Jennifer Masutani's Posts - Community Schools Coordinators Network2024-03-19T12:44:49ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutanihttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2216146748?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://coordinators.communityschools.org/profiles/blog/feed?user=15r9ovr48cwhd&xn_auth=noCoordinator Spotlight - Alma Arangotag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2019-09-16:6557044:BlogPost:246332019-09-16T17:37:53.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553458611?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600"></img> By Anna Lenihan</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553478503?profile=RESIZE_710x" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553478503?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> At Hawthorne Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Community School Coordinator Alma Arango recognized a specific issue that needed to be addressed. Arango, along with her community school council, identified the challenge that chronic absenteeism was presenting and came up with an initiative to increase…</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553458611?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" class="align-center"/>By Anna Lenihan</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553478503?profile=RESIZE_710x" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553478503?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>At Hawthorne Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Community School Coordinator Alma Arango recognized a specific issue that needed to be addressed. Arango, along with her community school council, identified the challenge that chronic absenteeism was presenting and came up with an initiative to increase attendance.</p>
<p>The first thing that Arango did to tackle attendance was brainstorm potential ideas with her community school council. The council realized that the school had plans in place for students with perfect attendance, but they did not recognize students who showed improvement in their attendance over the course of the year. How could they encourage “outstanding” attendance for students who couldn’t reach perfect attendance anymore?</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553465879?profile=RESIZE_710x" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553465879?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200" class="align-right"/></a>Starting in January 2019, the council decided to offer a special weekly lunch to students who were nominated by their teaches for improved attendance. On top of getting to attend the lunch, students with improved attendance were also recognized over the morning announcements and were given a special badge to wear.</p>
<p>The President of the Neighborhood Association asked local fast food restaurants to support the lunches by donating meals, and volunteers set up the lunches. By empowering members of the Community School Council and mobilizing volunteers, Arango was able to implement an innovative attendance strategy that took up zero school staff time and resources.</p>
<p>After examining the data, Arango saw that students who had a lot of absences in the first semester of the school year improved in the second semester after being nominated for the special lunches. As a new school year begins, Arango and the council are looking to build upon the progress of last year based on the data and feedback from students.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553476773?profile=RESIZE_710x" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3553476773?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200" class="align-left"/></a>Some of the changes they’re making for this new school year is to start hosting the special lunches at the beginning of the school year and holding it bi-weekly, instead of starting in January and hosting it weekly.</p>
<p>School staff and the neighborhood association president gave out donuts to parents on the first day of school to begin a conversation about the importance of attendance— “<em>Donut</em> miss school!” They are distributing more information about the special lunches to parents to resolve confusion and clarify how the lunches work and working with their school’s video team to make morning video announcements to promote the special lunches.</p>
<p>When asked what advice she has for other coordinators, Arango highlighted the importance of being persistent and opening the conversation to everybody—including families. She explained that making parents comfortable is extremely important, and that parents should be reminded that they have key perspectives and expertise that is valuable. She also noted that sometimes perfect attendance is impossible and pushing for perfection can be demotivating. Improvement should always be recognized and rewarded.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________________________</p>
<p><strong><br/>Alma's Top Resource</strong>: <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Jo-denATCUvTXeAYew1MyPBMoJ6Bf3X-5AkVBriEuTM/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">First 30 Day Checklist</a> from ABC Community School Partnership</p>
<p><strong>Alma's Question to the Network</strong> - Leave your answers in the comments below!</p>
<p>What ideas do you have on improving attendance? What have you done at your school that worked or didn’t work? What have you learned from your attendance efforts so far?</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Reyna Guzmantag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2019-08-19:6557044:BlogPost:245052019-08-19T13:08:06.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3434873815?profile=RESIZE_710x" style="padding: 3px;" width="595"></img> By Anna Lenihan</p>
<p>Before taking on the role of Community School Coordinator, Reyna Guzman worked as an advocate for detained youth who had recently arrived to the country. She fought to ensure that the youth knew their rights and found them legal representation. However, she noticed that the youth she advocated for continued to struggle after being released, due to a lack of resources. This led her to Public Service Community School, a high school in South Los Angeles, where…</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3434873815?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="595" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-center"/>By Anna Lenihan</p>
<p>Before taking on the role of Community School Coordinator, Reyna Guzman worked as an advocate for detained youth who had recently arrived to the country. She fought to ensure that the youth knew their rights and found them legal representation. However, she noticed that the youth she advocated for continued to struggle after being released, due to a lack of resources. This led her to Public Service Community School, a high school in South Los Angeles, where she has spent the last year as a Community School Coordinator, working to provide resources and empower her students. Public Service Community School, a Title I school with a majority Latino population, is similar to the school that Guzman herself attended as a high schooler, and Guzman says that her own experience shaped her and gave her insight into the lives of her students.</p>
<p>As a Community School Coordinator, Guzman focuses heavily on engaging parents and students in the decision-making processes of the school. “It is important to recognize that people have agency,” she explains. With that in mind, she spends a lot of time strategizing how to increase parental participation. She makes phone calls home, invites parents to have coffee with the school principal, and makes sure to always have food at every event. Guzman places a lot of emphasis on making the school a comfortable place for parents and students. “First we build community, then we start asking questions.”</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3434887794?profile=RESIZE_710x" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3434887794?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="275" class="align-left" style="padding: 2px;"/></a>Today, Public Service Community School is home to <em>Padres Activos</em>, a group of parents who participate in socio-emotional and parenting classes. Guzman also trains a group of parents to sit in on classroom instruction, take notes, and then give recommendations to the school’s instructional leadership team. Guzman noted that the role of a Community School Coordinator is to see the potential of other people, and that it is most important to root for and collaborate with others. “If the teachers, staff, and students aren’t invested, nothing will be successful,” she says.</p>
<p>Because Guzman works with high school students, she prioritizes college and career readiness. This past school year, Guzman facilitated a career day that brought over 50 organizations into the school to discuss employment opportunities. The career day was followed by mock interviews and lessons about professional dress code. Despite looking towards the future, Guzman explained that working with high school students also means trying to make up for things that her students did not receive earlier in their childhoods. Guzman, in partnership with the school district, was able to offer her students free eye screenings <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3434889110?profile=RESIZE_710x" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3434889110?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="275" class="align-right"/></a>and provide glasses to students who needed them. She also developed a partnership with a food finder service to ensure that her students and their families have access to fresh produce and canned goods. </p>
<p>As the 2019-2020 school year approaches, Guzman is spending the summer reflecting on how she can make the coming year as successful as possible. She is reading up on parent engagement and meeting with school administrators and teachers to plan new programming. She reminds everyone that when students, parents, and community members are empowered, they should be the ones driving solutions. The job of a Community School Coordinator is to lift up the voices of the community as much as possible.</p>The Journalistic Superpower in Amplifying Voicestag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2019-06-17:6557044:BlogPost:239342019-06-17T12:30:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2976152788?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650"></img></p>
<p>By Alisha Torres</p>
<p>Five years ago, Whitsitt Elementary School was categorized under priority status as one of the lowest performing schools in Tennessee. Fast forward to the present day, this school has experienced major growth under Principal Justin Uppinghouse’s leadership and turnaround team and ever since joining the Metro Nashville Public Schools District-led Community Achieves Initiative. Prevailing through all the community’s ups and downs lies Community…</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2976152788?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650" class="align-center"/></p>
<p>By Alisha Torres</p>
<p>Five years ago, Whitsitt Elementary School was categorized under priority status as one of the lowest performing schools in Tennessee. Fast forward to the present day, this school has experienced major growth under Principal Justin Uppinghouse’s leadership and turnaround team and ever since joining the Metro Nashville Public Schools District-led Community Achieves Initiative. Prevailing through all the community’s ups and downs lies Community Achieves Site Manager Chris Echegaray.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2976155698?profile=RESIZE_710x" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2976155698?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left" style="padding: 3px;"/></a>This award-winning reporter, turned Community School Coordinator, has leveraged his evaluative, investigative, and analytical skills to actively support and advocate for public education systemic reform. Chris continuously campaigns for more effective communication, planning sessions, and monthly events to sustain the Community Achieves standards-based framework. The common programming for Metro Nashville Public Schools centers on family engagement, college and career readiness, health and wellness, and social services. These pillars of support used at Whitsitt ES provide key templates for yearly strategic plans where Chris can present the school’s shared goals, student data, and needs assessments to all the school stakeholders of the community.</p>
<p>“In journalism, our motto was ‘comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.’” Chris says. As a community school coordinator, Chris still lives by this quote because it reminds him why he and many others do this work. He has amplified the voice of the voiceless in this community and is dedicated to making sure they are heard. His relationships and interactions with parents, students, staff, and partners are founded on trust, respect, appreciation, and upfront communication. Examples of these experiences take place in family focus groups where parents are surveyed on the needs and expectations for the school. Chris consistently and transparently uses student data and the shared goals with school faculty, key partners, and parents to collaboratively make decisions.<img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2976157386?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-right" style="padding: 3px;"/></p>
<p>Other strong values and mission-centered strategies that Whitsitt established with Community Achieves are shared leadership and community integration. This is exhibited through Power Monday, an enriching event that’s held every third Monday of the month. During Power Monday, school stakeholders can publicly declare what they do and why they do it for their students and community. During the morning, the school partners with over 40 local organizations to provide additional learning experiences. Some of these experiences include mentoring English Language Learning students and providing extracurricular programs such as yoga, chess club, Lego robotics, and many more.</p>
<p>While the students are collaboratively working with local organizations, Community Achieves also emphasizes the importance of leadership responsibilities by providing training such as long-range planning, school-improvement coordination, and professional development to teachers and staff members. Most importantly, Power Mondays are where successful achievements and high-level goals for the future are expressed.</p>
<p>Although the school culture continues to focus on collective impact, chronic absenteeism is still an underlying issue, even after Whitsitt Elementary School rose out of priority status. When working to combat this issue, Chris ensures that all educational resources and learning opportunities such as enrichment programs are equitably distributed to all students. He emphasized the value of case management and processing one case at a time, because every situation is unique.</p>Changing the Status Quo with Skateboards and Wellnesstag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2019-05-21:6557044:BlogPost:240092019-05-21T11:49:51.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2649237608?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2649237608?profile=RESIZE_710x" style="padding: 3px;" width="675"></img></a> <br></br>By Manasa Chilakala</p>
<p>San Francisco has long been an epicenter of revolutionary movements from being a catalyst for LGBTQ+ rights to the groundbreaking technology of Silicon Valley. In this bustling city is Sunny Zhang, an innovative and progressive educator who has been the Beacon Director at Aptos Beacon Community School in San Francisco since the…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2649237608?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2649237608?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="675" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-center"/></a><br/>By Manasa Chilakala</p>
<p>San Francisco has long been an epicenter of revolutionary movements from being a catalyst for LGBTQ+ rights to the groundbreaking technology of Silicon Valley. In this bustling city is Sunny Zhang, an innovative and progressive educator who has been the Beacon Director at Aptos Beacon Community School in San Francisco since the summer of 2018. Sunny is a part of a network of Beacon Directors who work together to improve education access and quality in San Francisco.</p>
<p>With a background in psychology and neuroscience, Sunny began to implement her knowledge into bettering the mental health facilities in her community. She pursued this passion by becoming a family advocate and school social worker before bringing her expertise to Aptos Beacon Community School.</p>
<p>As an avid lover of school and education, Sunny was intrigued about the connections between education and the steps that schools and higher education institutions were taking to support their students’ mental health. As a firm believer that the development of mental and psychological wellness and security make the student feel grounded and whole, not just the academics and grades demanded of them in traditional public schooling, Sunny began to explore how to improve a system that so many people viewed as broken.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2649250402?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2649250402?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>Sunny’s work speaks for itself, pushing against the status quo of public education. She expanded the wellness program at her middle school, and through the Community Youth Center of San Francisco and other nonprofits, provided more clinicians for mental health services and counseling for her students. She introduced the school to partnerships with the surrounding community, starting an after-school program that offers fantastic activities for students like surfing, theater, college and career counseling, and a robust Maker Lab where students could use new technologies and equipment, they might not have access to otherwise.</p>
<p>Sunny has even engineered skill building workshops for the whole family, centered around holistic health and wellness, including workshops for the whole school promoting yoga and other similar activities. She was also instrumental in preventing suspension and other punitive approaches by implementing tiered practices for restorative practices in her school district. She advocates for these progressive behavioral models that repair and prevent harm by encouraging self-reflection, critical thinking, and healthy methods of conflict resolution.</p>
<p>These efforts were not accomplished without some large challenges, namely coordination between her principal, the school district at-large, the Community Youth Center of San Francisco, and the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families. While everyone has the same vision and mission to uplift communities and students, even getting the messaging right on all sides can be a laborious process.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2649251744?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2649251744?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200" class="align-right"/></a>Sunny has also attempted to use the wonderful resources based in San Francisco, striving to leverage for-profit companies like Google who want to commit their philanthropic money to innovative educational ventures. However, Sunny has seen from experience that even partnerships with smaller for-profit companies can be tough -- the system often moves slowly, and many people from the principal to the school board need to sign off and approve various budgets and contracts. Despite these struggles, Sunny shows that perseverance and constant communication pay off, this time in the form of bringing in a new community partner to offer skateboarding classes for the afterschool program!</p>
<p>Although the San Francisco Beacon Initiative is in Year 1 of a 5-year launch, Sunny plans to solidify all the existing systems by the start of the next school year. This past year, they had to “build the plane as they were flying” while the repetition of trial and error became very familiar. Still, Sunny has succeeded in getting ahead of curve for her students, their families, and the teachers in the district. Her impact in the San Francisco community is perfectly exemplified by Maya Angelou’s words: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”</p>Dismantling Rural School Stereotypestag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2019-04-20:6557044:BlogPost:236202019-04-20T14:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2094057466?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650"></img></p>
