NYC community schools are grounded in shared leadership and collaborative planning among school administrators, the lead CBO and other key stakeholders. Community schools build a culture of professional learning, collective trust, and shared responsibility.
Lead community-based organizations (CBOs):
- Hire a Community School Director (CSD)
- Develop and coordinate community partnerships
- Integrate and align the work of existing and new community partners to the overall goals of the school
- Develop protocols for ongoing communication and conflict resolution among partners
- Ensure the personalization of services and programming to meet individual student needs
Together with the principal and School Leadership Team (SLT), the lead CBO develops a collaborative leadership structure (such as a Community School Team) that meaningfully includes the voices of students, families, and other community members in the planning process.
Collaborative Planning
- School leaders, the lead CBO, students, families and other members of the community meet together regularly to review school data, programming, and funding to ensure equitable allocation of resources.
- At minimum, three collaborative planning meetings occur in the year. Meetings typically occur in late Spring (to create the Community School section of the CEP and the aligned CBO budget allocations), and again in November and March (to review data and year- to-date expenses, assess program impact, and make any necessary modifications to interventions and CBO budget allocations).
Assets and Needs (A&N) Assessment
The NYCDOE Assets and Needs Assessment helps schools to:
- Identify resources to leverage to meet student and family needs
- Support collaboration with community partners and key stakeholders
- Develop SMART goals for the school's Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP)
Instructions:
- Download and/or print the Assets and Needs Assessment and request an online link to the Assets and Needs Assessment.
- Convene stakeholders from your community and complete the Assessment.
- Submit the online Assessment to receive your school’s Assets and Needs Assessment Site Report
- Share the results of the Asset and Needs Assessment Site Report with your school community at upcoming family nights, community forums, staff meetings, and other school gatherings (virtual or in-person).