accommodate out-of-school programs and resources that support students and the neighborhood.

• Indiana University-Purdue University/Indianapolis is helping provide direction with evaluation.

Source:

The content and thoughts for this document were derived from an interview with Debbie Zipes, Director, Bridges to Success, United Way of Central Indiana.

Contact information: Bridges to Success, 3901 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208 317-921-1261.

The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and are intended for general reference purposes only. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education or the Center, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Some resources on this site require Adobe Acrobat Reader. This website archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.