<p>By Alisha Torres</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Community schools across the nation are well known and growing in urban areas. While some may think that community schools are unsustainable in rural communities, there’s one coordinator who says they’ve got it all wrong. With a total of 930 residents in her community, representing King Elementary School with King Pride from the Gateway to Chippewa Forest in Deer River, Minnesota, and recipient of the Coalition’s 2018…</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2094057466?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650" class="align-center"/></p>
<p>By Alisha Torres</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Community schools across the nation are well known and growing in urban areas. While some may think that community schools are unsustainable in rural communities, there’s one coordinator who says they’ve got it all wrong. With a total of 930 residents in her community, representing King Elementary School with King Pride from the Gateway to Chippewa Forest in Deer River, Minnesota, and recipient of the Coalition’s 2018 Educator Leadership Award, is Full-Service Community School Coordinator, Deanna Hron.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br/> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bzIEKhNvMbY?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p style="text-align: left;">As a veteran teacher, Deanna was dedicated to the community schools strategy in and outside of the classroom and led her school in social emotional learning and strong data practices. It was this commitment to equity that made her stand out as the best candidate to become her school’s coordinator as they ventured into their second year as a community school. <br/> <br/>
Deanna is on a mission to prove that rural districts can successfully sustain the community school strategy. Through meetings with the Minnesota Senate Education Committee, working with small local community groups, and building partnerships with the University of Minnesota, Deanna is spreading the news that rural community schools work. Just this past March, she attended a conference in New Mexico with the National Education Association where she demonstrated that rural communities are a vital and diverse component in the progression of community schools. <br/>
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Across Itasca County, King Elementary has some of the lowest attendance rates in the region. With this knowledge, Deanna turned her frustration into motivation as she and her team began to build awareness on the importance of attendance. Everyone has a role, including staff, students, parents, guardians, and community members, in achieving this goal. An unexcused or excused absence is not just a number on a student’s record—it’s a story to uncover and an opportunity to find the root cause. And eliminating families’ hesitancy to communicate with school faculty was the starting point for Deanna.<br/>
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“As we started to reach out and help our students’ families in various ways, other families began to reach out to us for things they usually would not typically reach out to a school for.” Deanna stated. The resources and services such as housing, legal advice, social work, and children’s dental care that the school was able to provide through Deanna’s collaborative efforts with the University of Minnesota built a foundation of trust that bridged the communication gap between the school, families, and community. As a result, parents began confidently calling to ask for help on basic necessities, and Deanna has witnessed several students’ attendance rates increase as well as student enrollment. <br/>
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In such a small town where the next neighboring community is just short of 15 miles away, Deanna was blown away by the amount of support she’s received from local leaders in Deer River. This was proof that the community school strategy is an effective, sustainable solution to addressing the equity issues in her rural community. <br/>
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By the end of the school year, Deanna hopes to establish more partnerships that are outside of her district with a broader range of social services. She continues to advocate through networking, spreading the word of the community school strategy, and sharing her story and its impact on her students, families, and community. Deanna strongly reminds everyone to “keep small schools in the back of your mind! Rural schools are where we need to go next!”</p>One Community School Coordinator, 35 Community Partners, and 1,000 people at the 1st ever “Ready 4 School” Event!tag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2019-03-18:6557044:BlogPost:232482019-03-18T22:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1488544703?profile=RESIZE_710x" style="padding: 5px;"></img></p>
<p>By Alisha Torres</p>
<p>Tucked away in the farthest northern corner of New York, bordered by Canada and a nearby Native American Reservation, you will find the village of Massena. Massena is a town of wonders. From fighting to keep Alcoa alive and putting a priority on excellent education, Massena, and its people, has shown what is possible when you leverage a community and its resources.</p>
<p>If you stop in at one of the schools, you may notice the slogan “Our Kids, Our…</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1488544703?profile=RESIZE_710x" style="padding: 5px;"/></p>
<p>By Alisha Torres</p>
<p>Tucked away in the farthest northern corner of New York, bordered by Canada and a nearby Native American Reservation, you will find the village of Massena. Massena is a town of wonders. From fighting to keep Alcoa alive and putting a priority on excellent education, Massena, and its people, has shown what is possible when you leverage a community and its resources.</p>
<p>If you stop in at one of the schools, you may notice the slogan “Our Kids, Our School, Our Community,” emblazoned on walls and teachers' doors, which was voted on by students, school staff, and community partners in Massena Central School District (MCSD). It is with this slogan in mind that MCSD hired their first Full Service Community School Coordinator, Kristin Colarusso Martin, in the fall of 2017. With a total of approximately 2,600 students, Martin sets out to bring the community into 3 elementary schools, a junior high, and a high school.</p>
<p>Martin has accomplished great success as a Coordinator with just under two years into her role. Through her prior employment, she built strong relationships with community partners while leading a drug-free coalition. Her connections, with the full support of the Massena Central School District Board of Education Superintendent Patrick Brady, resulted in a strong partnership between the school district and the surrounding community. In a meeting with a fellow faculty member, Martin states that while the program is a new ship, it has a lot of good rowers keeping the ship on course.</p>
<p>On a regular basis, Kristin reaches out to community partners such as law enforcement, local firefighters, not for profits, faith-based organizations, and colleges. Through this network, Martin organizes accessible resources for students and families in need of basic necessities such as clothing, shelter, or food, and also promotes their wins by alerting her network when they meet a student or family’s need. While Martin is known for her big scale effect on the students, many do not note the countless amounts of school supplies, clothes, guidance, and smiles she provides for students on any given day.</p>
<p>In August 2018, Massena’s Community Schools Initiative hosted their first ever “Ready 4 School” event prior to the start of the academic school year. Having identified the fact that many students start the school year without all of the supplies that they need, the Community Schools Team set out to try to level the playing field for all students.</p>
<p>At Ready 4 School, school supplies, gently used clothing, books, and food were donated to over 1,000 students and families. Volunteer hairdressers provided free haircuts to students, and community partners set up informational tables to connect families with needed resources. This collaboration between the school and Martin's wide network of community partners helped to support the Massena community as they face increasing rates of unemployment, poverty, and substance abuse.</p>
<p>According to Martin, community schools are all about bringing everyone to the table to figure out how to lift up students and their families. Furthermore, community schools provide resources and aid that are invaluable to the community, while also provided a platform for the community to give back.</p>
<p>Cesar Chavez provides a quote that best sums up Martin’s approach to community schools: “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.”</p>Coordinator Spolight - Spohia Domevilletag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2019-02-13:6557044:BlogPost:233352019-02-13T21:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1046018355?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1046018355?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a> By: Xue Lin Wang</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sophia Domeville wears many hats. She is a Community School Director, the School Operations Manager, and a Haitian American Abstract Expressionist. Domeville’s career at Belmont Runyon Community School has allowed her to channel her interests to create a platform to…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1046018355?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1046018355?profile=RESIZE_710x"/></a>By: Xue Lin Wang</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sophia Domeville wears many hats. She is a Community School Director, the School Operations Manager, and a Haitian American Abstract Expressionist. Domeville’s career at Belmont Runyon Community School has allowed her to channel her interests to create a platform to support student success through the Arts into one avenue.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For the past three years, Domeville has served as a Community School Director, spending one year at Spencer Miller Community School and now is entering her 2rd year at Belmont Runyon Community School. As a Community School Director and an Artist, Domeville takes an artistic approach with her coordination. Mix her rich background in art with the students she serves, and the final product is an amalgamation of creativity.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Domeville’s passion for art shines brightly through her work as a Community School Director. At Belmont Runyon Community School, one of her projects, “We Found Our Way: Newark Portraits from The Great Migration” is a partnership Domeville coordinated with the Newark Public Library where she developed an interactive gallery inside the school to promote</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> learning and family outreach throughout Newark with portraits of the local community during the Great Migration.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Students, families, and staff were able to learn about their own roots as well as the stories of Newark’s African American citizens who migrated to the city. This gallery is significant as roughly 52% of Newark’s population is Black or African American. Through the collection of narratives and a historical tour of Newark, students as well as families were able piece together how the Great Migration impacted the city of Newark and proudly be able to celebrate their ancestry.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Integrating the arts into learning does not stop at the students, parents are also engaged. In collaboration with the school’s Parent, Teacher, Student Association (PTSA), Domeville has worked to coordinate sewing classes, Monthly Book Clubs curated by parents that provided free books, library cards, and additional writing workshops through their Newark Public Library partnership, among many other classes to help parents rediscover their talents.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Through a grant written by Domeville and community partners, Dramatic Impact Organization was able to provide a free Family Literacy event giving K-2 families the opportunity to be actively involved in their children's academic and social growth, while helping build positive family relationships. The session engaged over 80 families in storytelling and puppetry activities that strengthened language arts literacy skills and supported the development of communication and interpersonal skills.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With all these artistic activities ,Domeville said her work is still community-driven. The school provides the platform for these activities, but the energy comes from the students, parents, and teachers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For example, when there was a need for job training and support classes, Domeville partnered with the South Ward Child Alliance to meet the need. The classes were eight weeks long and offered incentives such as free childcare or one month of free rent to encourage families to attend. Once families completed the class, a graduation ceremony was held to celebrate their achievements.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sophia Domeville’s resume is flowing with accomplishments as she purses her Masters in Educational Leadership at New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development with a focus on Advocacy and Education Policy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Domeville’s favorite part about working at Belmont Runyon Community School, besides combining her passion of community activism and art education, is the students and working with the Southward community. Although Domeville has been a Community School Director for three and a half years now, she still manages ways to find to discover something new in the South Ward area.</span></p>Coordinator Spotlight - Savanity Davistag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2019-01-11:6557044:BlogPost:229042019-01-11T16:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/726140878?profile=RESIZE_710x" style="padding: 5px;"></img></p>
<p>By Xue Lin Wang</p>
<p>While some community school coordinators prefer smaller sized schools, Savanity Davis does the opposite—she seeks larger sized schools. At P.S. 19 Marino Jeantet, a Community Learning School, Davis has served as the Community School Director for over 2,000 students for the past three years. <br></br> <br></br> Located in Queens, New York, P.S. 19 Marino Jeantet is the nation’s largest public elementary school. P.S. 19 serves grades kindergarten to 5th, with…</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/726140878?profile=RESIZE_710x" style="padding: 5px;"/></p>
<p>By Xue Lin Wang</p>
<p>While some community school coordinators prefer smaller sized schools, Savanity Davis does the opposite—she seeks larger sized schools. At P.S. 19 Marino Jeantet, a Community Learning School, Davis has served as the Community School Director for over 2,000 students for the past three years. <br/> <br/> Located in Queens, New York, P.S. 19 Marino Jeantet is the nation’s largest public elementary school. P.S. 19 serves grades kindergarten to 5th, with each grade level averaging around 400 students, and employs more than 200 teachers and six assistant principals. Queens has increasingly become reflective of New York’s reputation as a city of immigrants, and P.S. 19, with 73 % of its students designated as English language learners, 90% are Latinx, and 10% of South Asian, aligns with this profile. <br/> <br/> Coordinating for over 2,000 students and 200 teachers is no easy task, nevertheless, Davis loves the work she does.<br/> <br/> Davis believes a Community School Director works to find solutions that can address the student as a whole: academically, physically and social-emotionally. Davis’ approach to the work emanates from her fidelity to the New York City Community Learning School Initiative’s (CLS) model developed in partnership with the city’s teacher union, the United Federation of Teachers. Following the CLS model, Davis’ solutions come in many forms either with funding, or without funding, because effective intervention services and programming must be sustainable, and not dictated by the fluctuations in school budgets. This role demands that she thinks creatively to address not only the student’s needs, but also the needs of families and the staff. Teachers especially benefit from professional learning sessions Davis guides them to, customized for Community Learning Schools.<br/> <br/> Davis’s ability to create meaningful and caring relationships with families is extraordinary. The activities and events Davis coordinate extends past the students and into their families and the surrounding South Ozone Park community. <br/> <br/> On a biweekly basis, Davis arranges a food pantry with Food Bank NYC to feed 330 families. She connects families to resources; for instance, how to obtain the correct immigration documents and lawyers. Through professional development offered by the CLS central team, Davis connected with Smile New York Dental, bringing free dental services to the elementary school students. She works to host ESL classes throughout the year. Davis leveraged the UFT’s relationship with the Hispanic Federation to solve two needs: kindergartens facing academic challenges and their parents seeking to help with homework. Together, Davis and the Hispanic Federation developed a program to teach parents best practices to help with homework, which, in turn, helps children get the most from working independently and perform better in school.</p>
<p>On average, over 250 parents are actively engaged in their children’s academics. These high levels of family engagement reflects the cultural values of the Latinx and South Asian population, and the effectiveness of P.S. 19’s parent coordinator and collaboration with Davis and CLS.</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/726124220?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="700" style="padding: 5px;"/><br/>With a $15,000 grant from the mayor’s office, Davis secured tutoring services from Sylvan Learning Center, the top provider of quality tutoring programs nationwide. Davis deepened the relationship, bringing Sylvan on to P.S. 19’s advisory board as a partner and decision-maker for the Community Learning School. The partner even donated $100 for Thanksgiving turkeys.<br/> <br/> The number of projects Davis brings to P.S. 19 is incredible. Her seamless integration of CLS pillars from health and wellness to academic and educator support, to family and community engagement, weaved with the school administration’s academic and extra-curricular program is paying dividends—P.S. 19 has an attendance rate of 98%. <br/> <br/> Before any community school coordinator steps into his/her role, Davis recommends investing in a coffee machine and furthermore, investing in a good coffee mug that has a sturdy lid. The role can get overwhelming and coordinators need to understand that the work performed for one school may not be applicable to the next. However, Davis wants to highlight that there are many resources and support available to guide coordinators every step of the way.</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Amani Coker-Warrentag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-12-12:6557044:BlogPost:222592018-12-12T22:30:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/340887608?profile=original&width=675" width="675"></img></p>
<p>By Xue Lin Wang</p>
<p>“I want to establish a system and support with the staff and team where they can be self-efficient,” says Amani Coker-Warren, “to the point where I am out of a job.” Parents do not have a handbook for schools and Coker-Warren believes her role as a Community School Coordinator is to support parents and connect teachers and staff to the community. Coordinators are the connectors and the ones who assess the needs of the staff, students, and families and…</p>
<p><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/340887608?profile=original&width=675" width="675" class="align-center"/></p>
<p>By Xue Lin Wang</p>
