{"id":80304,"date":"2026-03-04T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/?p=80304"},"modified":"2026-03-03T23:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:10:11","slug":"community-schools-offer-more-than-just-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/community-schools-offer-more-than-just-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Schools offer more than just teaching"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Community<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

HARTFORD, Conn. \u2014 This spring, Dr. Michael D. Fox elementary school opened a pantry for its students and families. It has fridges packed with prepared food, cupboards filled with canned goods, cabinets of neatly folded donated clothes, and on top of them, packs of diapers, wipes and other toiletries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLots of families were asking for help,\u201d said LaToya Adgers, the site coordinator for the pre-K to fifth grade public school, which serves almost 500 students. \u201cWe sat down and asked families, \u2018If this was on campus, would you come here? And what do you need?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not that unusual for a school to have a food or clothes pantry for needy families. What is unusual is that Ms. Adgers works for a Hartford community services organization, the Village for Families and Children. And it was the Village that reached out to businesses and organizations to ask them to donate the goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M.D. Fox, as it\u2019s called, with its lively students dressed in their light blue and khaki uniforms, is part of a growing phenomenon in the educational landscape: the community school. The Village coordinates the 10 to 20 organizations that work with M.D. Fox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community schools, which, among other things, integrate nonprofits, businesses and colleges on the school site to offer services to students and their families, have existed for more than a century. There are now an estimated 5,000 such schools nationwide, according to the national Coalition for Community Schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the pandemic demonstrated what has long been known \u2014 that schools now serve as hubs for resources far beyond just teaching and learning \u2014 and the concept of community schools is garnering renewed attention and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUltimately, the pandemic has shown the power and potential of community schools,\u201d stated a brief by the Brookings Institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trend is bolstered by research demonstrating that community schools help increase students\u2019 attendance and graduation rates. By addressing an array of student and family issues \u2014 from hunger and homelessness to health care \u2014 schools are lifting barriers that prevent students from fully participating in and benefiting from their education. The approach also helps to build trust that allows families to embrace the schools and their child\u2019s learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFamily engagement is foundational,\u201d said Jos\u00e9 Mu\u00f1oz, director of the Coalition for Community Schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A full-service community school includes four elements: various integrated support services through nonprofits, businesses and higher-education institutions; active family and community engagement; expanded and enriched learning, which can include after-school, weekends and summers; and collaborative partnerships among parents, students, school administrators and community leaders<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these four pillars, as they are called, help define community schools, they shouldn\u2019t be standardized, as each serves different populations and needs, Mr. Mu\u00f1oz said. But one key element of a successful community school, he added, is a dedicated point person at each school \u2014 or in small or rural communities, for the district \u2014 that serves as the coordinator, such as Ms. Adgers at the Hartford school. Another is to focus on inclusive decision-making with families, educators and administrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n