<p>“I want to establish a system and support with the staff and team where they can be self-efficient,” says Amani Coker-Warren, “to the point where I am out of a job.” Parents do not have a handbook for schools and Coker-Warren believes her role as a Community School Coordinator is to support parents and connect teachers and staff to the community. Coordinators are the connectors and the ones who assess the needs of the staff, students, and families and makes it happen. However, Coker-Warren never dreamt about being a Community School Coordinator. She originally entered the education field as a teacher with a social work background. After realizing she was not prepared to support the whole child academically, she came across the Community School Coordinator position and never looked back.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/340934313?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/340934313?profile=original&width=300" width="300" class="align-left" style="padding: 3px;"/></a>This year marks Coker-Warren’s 4th year as a Community School Coordinator at Eutaw-Marshbum Elementary School. On a regular basis, Coker-Warren coordinates activities for over 250 students, from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade, and their families. Her experience as a coordinator has been successful as her coworkers are supportive of her role and work she does.</p>
<p>One of the most successful activities Coker-Warren has coordinated are weekly sessions of restorative practice. Popularly used in the criminal justice field, restorative practice is an emerging social science that studies how to strengthen and repair relationships between individuals and communities. The purpose of the practice is to build healthy communities, increase social capital, decrease antisocial behaviors, repair harm, and restore relationships. This practice takes a restorative rather than punitive approach to discipline by encouraging students to be accountable for their actions and find ways to “make things right” with those they have harmed.</p>
<p>Coker-Warren serves as the lead for the practice and supports and leads training for teachers, support staff, and volunteers. By implementing restorative practice throughout the school, students could exercise their voice and ownership in the classroom. Once a week for 10 minutes, students “drop everything and restore” and reflect upon anything their heart desires including their feelings, homework assignments, or activities. By giving students the opportunity and outlet to discuss their feelings, behavioral issues and suspensions at Eutaw-Marshbum has drastically decreased.<a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/340937074?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/340937074?profile=original&width=300" width="300" class="align-right" style="padding: 3px;"/></a></p>
<p>And the demand for more time to be allocated towards restorative practice has been huge. This past school year, a 4th grade class experienced the loss of a teacher due to medical leave. As a result, the 4th grade class joined another class, and mental health partners conducted restorative practices three times a week for the students. At the end of the school year, the students reflected that the time gave them the ability to express their feeling in a safe space.</p>
<p>As a veteran in the field of education both as a teacher and Community School Coordinator, Coker-Warren advises new Coordinators to pace yourself and do not coordinate alone. Make friends with your coworkers and learn about the issues existing in the school and community. Children do want to be at school, however, there are other issues such as family or emotional matters that could be holding them back. By being present and supporting the child as a whole, you also support the child’s educators and families, and in result, evolves into strong relationships and positive accomplishments to come. </p>Coordinator Spotlight - Kendra Berrytag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-11-16:6557044:BlogPost:221242018-11-16T16:46:32.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/135393416?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/135393416?profile=original&width=650" width="650"></img></a></p>
<p>By Xue Lin Wang</p>
<p>In the valleys of Knox County, TN, Kendra Berry enters Vine Middle School every day with the motto “Coordinate, not do.” Between building a successful soccer program from scratch to establishing positive relationships with community partners and families, Berry’s motto, which was instilled in by a veteran colleague, has carried…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/135393416?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/135393416?profile=original&width=650" width="650" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>By Xue Lin Wang</p>
<p>In the valleys of Knox County, TN, Kendra Berry enters Vine Middle School every day with the motto “Coordinate, not do.” Between building a successful soccer program from scratch to establishing positive relationships with community partners and families, Berry’s motto, which was instilled in by a veteran colleague, has carried her far. She is one of sixteen Community School Coordinators under Knox County’s Great Schools Partnership and only one of three Coordinators at the middle school level. <br/><br/> Berry’s proudest accomplishment at Vine thus far is organizing a soccer program. In a region with a high refugee and immigrant population, it was difficult to find a common ground for all the students. Or at least it was difficult until Berry and her colleagues took initiative. <br/><br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/135393063?profile=original&width=300" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/135393063?profile=original&width=300" width="300" class="align-right" style="padding: 5px;"/></a>At the request of the students, parents, teaching staff, and community influencers, the Vine Soccer Team was re-launched after being dormant for 20 years. It seemed like the most logical choice as soccer, or known more commonly as football by non-Americans, was the universal language among the students. During their first season, the co-ed soccer team was comprised of twenty 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students and represented eight different countries: Burundi, Congo, Guatemala, Iraq, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United States. <br/><br/> Although the Vine Soccer Program is not an official sport at Vine Middle School, it is a community event. Parents are ecstatic that their children have an opportunity to channel their energy; teachers are thrilled to hear about the students finding “their place” in their new community; and the community is supportive of the team and helps fundraise for new equipment and travel expenses. The program has provided students with a sense of belonging, and the comfort of something familiar while living in Tennessee. And as an added bonus, soccer serves as a great learning experience to learn about teamwork and eye-foot coordination.<br/><br/> Entering into its second year, this soccer program has been valuable not only for the students, but teachers as well. Teachers have reported an increase in engagement from the students in their assignments when the students are allowed to write about the soccer team. Additionally, Vine Middle School saw increases in school attendance, increase in grades, and a decrease in behavioral incidences. <br/><br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/135393202?profile=original&width=300" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/135393202?profile=original&width=300" width="300" class="align-left" style="padding: 5px;"/></a>Berry has achieved great success as a Community School Coordinator for Vine Middle School, and she credits this to delegating in lieu of doing. She believes the role of a Community School Coordinator is to ensure the day-to-day activities in a school will run smoothly, even if a Coordinator is not there, rather than create activities that are dependent on the Coordinator. <br/><br/> Berry passes along the advice that Coordinators need to remind themselves they’re doing a great job. The role of the Coordinator is demanding and no two days are the same, however, when you see the students grinning ear to ear, you’ll know that all the time spent applying for grants or creating an open pipeline between the school and community is worth the moments filled with smiles.</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Rachel Thapatag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-10-02:6557044:BlogPost:215962018-10-02T18:55:08.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832541?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832541?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></a></p>
<p>By Gwen Klein</p>
<p>Rachel Thapa’s favorite thing about being a coordinator is that it’s not just hopeful, but that it’s also realistic. “It’s not just pretending that things aren’t there, but its dismantling them in a way that allows students to feel hopeful and supported every day,” Thapa said.</p>
<p>She has surely taken this statement…</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832541?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832541?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>By Gwen Klein</p>
<p>Rachel Thapa’s favorite thing about being a coordinator is that it’s not just hopeful, but that it’s also realistic. “It’s not just pretending that things aren’t there, but its dismantling them in a way that allows students to feel hopeful and supported every day,” Thapa said.</p>
<p>She has surely taken this statement to heart, as she has worked tirelessly in her two years as a coordinator at Lincoln Park Middle School, to dismantle systems and create solutions to obstacles that students once faced daily.</p>
<p>When she first got to Duluth, public transportation near the school proved to be a huge barrier for students, teachers, and families. The middle school is located at the top of a hill, and in the winter, it can become unsafe for student’s to make the icy trek.</p>
<p>Thapa used her understanding of the community and families to organize a grassroots campaign to encourage the city to establish a bus route that covered the school. Now there is hourly bus service in her school’s district that runs up and down the hill.</p>
<p>This has allowed school attendance to increase, where students might have just skipped the whole day if they had missed their morning school bus before. The change has allowed parents to become present more often in the school building, whether for programming, events, or meetings with school staff. She has also witnessed a shift in community partners becoming more involved in school life.</p>
<p>The public bus service solution was one of her first objectives when she began as a coordinator. When reflecting on this experience, she recommend that other coordinators “begin their positions by listening well and with grace and humility.” She recalls coming in feeling like she was very familiar with Duluth’s education problems based on her past experience. But, she quickly realized that each school has very specific issues to address. The only way to understand these obstacles, she argued, is by truly listening to students and families at the start of a transition.</p>
<p>Some of the other successful programs that she has coordinated since the public transport advocacy include a Shoot for the Stars STEM camp, which is a week-long summer camp at a local college, St. Scholastica. This opportunity allows her students to continue learning over the summer, while getting a little flavor of what it’s like to be a college student.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832606?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300"/> <img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235833021?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300"/></p>
<p>She also coordinates parent teacher home visits, which has made family engagement more accessible. “Research shows that it helps change assumptions that families have about the school and that teachers have about the families,” Thapa said. She confirms that it has made a difference in attitudes of both teachers and parents.</p>
<p>She has also co-chaired an initiative for a Health Action Plan that would allow an increase in health partnerships within Duluth, which was recently named a Coalition for Community Schools Health Focus Site. She thinks that an emphasis on health-based partnerships is an essential next step for Lincoln Park in better the school environment even further.</p>
<p>Although she puts in hard work to coordinate these initiatives, along with many others she has led in the last year, her work has been nothing but enjoyable to her. “Coordinators have a unique role in learning about the strengths of the community and further building partnerships for the school,” Thapa said. “That’s why I love it.”</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Gwendolyn Unokotag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-09-04:6557044:BlogPost:213312018-09-04T18:30:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832506?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832506?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>By Gwen Klein <br></br><br></br> When 40 year old Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary School transitioned to a community school seven years ago, Gwendolyn Unoko took on the role of a coordinator, and aided the school in its successful transformation into a community school over the next six years.…</p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832506?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832506?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>By Gwen Klein <br/><br/> When 40 year old Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary School transitioned to a community school seven years ago, Gwendolyn Unoko took on the role of a coordinator, and aided the school in its successful transformation into a community school over the next six years.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832537?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832537?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right" style="padding: 5px;"/></a>Now, as the Rodwell community school transitions once again, to include middle school students next year in addition to just elementary, Unoko is presented with a new challenge. Although few professionals get excited about a bigger workload, coordinator Gwendolyn Unoko is looking forward to successfully incorporating more than 200 new students next fall. Unoko is “looking forward to more success stories at Rodwell,” instead of worrying about the daunting task.</p>
<p>Unoko’s positive energy has allowed her to become one of the key leaders in the Rodwell community since it started as a community school. She is responsible for a lot of the school’s coordinating and programming that has allowed the school to thrive.</p>
<p>“[Coordinators] are the key person that the family will be able to contact and can tell their stories to. As a result, it’s the coordinators responsibility to come up with some solutions for the families and communities,” Unoko said. She has provided nothing short of incredible solutions and opportunities for both her students and families in the past six years.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832610?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832610?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-left" style="padding: 5px;"/></a>A few years back, Unoko coordinated a tennis program after school with a new teacher at Rodwell, who is an avid player. The program started out small with only a handful of students, and even without a tennis court. But, this did not stop the two staff members’ persistent positive energy and encouragement towards the program.</p>
<p>The tennis program won The Regional and Diversity Inclusion Award and, as a result, these staff members and their students in tennis were awarded the opportunity to attend the US Open. “I see it as a rich, expanded learning opportunity,” Unoko said. “I hope it will ignite hope in our students that any one of them could be out on those courts one day.”</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832717?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832717?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right" style="padding: 5px;"/></a>As if the U.S. Open wasn’t enough, the program has pushed even more boundaries since then. Now, the first hour of the school’s tennis program consists of an hour-long discussion with policemen about race relations every week. Afterwards, the two groups bond over the game of tennis, and even all share a free meal after they’re finished playing.</p>
<p>Unoko has organized countless other programs, including one where local Towson University students come in and aide for students during the day. While these college students help teach, they also instill faith in the Rodwell students that they too can attend college in their future.</p>
<p>As a veteran coordinator, Unoko’s top piece of advice to newer coordinators is “to get to know your school and families first.” Her favorite thing about her job is not just creating new opportunities for students, but also for parents. “There something special about connecting [parents and families] with the right resources,” she said.</p>
<p>For example, when two students who had to move farther away from the school when their father lost his job started having attendance issues, Unoko took initiative and investigated the problem by calling the family to ask what had happened.</p>
<p>When she learned that the father was unemployed and heard about their resulting move, she worked with the Rodwell principal to help the father find a job. “We understand that there is no separation of family life and school life, it is often directly connected,” she said. As a result of their efforts, the family was able to move back to their old neighborhood and the children resumed their perfect attendance streak.</p>
<p>Although her school has had immense success since its humble beginnings, she refuses to take any credit for it. “It’s not me, it’s everyone who understands the community school strategy and the vision,” Unoko said. “In successful community schools, everyone must work together.”</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Curtesa Vanderpooltag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-08-17:6557044:BlogPost:213202018-08-17T19:12:02.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235834856?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235834856?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="700"></img></a></p>
<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong></p>
<p>Evans Community Partnership School is in the heart of Pine Hills, FL where we have the opportunity to educate close to 2500 students. Prior to becoming a Community Partnership School, Evans was labeled a “dropout…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235834856?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="700" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235834856?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="700" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong></p>
<p>Evans Community Partnership School is in the heart of Pine Hills, FL where we have the opportunity to educate close to 2500 students. Prior to becoming a Community Partnership School, Evans was labeled a “dropout factory” by Johns Hopkins University. Since Evans became a Community Partnership School almost 8 years ago, student test scores and other metrics have significantly increased. Evans’ graduation rate has improved from 64 percent in the 2010-2011 school year (when CPS efforts began) to 87 percent in the 2016-2017 school year.</p>
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<p><strong>2. Why do you do what you do?</strong></p>
<p>I do what I do because in the eyes of every student, parent, and staff member, I see one of <em>MY</em> family members therefore it is personal for me.</p>
<p><strong>3. Can you tell me a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</strong></p>
<p>I worked with a 15 year old young lady who overcame several traumatic experiences. She is a survivor of sex trafficking and the perpetrator was her mother’s boyfriend. After the incident was reported, she was removed from her home for a few weeks. She and mom did not have the best relationship and were involved in several verbal and physical altercations. During one physical altercation, this student was arrested and brought to the Juvenile Detention Center. Two summers ago, she was in a very dark place so I connected her to the counseling program for services. That same summer she was Baker Acted on campus due to severe self harm injuries that were very noticeable and she also admitted to having suicidal thoughts. After the therapeutic intervention into a mental health facility, the student returned to school and continued counseling through her Senior year. I am very proud of her. As a single mother of 2 (ages 3 yrs. & 8 months old), she continued attending school with the help of support programs that covered her daycare expenses and she was able to comfortably pump her breast milk during the school day and store it in order to feed her son once she arrived home.</p>
<p>Now 17 years old, she recently graduated and is planning to go into the military and study to become a trauma surgeon.</p>
<p><strong>4. One of your students, Sarai Antoine, recently won the Youth Leadership Award at the 2018 National Forum. As a coordinator, how do you support your students’ leadership development and foster a culture of youth empowerment at your school?</strong></p>
<p>At Evans High School-A Community Partnership School, we are fortunate to have a variety of leadership groups on campus. One such group is the Student Leadership Council (SLC); the student branch of the community school. I invest an enormous amount of time into the group especially the executive board. During our many meetings, I model leadership, encourage their ideas and develop their leadership skills through hands-on training. They also have a seat at the table during our Executive Cabinet meetings where all of the higher level Community School leaders set the vision and direction for the community school. Our students have an equal vote and voice.</p>
<p><strong>5. What are your biggest challenges?</strong></p>
<p>Time and Money. There is never enough time to do everything that I desire and never enough money at our disposal to do it!</p>
<p><strong>6. What is the one thing you want to accomplish the most by the end of the next school year?</strong></p>
<p>The one thing that I want to accomplish the most by the end of next school year is to create a culture of health on campus for students and staff members that is sustainable beyond my time at Evans High School-A Community Partnership School. <br/><br/> <strong>7. As coordinators across the country get ready to go back to school, what’s one piece of advice you would give to other coordinators?</strong></p>
<p>Stay positive and remember to practice “self-care”. If you are not healthy mentally and physically, everyone in your sphere of influence will be negatively affected. Get Healthy, Be Healthy, Stay Healthy!</p>
<p><strong>8. What’s one quote that you live by?</strong><br/> <br/>“What we believe, we manifest.” <br/> <br/><em>If we believe that our students can be successful, they will be.</em> <br/> <em>If we believe that our families can be successful, they will be.</em></p>Coordinator Spotlight - Bruce Wallertag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-07-23:6557044:BlogPost:209102018-07-23T21:33:56.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832792?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832792?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></a></p>
<p>By Gwen Klein</p>
<p>Every Tuesday night, the smell of warm cooked dinner lures a mass of students, with their parents and siblings in tow, into the inviting cafeteria of Asheville Middle School. Teachers, administrators, and other staff greet families and roam the buzzing room, pausing at certain tables to engage parents in conversation.…</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832792?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832792?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"/></a></p>
<p>By Gwen Klein</p>
<p>Every Tuesday night, the smell of warm cooked dinner lures a mass of students, with their parents and siblings in tow, into the inviting cafeteria of Asheville Middle School. Teachers, administrators, and other staff greet families and roam the buzzing room, pausing at certain tables to engage parents in conversation. Families dine on the cost-free catering services as they get to know the rest of their community and begin to feel more comfortable in the school building. <br/> <br/>After dinner, tutors -- both paid and volunteers -- pour themselves over the homework of students in all grades K-12, patiently helping them work through their complex math problems or essay writing. During this time, families have time to browse the colorful array of community tables that line the edges of the room. Each table encourages families to become even more involved in the community by attending the events of different businesses and community organizations.<br/> <br/><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832932?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832932?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-left"/></a>At the core of the event, known in Asheville as Homework Diners, lies coordinator Bruce Waller of Asheville Middle School. He has allowed the Homework Diners in his district to grow from only a couple of families to hundreds of community members.<br/> <br/>“If you don’t have love in the center of your work, then your strategy and infrastructure will fail,” Waller said. This is the foundation that inspires coordinator Bruce Waller every day. His students, families, and relationships are the heart of his work as a coordinator, and he works tirelessly to design programs and partnerships for them, just like Homework Diners do successfully.<br/><br/> Although Waller is new at his job, only joining the coordinating community in January, becoming a coordinator with his fresh energy and ambition have allowed him to get a lot done in his first few months. He serves Asheville Middle School in the Asheville City School District, where the community schools are run by the United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County.<br/><br/> “At Asheville MS, I connect the school to the community and the community to the school using several different strategies,” Waller said. He highlights parent and student engagement and infrastructure as some of the things that he focuses most heavily on in his job, and some items that were not exactly present when he stepped into his position in the beginning.<br/><br/> In his first few months, he designed programming to support not only his students, but also their families and the greater community. Besides allowing Homework Diners to grow significantly, Waller implemented a program called “Race to the Test” in order to encourage students to relax and even become excited about end-of-year testing.<br/><br/> As a result, when testing came around in May, so did breakfast buffets and endless high-fives. “We made T-Shirts for proctors that had slogans on them like ‘Hey, you can do it!’ And we gave students a different type of breakfast that let them feel really supported in the morning beforehand,” Waller said. “Even giving them material about testing to take home to their parents to show them, like, this is what we got going on so they can be in the know.” He pulled proctors from all over the district and put emphasis in making sure they were supported and would be able to calm students down if they needed to.<br/><br/> Waller noted that teachers, administrators, and other staff members are often too busy in their own important scopes of practice to focus on something like promoting a positive testing environment. “Community school coordinators are vital because everyone is playing their part, and the gap is that you don't have an individual focusing on the positive things in children and the community and how to bring it out and support it,” he said. “I love being able to fill that role.”</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Samantha Garretttag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-06-18:6557044:BlogPost:208022018-06-18T16:25:50.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832067?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832067?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></a></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</b></span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership (MCSP) is a collective strategy to transform schools into a place where students, families, staff, and the surrounding community can work together to ensure every student is successful. The MCSP model embodies three core values:</span></p>
<ul style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; list-style-image: none; list-style-xg-p: outside; list-style-type: none; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;">
<li style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; font-size: 14.4px; list-style-image: none; list-style-xg-p: outside; list-style-type: square; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">Shared Leadership</strong>: To transform how schools make decisions by engaging diverse stakeholders to participate in the development and ownership of local strategies.</span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; font-size: 14.4px; list-style-image: none; list-style-xg-p: outside; list-style-type: square; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">Equity:</strong> To transform how schools collect and use data; recruit, align, and manage partnerships and resources to ensure students, families, and staff have the resources they need to be successful.</span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; font-size: 14.4px; list-style-image: none; list-style-xg-p: outside; list-style-type: square; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 3px 36px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">Cultural Relevance:</strong> To transform how schools relate and interact with their students, families, and community in a more culturally relevant and restorative way leading to positive school cultures, strong relational trust, and high quality teaching.</span></li>
</ul>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Why do you do what you do?</b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Education is increasingly highlighted as fundamental to the advancement of societies as well as essential to opportunity for individuals. Both the opportunity, but also the right, are too frequently unequal and arbitrarily secured. Girls have too often been shortchanged. Poverty and conflict are frequently obstacles. Racism and bias color our policies and procedures. Sixty year after <em>Brown v. Board of Education</em>, the separate but equal falsehood is reestablishing itself. Schools seem to be moving backwards in time. While segregation, as it is practiced today, may be different than it was 60 years ago, it is no less pernicious. In Milwaukee today, many black students attend a school that looks as if <em>Brown v. Board of Education</em> never happened. I see community schools as a strategy to change this momentum and create more spaces of equity to ensure all activities are fair and just so that all can participate, prosper and reach their full potential. </span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">3. <b style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">Last year, your students created a Community Schools Youth Council with the purpose of</b> <strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: transparent 0px; border: 0px #000000; text-align: left; color: #000000; text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; cursor: text; orphans: 2; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">“improving our schools and communities by holding dialogues and activating student leaders to make our voices heard.” How has the council made an impact in your school? What is your role in supporting them?</strong></strong></span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; color: #000000; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235836178?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="265" class="align-right" style="background: none; margin: 5px 0px 10px 25px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; height: 183px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; max-width: 737px; float: right;" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235836178?profile=RESIZE_320x320"/></a>Last year, a small group of students, along with my help, created the Community Schools Youth Council (CSYC) to be able to come together and talk about what concerns them and what they can do about it. I led the students through several sessions centered on core practices of organizing and leadership development using the same practices I use with our school teams and committees, by focusing on shared leadership as a core value. Through that process they created a shared purpose to guide their future strategies. JMAC’s Community School Youth Council agreed to share the purpose of “improving our schools and communities by holding dialogues and activating student leaders to make our voices heard.”</span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I brought the students to a Deliberative Dialogue training conducted through UW-Milwaukee to learn group facilitation techniques. With these new skills, the CSYC invited students and teachers to participate in conversations to collect key concerns. After gathering hundreds of concerns, the students grouped them into categories and came up with 5 main themes of concerns, and then they generated recommendations under each of those main themes which they presented back out to the groups assembled from the initial concern gathering. Next year, they will be putting those recommendations into an action plan. One of the students in the group said, “I believe putting in the work will pay off in the end because we are very serious about creating our action plan. We really want to make a difference.”</span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">4.</strong> <b style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">What advice would you give to other coordinators who want to increase student voice and leadership in their schools?</b></span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The students are your biggest source of information and motivation. As schools, we need to do a better job of realizing and recognizing that students are our clients. Schools exist to serve our students, so we have an obligation to involve them in the process and decision making. The most important way to do this is to create the space for them to get together and talk about their concerns, freely without adults trying to control the dialogue. When the students really started talking, they were not asking for recess all day, or no tests ever, or for the end of things that we think they don’t like about school. They want to be authentically engaged, listened to, respected, and loved. Find a way to give them space, trust, and authenticity, and they will be your greatest partners in creating loving and supportive schools. Know that it is more about listening than talking, more assisting than doing, and more supporting than shining.</span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">5. </strong><b style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">What are your biggest challenges?</b></span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">My biggest challenge is resistance to change within people. The kind of work we do takes a growth mindset, and not everyone involved in the school system is there yet. Not everyone sees the same value in shared leadership, equity, and cultural relevance. These are not buzz words. These are values people need to live by and not give lip service to when they feel like it. </span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">6.</strong> <b style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">What was one of your biggest takeaways or highlights from the Community Schools National Forum last month?</b></span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Wow! There are a whole lot of us out there doing a whole lot of great work! I see you coordinators! I see you out there grinding and shining! Keep up the great work everyone!</span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">As a result of the creation of the CSYC at James Madison, one of our students got invited to be on the closing plenary. She joined a plenary panel discussion with civil rights activist Roscoe Jones, Sr. to talk about <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CoalitionforCommunityschools/videos/10156225539844280/" target="_self">what youth activism looks like today</a></span><strong><a style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; color: #000000; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" href="https://www.facebook.com/CoalitionforCommunityschools/videos/10156225539844280/"></a></strong>. She shared examples of the changes she has seen at JMAC since becoming a community school and the things she wishes more adults would know and understand about youth today. When talking about why community schools are needed and what role does a school play in a community, she shared, “we need to make sure that the community around the school is involved in the school…people that live near the school know that these are all of our students and they can help keep us safe.” She also added her call to action: “My charge for the adults: Be consistent. Keep giving opportunities, keep opening doors, care for us, and keep teaching us. Because WE ARE the future and WE won’t let you down.” </span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">7. <b style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">As the school year comes to a close, what advice would you give coordinators as they prepare for the next school year?</b></strong></span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The summer is when I do my most amount of planning and strategizing. It’s really hard sometimes to have the time to sit back and really think through persistent issues while simultaneously dealing with the pressures of your day to day work load. So, I really take the summer months, along with my Principal, to think through different strategies to try for the next school year. I recommend using your summer months to dig deep and challenge yourself to critically think about how your next year can be even better than the last, how you can create change and continuous improvement. </span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 14.4px 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">8. What’s one quote that you live by?</strong></span></p>
<p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; min-height: 14.4px; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none #000000;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. <em style="background: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px #000000; vertical-align: baseline;">-Benjamin Franklin</em></span></p>Coordinator Spotlight - Hallie Atwatertag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-04-14:6557044:BlogPost:203552018-04-14T19:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
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<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong></p>
<p>The Renaissance Academy High School community has been through many ups and downs but through it all, our central vision of student empowerment and social justice leadership has remained ever strong. Principal Rowe and the staff at Renaissance believe in the transformative nature of deep and lasting relationships…</p>
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<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong></p>
<p>The Renaissance Academy High School community has been through many ups and downs but through it all, our central vision of student empowerment and social justice leadership has remained ever strong. Principal Rowe and the staff at Renaissance believe in the transformative nature of deep and lasting relationships between caring adults and students. We believe that students must feel a sense of belonging and safety at school before they can begin to unpack their personal histories in a way that enables healing. Then, academic success and future planning may flow naturally with the support of a carefully curated menu of programming and supports.</p>
<p>The Community School Team at Renaissance manages over 40 partnerships in order to leverage resources to serve students, families, and community members in six key impact categories: health and social supports, academic enrichment, community development, youth development, college and career, and family engagement.</p>
<p>Every community school is tailored to the unique needs of a specific group of people; at Renaissance it’s about creating and maintaining a family vibe where each students knows that he or she can be him or herself and seek help when needed.<br/> <br/> <strong>2. Why do you do what you do?</strong></p>
<p>All people deserve the feeling and the reality of self-determination in their lives. People should be able to exercise informed consent in all things. We all know that there are many historical and contemporary man-made reasons why this is not the case for so many people. I work as a Community School Coordinator to help create the conditions through which every individual can build the life he or she wishes to lead.</p>
<p><strong>3. Congratulations! You will be receiving the inaugural <a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/community-schools-national-forum-2018/custom-22-82171a50f2dc46578f8c395ba07b07b6.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coordinator Leadership Award</a> at the upcoming Community Schools National Forum! One of the main reasons why you were selected was because of your leadership and perseverance to keep your school open when the school board announced Renaissance Academy would close in 2016. Tell us about that experience and how you worked with your families and student to keep the school open.</strong></p>
<p>First I would just like to acknowledge that I am simply part of an amazing team. I could not support students if it weren’t for my lead agency team, Promise Heights, or my school team, Renaissance Academy. I am just one of many fierce change agents working for equity in community schools every day – and I never forget it. I am honored to be receiving this award.</p>
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<p>Our fight to keep Renaissance Academy High School open was so important to us because we believe that we serve a very specific high-need student population that is not served many other places in Baltimore City. For us, it was truly a question of equity and access to education. We prioritized providing opportunities for students, family members, and community members to tell their own individual stories about how Renaissance Academy and Promise Heights had changed their lives at community meetings, faculty meetings, school board meetings, and in written petitions, letters, and posters.</p>
<p>The stories were diverse – some students mentioned special exposure field trips or emergency mental health counseling; some family members mentioned support after deaths or house fires or the individualized attention given to their child with special education needs; some community members mentioned the community food pantry or the opportunities to build relationships with young people.</p>
<p>Many people ignore the realities of our students’ lives. Denial is a powerful tool in sustaining the status quo of inequity. The power of the truth in our students’ stories made it impossible for the School Board Members to deny the power in the community school strategy at Renaissance. I am so grateful for all of the students, family members, and community members that chose to share personal stories in order to sustain our school community; they created an irrefutable narrative of love, family, and growth that made it impossible to close our school.</p>
<p><strong>4. In 2015, Renaissance Academy lost a couple of students due to violence in the community. What partnerships did you coordinate provide the necessary supports and services to students dealing with trauma and to bring healing to the school?</strong></p>
<p>In the wake of each of these losses, the school community was devastated and angry. Our first response was always to listen to and to just be with each other. At Renaissance, we used Restorative Practices to create safe spaces for students and school staff to support each other in processing each loss with the support and guidance from mental health professionals.</p>
<p>We leaned on partnerships with mental health providers: Contemporary Services and Villa Maria as well as grief support specialists at Roberta’s House. We were also lucky enough to be able to access the support of Safe Streets Baltimore to promote mediation and reduce the risk of retaliation. We also planned several art expression opportunities to assist students to process the losses in a nonverbal way.</p>
<p>I relied on my amazing team of Promise Heights social workers to assist my creation of school-based trauma response plans and to ensure that they were always based in trauma research and trauma responsive interventions. We aimed to provide support not only to students but also to teachers, who were grieving but also in charge of absorbing the grief from their students. </p>
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<p>Most importantly, though, at Renaissance we always try to teach students to understand the current condition of their neighborhoods, and Baltimore City at large, within a historical, social, and political context. We try to teach students to connect the micro to the macro when it comes to social change. We tell the truth to our students about why their lives are the way they are, acknowledge that it is not fair, and then to empower them to change it in the future.</p>
<p><strong>5. What self-care tips would you give other coordinators to make sure they’re taking care of themselves as they work through trauma alongside their school community?</strong></p>
<p>Oh my goodness, this is one of the most important considerations if you want to last as a direct service professional in an area with a high level of trauma, which is many community school communities.</p>
<p>Tip 1: Create a home that you love with people that you love. Find people, spaces, and activities that can help to fill you back up after a hard draining day and make time for them, every single day.<br/> Tip 2: Go home. Do not work all the time – it will never be finished. Give it absolutely everything you have each work day and then go home and give those you love the time and attention that they deserve. <br/> Tip 3: Understand and accept your sphere of influence and focus on that. <br/> Tip 4: Never take it personally.</p>
<p><strong>6. You’ll be presenting at the upcoming <a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/community-schools-national-forum-2018/agenda-82171a50f2dc46578f8c395ba07b07b6.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forum</a> in Baltimore at the roundtable “’But what is it really?’ On-boarding staff, families, and partners to the Community School strategy.” Can you give us a little teaser about what people will learn during that session? What else are you looking forward to at the Forum?</strong></p>
<p>The Promise Heights team would like to showcase how true change happens from the ground up. Students, families, and teachers must be the catalyst for lasting change at their schools and in their communities. We view a large part of our job to be teaching individuals the skills and tactics necessary for advocacy, organizing, and for transforming personal stories into power. This task requires more listening than speaking, more planning than doing, and more behind the scenes grunt work than glory. It is humbling collaborative process.</p>
<p>I am looking forward to meeting high school students from across the country from other community schools and learning from them. I would like to know what they value most about their school’s strategy – especially when it comes to college and career transitions for graduating seniors-- so that I can continue improving the work at Renaissance.</p>
<p><strong>7. Can you tell us a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</strong></p>
<p>There have been many students in my tenure at Renaissance that I will carry in my heart forever and that have reshaped the way I view the world. The student that jumps to mind today is one that I have grown to know over this school year. Let’s call her Kiley. She is always smiling and kind and is a loving mother to her four-year-old daughter. Kiley participates in our mom’s club and has taken our Circle of Security parenting class through which she learned how to create positive attachment. She entered Renaissance behind on her credits but is diligently taking online courses and extended day courses and is now on track to graduate this June.</p>
<p>Last week, she broke down in my office and disclosed some previously unreported and very serious abuse. I remained with her for the day, talking with her about her experience and providing emotional support. I explained my reporting duties and what could potentially come from the report. We discussed common reactions and thought patterns that can result in young women following this type of abuse. She agreed that she would like to be connected to long term therapy services to help her process the abuse.</p>
<p>I took her to her first trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy appointment. I waited in the waiting room during her appointment and drove her home afterwards. She explained that she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest for the first time since she could remember. She also texted me that night to tell me that she had woken up in tears, which was a nightly occurrence for her, but that she has tried her new “box breathing” technique and had been able to calm herself down and to get back to sleep in under an hour. She was proud of this little example of progress and she deserves to be proud.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831712?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831712?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>So many of the students we serve are up against unbelievable odds, myriad obstacles that stem from pervasive poverty – physical things like being hungry, or cold, or tired. And then again, so many students are also survivors of non-physical odds like emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of those who are supposed to love and protect them and teach them about what they should expect from the world. And still, many of them manage to wake up every day and get themselves and their siblings to school. It is our responsibility to listen to their hints and to pick up on their cues so that we can remind them that this is not OK and that they deserve safety and support and that we can help them find it. There are so many factors that we cannot change about our students’ lives. We cannot change where they live or with whom they live or the dangers of where they walk but we can change how they feel when they are around us. We should aim to create respite from and contrast to the world they experience outside of school.</p>
<p><strong>8. What’s one quote that you live by?</strong></p>
<p>Sorry, I can’t pick just one! These are the ones I use to reframe most often.</p>
<p><em>“Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” </em> ― Eleanor Brownn</p>
<p>Of course, self-care is extremely important in all positions of service. Community School Coordinators are working for the school as a whole, the lead agency as a whole, the community as some whole, individual teachers, students, and families all at the same time. You will constantly be succeeding and failing and that can be exhausting. The work will never be finished. Saying ‘no’ is the ultimate path to self-preservation. Find what fills you back up and make time for at least 30 minutes of it every day.</p>
<p><em>“While washing dishes, you might be thinking about the tea you’re going to drink afterwards, and so try to get them out of the way as quickly as possible in order to sit and drink tea. But that means that you are incapable of living during the time you are washing the dishes. When you are washing the dishes, washing the dishes must be the most important thing in your life. Just as when you’re drinking tea, drinking tea must be the most important thing in your life.”</em> — Thich Nhat Hanh</p>
<p>So much of what we do as coordinators is prep work or behind the scenes organization. We all know that it takes 10 fold more time to plan an event than it does to execute it. We have to remember to enjoy all of the stages for what they are. Where ever we are, whatever we are doing – that is all there is.</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Arturo Maganatag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-03-14:6557044:BlogPost:204302018-03-14T00:00:02.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
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<p><strong>1. Congratulations! You will be our new Coordinators Network Co-Chair! What is your vision for the Coordinators Network?</strong> <br></br> I envision a great accessible network of coordinators that can connect from various cities, counties, and states to share best practices, collaborate, and share success stories for professional/personal inspiration. Additionally, I'd like to have a monthly or quarterly "Self-Care" seminar where best practices can be shared for…</p>
<p><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235833418?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"/></p>
<p><strong>1. Congratulations! You will be our new Coordinators Network Co-Chair! What is your vision for the Coordinators Network?</strong> <br/> I envision a great accessible network of coordinators that can connect from various cities, counties, and states to share best practices, collaborate, and share success stories for professional/personal inspiration. Additionally, I'd like to have a monthly or quarterly "Self-Care" seminar where best practices can be shared for educators in the field to practice self-care.</p>
<p><strong>2. What motivated you to run for Co-Chair?</strong><br/> I've always enjoyed being of service to others, whether it be with students, parents, partners, or peers. I believe that I can bring some innovative ideas to the table that can inspire, motivate, and gather educators for positive community impact. I also enjoy bringing individuals together to share best practices and brainstorm on how to best serve our children.</p>
<p><strong>3. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong><br/> The community school strategy has empowered our stakeholders who are nestled deep in the heart of South Los Angeles. These stakeholders, whether it is parents or children, are welcomed by various staff members at the school site and are encouraged to give input and engage at various levels. Our parents participate as partners, and are active in the school’s councils such as School Site Council, and our students act as leaders that represent their student body, such as our 5th and 6th Grade Student Council. I’ve been blessed to see the resiliency in these stakeholders and their willingness to become active in their school site. They are vocal about their needs and the school is welcomed to address those needs, such as dental services for our students and English Language classes for our parents.</p>
<p><strong>4. What are some of the major challenges facing your students and families? What partnerships have you built to address those issues?<br/></strong>Many of the major issues that our families are facing are the experience of trauma as well as issues dealing with immigration. Our school was sensitive to those needs and decided to hire a 5-day school based Psychiatric Social Worker who works directly with our diverse student population as well as provides resources to families and children. Additionally, a strong partnership with Planned Parenthood was established two years ago. The partnership created a platform for the Planned Parenthood organization to send a staff member to present on various topics including nutrition, socio-emotional needs, as well as mental health. A partnership with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) was also established to address the various topics, concerns, and issues regarding immigration. CHIRLA and the school plan on educating not only the parents, but also the 5th and 6th grade students on “Know Your Rights” to best mitigate the fear stemming from immigration issues.</p>
<p><strong>5. Can you tell us a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</strong><br/> One of our students was having some trouble focusing in class and completing his assignments. He was a new student to the school and had transferred from a neighboring elementary school. This student was struggling with the new change in environment as well as processing that his permanent caretaker would now be his grandmother. Although he had opportunities to visit his mom and had no resentment towards his grandmother, he was not comfortable. The teacher confided in me that the student was having various behavior issues in class and needed some support. After speaking with the student, it was apparent to me that he needed a little bit more support than usual. I connected him with our school-based social worker as well as the assistant principal who worked out various plans on how to improve his behavior and motivation in class. Additionally, he was connected with another male teacher from a different grade level, so that the student would check in to the teacher’s class in the event that he was “benched” from the playground. This opened the opportunity for the student to get additional mentoring from a male figure, which was an absent factor in his life. In the brief few months we’ve worked with this student, we have seen a great deal of improvement in his relationships with his teacher and peers. He expressed gratitude for the team who has diligently worked with him rather than the usual “given up on” attitude that he has experienced the majority of his life.</p>
<p><strong>6. What’s one piece of advice you would give to other coordinators?</strong><br/> Keep an open ear and never downplay your role with the school. As a Community School Coordinator, it is extremely important to identify critical moments when you can act as an agent for support, resource connections, and as a thought partner. And, be visible during supervision! Kids love seeing the adults and connecting with them!</p>
<p><strong>7. What’s one quote that you live by?</strong><br/> The wise build bridges; the foolish build barriers.</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Shanelle Englandtag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-02-19:6557044:BlogPost:202102018-02-19T23:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831377?profile=original" target="_self"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831377?profile=original" target="_self"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831377?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831377?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></a> <strong>1.Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong></p>
<p>Forest Park…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831377?profile=original" target="_self"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831377?profile=original" target="_self"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831377?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235831377?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></a><strong>1.Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong></p>
<p>Forest Park High School is a family environment. Staff and Faculty are the heart of Forest Park High School. The Community School strategy impacts our families by building strong relationships with students, families, and the community to allow them to trust us to provide a safe, supportive, and stable environment. Here are some highlights of how our community school positively impacted our students and families:</p>
<ul>
<li>I have a student who attended our Y program that has academically increased his grade from C to A in American History.</li>
<li>More than 85% of students in the Y in Central Maryland 12th grade leadership club made High Honor.</li>
<li>A parent lost her job and my staff provided her with food for a month and career readiness training.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>2.Why do you do what you do?</strong></p>
<p>I am a coordinator because I was a student that lacked parent engagement, academic, and social and emotional support. Between the years 2005-2010 I engaged and connected youth in my community to resources for academic, social, and emotional support in my free time. Being a coordinator allows me to use my personal and educational experience to rebuild, restructure, and uplift students, families, and communities.</p>
<p><strong>3.The Coalition for Community Schools is hosting their 2018 Community Schools National Forum in Baltimore. What are you excited to learn about to at the Forum?</strong></p>
<p>I hope to learn more about the Community School strategy at the high school level—how to support students who are dealing with homeless, who are suffering from drug abuse and how our faculty can provide emotional/social support.</p>
<p><img width="280" height="185" class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235844735?profile=RESIZE_320x320"/><strong>4.Last fall, on panel at a Community Schools briefing on Capitol Hill, you and one of your high school students talked about the importance of having student voice at school. How does your school lift up youth voice, and how has that made a difference in how your community school works?</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235844735?profile=original" target="_self"></a>Forest Park uplift voices by during the following: listening, uplifting, being nonjudgmental, and validating student’s opinion. Doing that gives students a sense of belonging, increases self-esteem, and increases student engagement. Additionally, we provide advocacy training for our students.</p>
<p><strong>5.What are your biggest challenges?</strong></p>
<p>Parent engagement for high schools students and finding new organizations and partners to provide services and resources at little to no cost for our students and families.</p>
<p><strong>6.What’s one piece of advice you would give to other coordinators?</strong></p>
<p>One piece of advice I would give to coordinators is to create a strategy through a nonjudgmental lens that understands that students, families and communities are sensitive due to the trauma they’ve experienced.</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Erin Bushongtag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2018-01-12:6557044:BlogPost:201042018-01-12T19:00:16.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><strong><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235844569?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></strong></p>
<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong><br></br> Our school adopted the Community School Initiative this past year and we have been implementing the strategies full force. We have seen such an incredible response not only from our staff, students, and families, but our entire community. We have started an early enrichment program that serves birth-3 years old…</p>
<p><strong><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235844569?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></strong></p>
<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong><br/> Our school adopted the Community School Initiative this past year and we have been implementing the strategies full force. We have seen such an incredible response not only from our staff, students, and families, but our entire community. We have started an early enrichment program that serves birth-3 years old on our campus each Tuesday morning. This is a time for parents to not only engage in developmentally appropriate activities with their children but also to socialize with other parents of the same age children. Our clothing closet has helped many families across our community that are in need. We make this available to all families during school family nights and by appointment. And, our after-school programs have provided enrichment activities for our students that they would have otherwise never been able to experience.</p>
<p><strong>2. Why do you do what you do?</strong><br/> I do what I do because I have a true passion for helping people find the resources they need to be successful. This might mean being successful as a teacher, parent, student or as a member of the community. I want to create a positive environment for our families and students so they know that each one of their voices are heard. I absolutely love the look on a student’s face when they experience something new and exciting. I love to see their excitement and know that maybe that experience they received during the early enrichment program or after-school program could impact their future. This excitement is what motivates me each day I walk into work.</p>
<p><strong>3. Can you tell me a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</strong><br/> The one story that immediately comes to mind was when we had a young lady come to our clothing closet and had asked for clothes for five children that lived with her, three of which she was the aunt. One of the boys was trying on some basic shirts and he kept saying, “I have never had a school give me free stuff!” The aunt/mom was so appreciative and told me that she had some clothes at home she would bring up to help other families. She stayed for several hours and volunteered in the clothing closet. She never once asked for clothes for herself and she wore the same clothes each time. She was truly someone that needed the help but was also willing to help others.</p>
<p><strong>4. What are your biggest challenges?</strong><br/> My biggest challenge has been to find the funding to create all the experiences that I want to offer to our students and families. I have developed some great partnerships that I know will eventually lead to some opportunities for funding, but I would like it to come quicker. We know our school has the capacity to impact so many lives in the community and are working on finding the funding to make this possible.</p>
<p><strong>5. What is the one thing you want to accomplish the most by the end of the school year?</strong><br/> It is so hard for me to come up with just one thing that I want to accomplish because I have so many ideas that I want to implement by the end of the year. I would say the biggest one is that I want to get more of a diverse group of families coming to our early enrichment programs. I am going to reach out more to our apartment complexes in our community and to churches that have a diverse population so we can reach as many families as possible. I want to have translators available at these programs so we can reach out to families that speak other languages. I want these early enrichment programs to be a time where families from all cultures and backgrounds are welcomed and accepted.</p>
<p><strong>6. What’s one piece of advice you would give to other coordinators?</strong><br/> My piece of advice would be to not get overwhelmed and take baby steps. It is hard to remember but it is crucial to take baby steps so that you have programs that are sustainable. We want these programs to positively impact the community for years to come. It is hard not to try to do everything at once. I have had to learn to prioritize the needs of the community and begin with the most critical needs first. We did a staff, parent, student, and community partner needs assessment when I first started that really helped me prioritize these needs.</p>
<p><strong>7. What’s one quote that you live by?</strong><br/> The simple saying that I live by is: TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK.</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Jordan Fryetag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-12-13:6557044:BlogPost:200012017-12-13T14:13:36.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><strong><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235833940?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></strong></p>
<p><strong>Tell us about your community school. </strong></p>
<p>Norwood is a school of about 500 students. We have over 10 languages spoken at our school, and nearly 20 countries represented. Needless to say, we have a very diverse population. The neighborhood is in somewhat of a transition period as we have many older adults without children living around the school; however, there are lots of new families moving into those homes. This is in addition to the…</p>
<p><strong><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235833940?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></strong></p>
<p><strong>Tell us about your community school. </strong></p>
<p>Norwood is a school of about 500 students. We have over 10 languages spoken at our school, and nearly 20 countries represented. Needless to say, we have a very diverse population. The neighborhood is in somewhat of a transition period as we have many older adults without children living around the school; however, there are lots of new families moving into those homes. This is in addition to the many multi-family units in the area.</p>
<p>Norwood is in its 6<sup>th</sup> year of being a community school. The biggest impact the community school strategy has had is providing wrap around resources and diverse opportunities and activities for our families and neighbors that they might not otherwise have access to. </p>
<p><strong>Why do you do what you do?</strong></p>
<p>I do what I do because I think the community school strategy is the best way to provide services to families in need AND empower families to be involved in their kids’ school and the neighborhood in which they live.</p>
<p>A bit selfishly, I also love the relationships that this role has afforded me. I get to hang out with kids, their parents, neighbors, teachers, community partners, and volunteers. It’s such a positive position to be in.</p>
<p><strong>What is the most rewarding part of being a coordinator?</strong></p>
<p>There are many rewarding aspects to being a coordinator. Besides the relationships, the most rewarding part for me is being a connector. There are few things more gratifying than matching resources or volunteers to a need or connecting partners.</p>
<p><strong>Can you tell me a story about a student, family or community that you impacted as a coordinator?</strong></p>
<p>The family that immediately comes to mind is an immigrant family that arrived in the neighborhood several months prior to me starting this position. I met the children over the summer while they were attending our summer program. I got to know their mother when we started an English as Second Language Mommy and Me class in Fall 2016. Since meeting the family, they have been involved in about every activity we’ve had from yoga classes and English classes to a summer literacy camp for families. Fast forward to Fall 2017: the mother and I can have conversations in English (she formerly could not read or write in her own language or have a conversation without an interpreter) and her 3-year-old knows her alphabet and can count to 30. The opportunity that we were able to provide for this family that was the most impactful was a social outlet to help combat the isolation experienced by many of our newcomers.</p>
<p><strong>What else are you doing to support your immigrant students and families?</strong></p>
<p>With a significant immigrant and refugee population in our community, this has been on my mind a lot—how do we best support these families? Last year, we hosted a Community Thanksgiving event to celebrate the cultures represented in our neighborhood. The goal was for neighbors to meet neighbors and get to know one another. The event was quite successful, and we replicated the event again last month.</p>
<p>In addition to the Community Thanksgiving event, we hosted an Emergency Planning Workshop for our families to help them prepare for possible incarceration, deportation, hospitalization, or death. This event was possible because one of my co-workers literally created a “workshop-in-a-box” so that we could provide this workshop in different areas of the city that have a high immigrant population.</p>
<p><strong>What are your biggest challenges?</strong></p>
<p>One of my biggest challenges is dividing time and energy between coordinating activities and opportunities within the school and projects and advocacy opportunities in the neighborhood.</p>
<p><strong>What is the one thing you want to accomplish the most by the end of the school year?</strong></p>
<p>One of my main goals this year is to create a slate of opportunities that are inclusive of all our children, families, and neighbors. We have such a diverse population that have such diverse needs. I want to make sure our programming and opportunities are also meeting the needs of the seniors in our community or adults who are not plugged into our school because they don’t have school age children.</p>
<p><strong>What’s one piece of advice you would give to other coordinators?</strong></p>
<p>It’s all about the relationships. Spending time cultivating relationships is time well spent.</p>
<p><strong>What’s one quote that you live by?</strong></p>
<p>“What are we doing to help the neighbors?” - Mary Rogge</p>Growing Our Immigrant Outreachtag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-12-01:6557044:BlogPost:195022017-12-01T17:30:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><strong>By Kaylene Kalkbrenner</strong></p>
<p>This year has taken its toll on the immigrant psyche. Students in particular, who are tackling tests, taking in new information, forming friendships, and preparing for their futures are also shuddering under the added stress inflicted by the threat of deportation and disillusionment. And now the recent call to end the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/800000-undocumented-immigrants-protected-daca/story?id=49623897">Deferred Action for…</a></p>
<p><strong>By Kaylene Kalkbrenner</strong></p>
<p>This year has taken its toll on the immigrant psyche. Students in particular, who are tackling tests, taking in new information, forming friendships, and preparing for their futures are also shuddering under the added stress inflicted by the threat of deportation and disillusionment. And now the recent call to end the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/800000-undocumented-immigrants-protected-daca/story?id=49623897">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program</a>, which protects nearly 800,000 immigrant students, has made families and students, especially in high immigrant populated areas, afraid to come to school.</p>
<p>Fortunately, community schools can help. The community school strategy draws on the strengths and assets of each student, family and community member, and builds bridges between the school and community partners. On November 14<sup>th</sup>, the Coalition for Community Schools along with Laura Markham, community school coordinator at <a href="https://youtu.be/Y4rwr5n3V6k">Oakland International High School</a> and author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534789/the-far-away-brothers-by-lauren-markham/9781101906187/"><i>The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of An American Life</i></a>, were joined on Twitter by a host of fellow community school advocates to swap ideas about how community schools can lead the way to creating environments where <a href="https://storify.com/commschools/safe-supported-immigrant-students">immigrant students feel safe and supported</a>.</p>
<p>The collaboration displayed during the Twitter Chat was inspiring. Coordinators and community school partners from across the country found strategies they had in common and shared new ideas for growth. A key theme reoccurring throughout the chat was the importance of interpreters in building trust. Interpreters provide communication between non-English speaking parents and students and the resources they need, such as counseling or at-home training. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832179?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832179?profile=original" width="514" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p></p>
<p>There are also key stakeholders outside the school. Many people suggested creating partnerships with faith based organizations. By visiting your local mosque a few times a month or reaching out to faith leaders in each ethnic community you can start to build relationships of trust and understanding that lead to better support for your students. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235855578?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235855578?profile=original" width="511" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>We also discussed the power of storytelling. While this is an incredible tool for spreading understanding of life as an immigrant, it is imperative to be cautious. Student stories often contain trauma and it is important that our students are allowed to process it at their rate. Coordinators and teachers can aid students in taking ownership of their stories by introducing skills based activities, such as creating an “About Me” video or book. Ensure that stories are being processed in a safe environment, as well. Counselors and social workers are excellent people for students to process their stories with. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235855660?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235855660?profile=original" width="513" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>We are so thankful for all these incredible insights and hope that you can use them to work towards Safe and Supported Immigrant Students. Below are some of the resources mentioned in the chat: </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/Immigration/integrating_issues_11_14_17.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Integrating Issues: Framing for Racial Equity and Children in Immigrant Families</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/expanding-dream-engaging-immigrant-youth-and-adults-postsecondary-and">Expanding the Dream: Engaging Immigrant Youth and Adults in Postsecondary and Adult Education</a></li>
<li><a href="https://prepparents.org/resources/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Education Laws in Your State</a></li>
<li><a href="http://mijente.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mijente: Know your rights books and graphics</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.immigrantjustice.org/know-your-rights/daca-ending-know-your-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NIJC: Know Your Rights Resources</a></li>
<li><a href="https://unitedwedream.org/">Join the Immigrant Youth movement</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.oaklandinternational.org/single-post/2017/01/30/Know-Your-Rights-Posters---Designed-by-OIHS-Students">Oakland International: Know Your Rights project</a></li>
<li><a href="http://iel.org/blog/dissolving-daca-makes-no-sense-economically-socially">Institute for Educational Leadership DACA statement</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.aft.org/ae/spring2017/sml">American Federation of Teachers: Teaching Immigration lessons</a></li>
<li><a href="https://dreamacttoolkit.org/?utm_source=Copy%20of%20CCS%20October%20Newsletter%202017&utm_campaign=July%20Newsletter%3A%20Community%20Schools%20Awards%20for%20Excellence%20%26%20New%20Brief%20Proves%20Community%20Schools%20are%20an%20Evidence-Based%20Improvement%20Strategy%20&utm_medium=email">Dream Act Now Toolkit</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.redcardorders.com/">Order “Red Cards”</a></li>
<li><a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/d0e573_6b1c4802216b4805a66335b4f2af3261.pdf?utm_source=Copy%20of%20CCS%20October%20Newsletter%202017&utm_campaign=July%20Newsletter%3A%20Community%20Schools%20Awards%20for%20Excellence%20%26%20New%20Brief%20Proves%20Community%20Schools%20are%20an%20Evidence-Based%20Improvement%20Strategy%20&utm_medium=email">Building a Sanctuary Guide</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: left;">For more information or suggestions for our Community School Chats please contact Jennifer <a href="mailto:Masutanij@iel.org">Masutanij@iel.org</a>.</p>Coordinator Spotlight- Marinieves Albatag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-11-17:6557044:BlogPost:187042017-11-17T15:30:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
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<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832891?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832891?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community? </strong></p>
<p>Our campus serves as both a community hub and a gateway to resources for children and families. The community school strategy is the vehicle which allows us to bring marginalized children,…</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832891?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832891?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community? </strong></p>
<p>Our campus serves as both a community hub and a gateway to resources for children and families. The community school strategy is the vehicle which allows us to bring marginalized children, families, and communities to center, promoting equity, access, and uplift for all. For almost 24 years, we have served Washington Heights and neighboring communities by helping students access the best of themselves. The barriers to learning for low-income children often seem insurmountable but when you peel away the layers of challenges and struggle, there are still people with dreams and gifts buried there. Our impact has been in nurturing those dreams and gifts, and building a strong community to support them. </p>
<p><strong>Why do you do what you do?</strong></p>
<p>After working at the intersection of global arts and culture, youth development, and social justice for over 15 years, I decided that I wanted to be rooted in a physical place (a geographic community rather than an ideological one) and invest in children, youth, and communities as a servant leader grounded in social justice. Community schools are a holistic approach to education justice that allow my team and me to tackle the systemic barriers to education access, by having our feet and hands on the ground. I do this work because I want to help build a better future for low-income children of color, and all children forced into the margins of our society. </p>
<p><strong>What is the most rewarding part about being a coordinator?</strong></p>
<p>The most rewarding part of being a community school director is being able to leverage relationships and resources to ensure that our students and families have what they need to succeed. The plagues of poverty across this country have real people attached to them. As a community school director, I get to help our students, families, and other stakeholders mine the assets that will make learning- and healthier living- possible. I also appreciate the trust and collaboration of our families and school leaders, and the opportunity to serve as an advocate for my school community. <strong><br/></strong></p>
<p><strong>Can you tell me a story about a student, family, or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</strong></p>
<p>My first year as a Director, I encountered a family who was evicted just a few days before Christmas. and I spent Christmas eve in my office with the mother trying to secure an emergency grant to cover clothing, food, and other critical items. The family ended up having a two-year long relationship with my office, as we navigated housing and care management for a complex of health and mental health issues. Whenever she found herself in extreme crisis, she would find her way to us. During her daughter’s last year in our school, the young mother passed away due to health complications. A few months before, she visited me with a card and an elephant statue for “good luck”. She joked, as always, that when she won the lottery, she would set up a bank account so that I never had to work another day in my life. That was always her promise. She expressed her gratitude and told me that in all of her years dealing with a range of social service and health agencies, no one had ever listened to her like I did. I still have her card, elephant, and most importantly, the echo of her message: the importance of listening to our children and families. </p>
<p><strong>What are your biggest challenges?</strong></p>
<p>As a campus director, I have to manage a multiple principals and administrative teams. While the school profiles are similar, the schools have different cultures which are often challenging to align within the scope of our unified programming. That said, it is a great task, and point of celebration, when we are able to actively engage the entire community in a way that promotes unity, cooperation, and collaboration. Serving as a bridge is an arduous but worthwhile- and meaningful- undertaking. </p>
<p><strong>What is one thing you want to accomplish by the end of the school year?</strong></p>
<p>There isn’t a single thing. Our work lives on a continuum. My goal is that we continue to grow and explore new angles and opportunities for growth, and that we continue to expand our sphere of influence in the school and local community. </p>
<p><strong>What's on piece of advice you would give to other coordinators?</strong></p>
<p>Find your “sweet spot” in the work and nurture that which drives and motivates it. There should be at least one thing that you do really well and enjoy, which can keep you inspired and help you to motivate others. There will always be challenges and barriers to overcome but honing your skills and cultivating at least one area where you can flourish is important for long term efficacy and resilience. </p>Coordinator's Appreciation Week Spotlighttag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-09-18:6557044:BlogPost:174092017-09-18T14:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235837206?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235837206?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="680"></img></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We are so thankful for our Community School Coordinators and would like to spotlight all of their amazing successes. Here are just some of the numerous expressions of thanks for Community School Coordinators from our Community Schools Leadership Network and the Coalition Staff. Follow @CommSchools during the Coordinators Appreciation Week…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235837206?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="680" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235837206?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="680" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We are so thankful for our Community School Coordinators and would like to spotlight all of their amazing successes. Here are just some of the numerous expressions of thanks for Community School Coordinators from our Community Schools Leadership Network and the Coalition Staff. Follow @CommSchools during the Coordinators Appreciation Week for more #CoordinatorsRock messages. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235873011?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235873011?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>"Community School Coordinators are the local ‘face’ of the community school for parents, families, and partners. Bu, they are so much more. They are the effective brokers of key relationships to make sure the school is supporting whole children, whole families and whole communities.”</p>
<p>-<b>Johan Uvin, President, Institute for Educational Leadership</b></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235873138?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235873138?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-right"/></a></p>
<p>“The passion, commitment and excellence of SUN Community School site managers shines bright every day! They are empowering and uniting our community.”</p>
<p> <b>-SUN Service System & Community Schools</b></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235875479?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235875479?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>"CS Coordinators are invaluable members of both the school and community teams, connecting with parents, students and organizations to really bring everything together!”</p>
<p> <b>-</b><b>Melissa Patton, Coalition for Community Schools</b></p>
<p>“Coordinators fearlessly lead their schools and communities to align partnerships and make connections so their students and families thrive. Thank you for your selfless dedication and commitment to your students.”</p>
<p> <b>-Jenn Masutani, Coalition for Community Schools</b></p>
<p>“Coordinators embody the vision of community schools in their collaborative leadership that is always compassionate, always student focused, always creative. Thank you for serving our communities so well.”</p>
<p> <b>-Kaylene Kalkbrenner, Coalition for Community Schools</b></p>
<p><span>"The Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership loves <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235875577?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235875577?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-right"/></a>our </span>Coordinators because they fight for educational equity every day.”</p>
<p><span> <b>-Ryan Hurley, Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership</b></span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235891609?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235891609?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>"The CMSD Wrap Around #CoordinatorsRock because they support each other across schools!”</span></p>
<p><span> <b>-College Now Greater Cleveland</b></span></p>
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<p></p>Coordinator Spotlight - Reflections from the Family and Community Engagement Conferencetag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-07-13:6557044:BlogPost:167012017-07-13T15:30:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832632?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832632?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></a></p>
<p>Last month, the Institute for Educational Leadership hosted the 2017 National Family & Community Engagement Conference in San Francisco, CA. Over 1,600 family and community members, practitioners, district leaders, and community school leaders participated! See highlights and key takeaways from three community school coordinators who…</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832632?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832632?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Last month, the Institute for Educational Leadership hosted the 2017 National Family & Community Engagement Conference in San Francisco, CA. Over 1,600 family and community members, practitioners, district leaders, and community school leaders participated! See highlights and key takeaways from three community school coordinators who attended the conference.</p>
<p><br/> <strong>Stacy Darga, Community School Site Coordinator at Sun Prairie Area School District (Sun Prairie, WI):</strong></p>
<p>Creating Stronger Families, Stronger Communities – again and again, throughout the conference, we kept hearing that relationships are the most important factor in building a foundation to a stronger community. This is something I believe in and have been saying since I became site coordinator at our community school. [My] “aha” moment came when the speaker said, “Instead of thinking about how can we get our families more involved in our schools and our community, we need to shift our way of thinking to how can we get more involved with our families.”</p>
<p>Instead of spending a lot of time and energy on trying to think of new and creative ways to get those families we don't often see involved, we will now be coming up with ways that we (as a school community) can get more involved with our families. That may mean taking events to them, be more welcoming and really getting to know our families, home visits, breakfasts with the principal and site coordinator, family volunteering opportunities inside and outside of school, and parents and family members more involved in school decision making.</p>
<p>We are excited to embrace this new way of thinking as we work towards engaging more families in our school and our community!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832859?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832859?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a>Tweet from @NellieMaeEdFdn</p>
<p><b><br/> Devonne Franklin</b>, <b>Community School Director at the Y in Central Maryland (Baltimore, MD):</b></p>
<p>I really appreciated the amount of youth voice that is considered when planning regulations for [San Francisco]. The youth felt empowered to take action and elevate their voices. They really owned the job of making sure students' voices were a part of the legislation process. If we could replicate that in Baltimore, I know that our city would be more unified. After witnessing such a successful youth board, I will personally push for more youth voice in decision-making and suggest that we solicit their voices when making decisions.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832887?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832887?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></a>Picture from @MlopezEd</p>
<p><b><br/> Alexandra Cowal</b>, <b>Community School Coordinator at West Chicago School District 33 (West Chicago, IL):</b></p>
<p>Attending the FCE Conference is like getting a tune-up. Not only do I get to hear what other community schools around the country are doing, but I am also filled with the energy and positivity of so many people which pumps me and charges me for the year ahead. As a Community School Coordinator, one of my biggest priorities is to help families (parents and guardians) understand the importance of their involvement in their children's education. I stress over and over again how important it is for them to not only know what their children are learning, but also to understand how significant their involvement can be. The work we do is not always easy, but it is very important and as CS coordinators, we need to stay focused and positive.</p>
<p align="center"><br/> <strong><a href="http://iel.org/2017-national-fce-conference-resources" target="_blank">View resources and more information from the <br/> Family and Community Engagement Conference.</a></strong></p>
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<p align="center" style="text-align: left;">*Responses were edited for length.</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Tanzye Hilltag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-06-15:6557044:BlogPost:162012017-06-15T23:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235835910?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235835910?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></a></p>
<p><strong>Congratulations! We’re excited that your school has been chosen for a 2017 Community School Award for Excellence. Tell us about your community school.</strong></p>
<p>Pearl-Cohn is honored to be recognized by the Coalition for the 2017 Community School Award of Excellence. We proudly share this award with our 36 (and growing) community partnerships that lend…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235835910?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235835910?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><strong>Congratulations! We’re excited that your school has been chosen for a 2017 Community School Award for Excellence. Tell us about your community school.</strong></p>
<p>Pearl-Cohn is honored to be recognized by the Coalition for the 2017 Community School Award of Excellence. We proudly share this award with our 36 (and growing) community partnerships that lend their time, services, resources, and funds to provide mentoring, mental health services, grief support, and many other supports. We are beginning our sixth year as a community school as well as our sixth year in our turn-around efforts. We have grown from the lowest performing high school to one of the top four high schools in the district, exceeding our predicted growth outcomes in all content areas. We attribute this success to our strength as a community and our commitment to serving the whole child and whole family.</p>
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<p><strong>Pearl-Cohn achieved a school-wide growth score of 5, which translates to 2 years of student growth in a single school year on the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System. How has the community school strategy allowed Pearl-Cohn to achieve such great results?</strong></p>
<p>As a community school we focus our efforts in two areas, Academic Press and Personalization. Academic Press is all things teaching and learning and Personalization is serving the whole child and whole family. Our strategy around our Personalization work is to support teachers by removing learning barriers for our students. We do this by using a Support and Intervention Referral system that allows teachers to refer any needs or concerns they find that are inhibiting the students’ ability to be an engaged in learning. By meeting students' basic needs and connecting them and their families to resources, students feel safer emotionally, socially, and physically, resulting in higher academic achievement. Teachers are able to focus on learning and maximizing instruction time and students are more prepared for the classroom and engaged in learning.</p>
<p><strong>Pearl-Cohn is the only entertainment high school in the nation, partnering with many businesses to provide students with internships or mentors in Nashville’s rich entertainment industry. How have you maximized these partnerships to meet the needs of your students?</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235854204?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235854204?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left" style="padding: 2px;"/></a>Under the MNPS Academies of Nashville structure Pearl-Cohn has more than 26 business partners and an advisory board that meets monthly and functions as a consistent space for collaboration between the school’s Career and Technological Education teachers and the entertainment industry partners in order to meet the needs and interests of our students. Our business partners provide industry specific field trips, job shadowing, and internship opportunities for students in all grades and pathways. Partners also provide externships for teachers during the summer in order to promote an ever-growing knowledge of how to integrate the entertainment theme into general education classroom instruction.</p>
<p><strong>You said that your students “feel comfortable coming forth with their needs and concerns.” How has your school created a climate and culture where students know they can turn to school staff for help?</strong></p>
<p>All of the adults in our building serve as a mentor in some capacity for students. We have a daily advisory called “The Nest,” where students meet in small groups and participate in a school-wide SEL curriculum, which includes Mindfulness meditation activities, Culture Intensive days to build a sense of community as a school, and we have a Personalization Team that meets regularly to discuss students that have received referrals. This is only a few of the many supports we have in place to provide students with a feeling of safety, value, and community. I would mention again, we are in our 6th year as a community school and we did not get to the place we are overnight nor do we think our work is done. However, we are at a place where if a student is new to our school or possibly not in a place that they themselves can come to an adult with an issue or concern, it is inevitable that their peers will advocate for one another or inform an adult that they trust in order for the need to get met.</p>
<p><strong>Why do you do what you do?</strong></p>
<p>As a former classroom teacher of six years, I experienced first-hand the struggle of educating students with multiple learning barriers, having limited access to resources for families, and spending countless hours searching for ways to extend learning beyond the classroom and make real-world connections. As a Coordinator I am able to support students, teachers, and families, and I find it very rewarding to serve as a connecter between them and the community. I believe in order to raise well-rounded citizens we must take a holistic approach to educating.</p>
<p><strong>Can you tell me a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235854347?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235854347?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-right" style="padding: 2px;"/></a>This April we hosted our 2nd Annual Women’s Health Summit. This was the vision of a Pearl-Cohn parent to have a day of education, awareness, and pampering for the families of Pearl-Cohn. We gathered partners from the medical students at the local colleges and universities, health department, Sexual Assault Center, 100 Black Women, Family and Children’s Services, massage schools, and many more organizations, to host workshops and health screenings for women. This day is filled with lots of informative and fun activities; gift baskets are given away along with free massages and manicures, and a catered luncheon is provided for participants. We market this event to the entire community and always are amazed at how women find out how much they learn. It is events like these that I enjoy coordinating most as they reach so many in the community, begin with the idea of a parent, and leave everyone feeling empowered.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://www.communityschools.org/assets/1/AssetManager/CS-Awards-for-Excellence-2017-Pearl-Cohn-Entertainment-Magnet-School.pdf" target="_blank">Read more about Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School.</a></strong></p>Coordinator Spotlight - Lauren Markhamtag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-05-12:6557044:BlogPost:158792017-05-12T19:44:28.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832483?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832483?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600"></img></a></p>
<p><strong>1. Congratulations! We’re excited that your school has been chosen for a <a href="http://www.communityschools.org/2017_Awardees/" target="_blank">2017 Community School Awards for Excellence</a>. Tell us about your community school and how the community school strategy has impacted your students, families, and community?</strong></p>
<p>We’re honored to be…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832483?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="600" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235832483?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><strong>1. Congratulations! We’re excited that your school has been chosen for a <a href="http://www.communityschools.org/2017_Awardees/" target="_blank">2017 Community School Awards for Excellence</a>. Tell us about your community school and how the community school strategy has impacted your students, families, and community?</strong></p>
<p>We’re honored to be recognized for our work! OIHS serves roughly 400 students from over 32 countries, ranging in age from 14-21. All of Oakland International High School’s students/families made the journey to the United States—often a difficult and even treacherous one—to build a better life. But when they arrive they meet the new challenge of integrating into their new U.S. homes and the overall U.S. society. At the same time, our families also bring with them remarkable skills and assets—from professional savvy to trade skills to empathy to resilience to multilingualism—that make significant contributions to U.S. communities. Our school exists to support students to build their language skills, acclimate to life in the United States, and connect them to services such that their skills and assets can be honored and be put to use. Without addressing these issues of socio-emotional support and integration, we know that the majority of our newcomer students will not thrive in school. OIHS is uniquely designed to serve the educational needs of all immigrant groups, new and established, large and small, and the accompanying socio-emotional needs to support their successful and meaningful integration into life and school in the Bay Area.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.communityschools.org/2017_Awardees/" target="_blank"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235839384?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><strong>2. Why do you do what you do?</strong></p>
<p>As someone born in the United States who, like many of us living here, is of immigrant heritage, I feel like it is my responsibility to support newly arrived communities as they rebuild their lives. I harbor a deep belief that immigration and immigrants are what make the United States great, and the more we can support students’ and families early transitions, the more we are building bridges for newcomers to make meaningful contributions to our communities. I also absolutely love what I do; I get to work with tremendous educators, inspiring families, and dedicated service providers. Our school feels like a family, and it has been a great joy to be a part of building this community school program.</p>
<p><strong>3. OIHS serves a lot of immigrant students and families. Do you have any advice or best practices to share with other coordinators who are also working to support immigrant families?</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235845730?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235845730?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left" style="padding: 2px;"/></a>First and foremost, it’s important to create a warm and welcoming environment so that students and families, from the moment they walk through the doors, see the school as a place of support and solidarity—even if they don’t speak the same language as any staff members. Ensuring that students have access to academic supports outside of the classroom, from tutoring to additional classes to recuperate their credits to summer school, is critical (particularly at the high school level) for students to learn English while also “catching up” on content they may have missed as a result of limited/interrupted past education and/or the experience of immigration. All individual needs are different, but we have found that, among our largely low-income student body, supporting access to socio-emotional services—from health to mental health to immigration legal services to food and shelter—makes a big difference for students and families who, by virtue of being so new to the U.S., often lack community connections and the navigational know-how to avail themselves of these services. The Community School model is rare outside of the United States, so part of the work is introducing to families the fact that school is a place where they can come with questions and needs beyond the classroom.</p>
<p><strong>4. In our <a href="http://coordinators.communityschools.org/twitter" target="_self">April Twitter Chat on Trauma Informed Community Schools</a>, a lot of people said they are seeing more trauma and toxic stress associated with fears around immigration and deportation. How are you supporting your students and families dealing with that?</strong></p>
<p>In today’s political climate, improving pathways for immigrant students and their families to integrate into the United States society, build connections, and access opportunities for their futures is perhaps more important than ever before. Oakland International High School is a sanctuary school in a sanctuary school district in a sanctuary city. Our job is to educate students and support them to feel safe and cared for. We assure parents and students that, as a school, we do not and will not turn over any private information to immigration authorities. At the same time, we understand the term “sanctuary” in broader terms: a place of refuge, of calm, of tranquility. As such, we work to support our students and families to know their rights in the United States (in partnership with our tremendous legal service provider partners), to see school as a place of safety and of opportunity, and to be a source of information and solidarity while not forcing conversations about politics upon our students. This balance feels particularly important at this moment in time.</p>
<p><img width="200" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235845741?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="200" class="align-right"/><strong>5. You have said that “school is a place where [students] can have a voice.” How has your school empowered youth voices?</strong></p>
<p>One way we support youth voice is through our annual Community Walks. To better connect with our diverse newcomer student communities, each year for the past five years, Oakland International High School offers “Community Walk” Professional Development for teachers and staff. Designed by students, with input from parents and community leaders, OIHS teachers and staff visit student communities where they are shown important landmarks and cultural centers; meet with community leaders, advocates and/or support people; and meet with families (in either homes or community centers) to discuss families’ questions, concerns and hopes for their students and the school. Students also organize readings for teachers to do before the Community Walk, and hold an hour-long “teach in” where they, inverting the roles, teach their teachers about important aspects of their communities’ backgrounds, histories and immigration experiences. These professional development sessions educate teachers about students’ backgrounds, challenges, community and cultural assets, and the educational concerns of OIHS diverse newcomer students and families. They also serve to immerse teachers in the home environments of their students, and give students and family members the opportunity to serve as leaders, inverting roles such that our teachers become the students, and our students and families become the teachers.</p>
<p><strong>6. Can you tell me a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as</strong><strong> a coordinator?</strong></p>
<p>When Franklin Velasquez first showed up at Oakland International High School, he was seventeen, and had been out of school for a full year. He'd crossed into the US by himself, fleeing persecution in Guatemala, and spent a year working in day labor zones, doing gardening, construction, moving, and other irregular odd-jobs, while living with a distant relative. After a year of this, he was desperate to get back to school to continue his studies. So he showed up at our front door late one August evening and asked "Can I come to school here?"</p>
<p>Though he wanted an education, school wasn't always easy for Franklin. In spite of how smart and determined he was, Franklin was working full time during 10th and 11th grades, and living alone. He was struggling to both support himself and keep up in school. Plus, he had no papers, and was fighting an immigration case with the help of his attorneys at OIHS partner agency, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant. Thanks to that connection, he won his asylum case.</p>
<p>He was often in the office talking about dropping out, but he persevered, and didn’t give up. He got a lot of encouragement from teachers and staff, and found the soccer program at OIHS, run by Soccer Without Borders, incredibly therapeutic—a place where he could be a kid, could play, where he had support from a team and dedicated coaches, and where he could forget his worries for a few hours each week. He stayed in school and, by his senior year, Franklin became a leader in his class, a strong English speaker, and frequently helped other students. He graduated—against all of the odds—and is now taking classes at a local community college, with plans to transfer to a University and become an Engineer.</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Liz Capparelli Thackertag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-04-17:6557044:BlogPost:157572017-04-17T20:55:38.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
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<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong> <br></br> Northwest is on year two of being a community school. Through our community school initiative, we have been able to keep our doors open longer on a daily basis as well as been able to provide services…</p>
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<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong> <br/> Northwest is on year two of being a community school. Through our community school initiative, we have been able to keep our doors open longer on a daily basis as well as been able to provide services for the students, families and the community at large. We have 11 feeder elementary schools here, 7 of which are community schools, so being a community school allows us to continue to support our families through the tough 3 years of middle school.</p>
<p><strong>2. Why do you do what you do?</strong> <br/> While this job has many challenges and frustrations at times, there are always things that give us a sense of worth and accomplishment. Just when you think things have been tough, something occurs that you have had a hand in and you are reminded of how valuable your job is and how amazing this community school movement is!</p>
<p><strong>3. Can you tell me a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</strong> <br/> This past Thanksgiving, we hosted a Community Thanksgiving. We invited the whole community (immigrants, refugees, and longtime natives) to come and enjoy a day together to share cultures from around the world and a sense of thankfulness. We had Halal and non-Halal tables filled with food from every culture as well as entertainment from several countries with everything that day translated into English, Spanish and Arabic. We had over 400 people in attendance, and still months later I hear people talking about this amazing day and the many people who came together.</p>
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<p><strong>4. What are your biggest challenges?</strong> <br/> Parent engagement always seems to be something that we can do better with. At the middle school level, it seems to be an even bigger problem as students this age don’t want their parents coming in to embarrass them.</p>
<p><strong>5. What is the one thing you want to accomplish the most by the end of the school year?</strong> <br/> One of my goals this year was to increase student voices, and just last week we had a student panel for our rising sixth graders and their parents. These students had an auditorium full of people to whom they gave their experiences as well as answered questions from the audience. Who better to give an overview of middle school, then the students themselves?</p>
<p><strong>6. What’s one piece of advice you would give to other coordinators?</strong> <br/> Rome wasn’t built in a day. It takes time to build a successful community school that addresses the individual needs of that specific neighborhood.</p>
<p><strong>7. What’s one quote that you live by?</strong> <br/> “Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.” - William Arthur Ward</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Cristina Patriciotag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-03-18:6557044:BlogPost:158452017-03-18T16:26:24.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
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<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong> <br></br> Our school is the first new high school to be built in East Los Angeles in the last 85 years. When our teachers submitted their educational proposal plan, they knew that they could not shift student bodies into a new…</p>
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<p><strong>1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</strong> <br/> Our school is the first new high school to be built in East Los Angeles in the last 85 years. When our teachers submitted their educational proposal plan, they knew that they could not shift student bodies into a new building without addressing their students’ needs. They included the community school strategy into their plan and it has created a space where students and families feel that they can come in and share space with the school.</p>
<p><strong>2. Why do you do what you do?</strong><br/> I am a product of my community and I was very lucky that a teacher took me under her arm and guided me towards a college education. The rest of my friends in high school did not have the same opportunity and I was aware of how privileged I was to have this support. At my current school, every single student is supported. We tell them, “We want you to graduate with a high school diploma in one hand and a college acceptance letter in the other and together, were going to make it happen.”</p>
<p><strong>3. What is the most rewarding part of being a coordinator?</strong><br/> My students really understand the concept of what a community school is supposed to be. We share the same sentiment, “When you are good, I am good, when you are down, we are all down.” It shifts the narrative to be inclusive and to help your fellow student. The alumni students support me to engage our current high school students to build and maintain community.</p>
<p><strong>4. Can you tell me a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</strong><br/> In 2014, a student was accepted into her dream college, but she was scared that her parents were not going to let her attend the school. When she called her father, he said to her, “you need to figure this out on your own.” Together, we addressed her father’s fears of being able to pay for tuition and now she is currently in her third year of college and returns every summer to help us with our mentorship program.</p>
<p><strong>5. What are your biggest challenges?</strong><br/> This job is one of the most fulfilling jobs, but it is also the most emotionally draining. We deal with so much trauma and passionately want to meet the needs of our students. At the end of the day, we do not leave our students at school, we take them home with us and think of them all the time.</p>
<p><strong>6. What’s one quote that you live by?</strong><br/> “Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world”- Paulo Freire</p>Coordinator Spotlight - Larry Simmonstag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-02-21:6557044:BlogPost:156032017-02-21T13:00:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
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<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Elev8 Baltimore partners with…</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">1. Tell us about your community school. How has the community school strategy impacted your students, families, and community?</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Elev8 Baltimore partners with Schools, Families, and the Community to make sure that students in grades 3<sup>rd</sup> - 8<sup>th</sup> are ready to succeed in High School and in Life! We do that in three key ways:</span></p>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Provide coordinated services and opportunities that every child needs and deserves.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Engage families and students so that can be effective advocates for themselves and their communities.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Partner with other community based organizations to promote change in the policies and practices of schools, local and national government agencies, and others to strengthen their focus on students and community success.</span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Elev8 Baltimore was founded in 2009 as part of a national Elev8 movement united by the vision of creating strong schools in under-served communities through four sites which operate independently – Oakland, Chicago, New Mexico, and Baltimore. Elev8 Baltimore is an initiative of Humanim, a nonprofit focused on transforming Baltimore neighborhoods, in five Elementary/Middle Schools. In addition to our after school services, we provide students with school-based health services and family support services to their caregivers. In 2015-16, Elev8 Baltimore supported over 1,800 students through the coordination of programs and services!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">2. Why do you do what you do?</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">I truly believe in the adage "It takes a village to raise a child" and that Community Schools brings this to life.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">3. Can you tell me a story about a student, family or community that you directly impacted as a coordinator?</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">I was the Coordinator at Westside Elementary School, located in Central West Baltimore, during the "2015 Uprising", and we offered a safe space and dinner to over 100 Students and Families, from our School and the surrounding community, who couldn’t make it home because of the violence happening in the streets. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">4. The Community Schools National Forum is coming to your city in 2018. What can people look forward to seeing next year in Baltimore?</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">During the National Forum people will have the opportunity to see:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Community Schools with authentic relationships and support of local government officials and agencies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Community School Coordinators working as "Change Agents" in their school communities.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Community Based Organizations and Schools partnering to build capacity in parents through advocacy, engagement, and involvement.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">And a city changing for the better!</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><strong>5. Quote that you live by:</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">"Not everything that is face can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3"><strong>6. One piece of advice for other coordinators:</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="font-size-3">Remember SELF CARE!</span></p>#BrightSpot - Changing Livestag:coordinators.communityschools.org,2017-01-24:6557044:BlogPost:154222017-01-24T16:30:00.000ZJennifer Masutanihttp://coordinators.communityschools.org/profile/JenniferMasutani
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/local/coming-of-age-in-a-city-coming-apart/2016/06/15/c1fb156a-3339-11e6-ab9d-1da2b0f24f93_video.html" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235845233?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="675"></img></a> <span>Last summer, the story of a young man in Baltimore, Khalil Bridges, has been shared via the Washington Post, and other news outlets. Khalil Bridges attended a community school in Baltimore, where he found help and support that would uplift him as he moved forward into young adulthood. His story is one of…</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/local/coming-of-age-in-a-city-coming-apart/2016/06/15/c1fb156a-3339-11e6-ab9d-1da2b0f24f93_video.html" target="_blank"><img width="675" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2235845233?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="675" class="align-full"/></a><span>Last summer, the story of a young man in Baltimore, Khalil Bridges, has been shared via the Washington Post, and other news outlets. Khalil Bridges attended a community school in Baltimore, where he found help and support that would uplift him as he moved forward into young adulthood. His story is one of overcoming obstacles and many people rallied to support Khalil in his future pursuits of education, prompting Khalil to ask what the next steps would be not for himself, but for other young people and his community as a whole. We want to share Khalil’s voice, through the coverage of his experience, as well as through his own words. <a href="http://www.communityschools.org//aboutschools/khalil_bridges_.aspx" target="_blank">Learn more.</a></span></p>
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