True community engagement strengthens the connection between schools and communities, creating more effective schools and healthier neighborhoods. Community engagement leads to community learning centers (CLC) that are central to the life and learning of the entire community and embody community values.
Cincinnati Public Schools and the Xavier University Community Building Institute are engaging all school communities through a facilitated process to plan, design and develop schools as community learning centers.
The community engagement process begins with a group called the School Planning Team, which may typically include the school principal, members of the Local School Decision Making Committee (LSDMC), parents, volunteers, community business leaders, school staff members, non-profit neighborhood groups and community organizations.
The team engages as many members of the school community as possible in the vision and planning for its community learning center. This ensures a shared vision of academic programs, enrichment activities and support services for students, families and community members — before and after school; during the evenings and on weekends; as well as during the school year and summer months.
The goal of the community engagement process is to address the emotional, physical and intellectual needs of students, resulting in well-rounded children and improved student achievement. The team fosters strong collaboration, sets high expectations, embraces diversity and shares accountability for results.
To meet this goal, a step-by-step community engagement process is used.
VISIONINGThe planning team solicits community input through public forums by asking the important question, "What do you want your school community to become?" Instead of centering on others' ideas about what might be important to a community, the vision is centered on a community's values and aspirations. The team then develops a collaborative vision for its community learning center.
ASSET MAPPING
Studying available data is an important part of a School Planning Team's work.Asset mapping focuses on developing an inventory of community strengths to determine what resources already exist that can support needs of the families and students through the community learning center. This includes buildings, such as libraries and community centers, as well as services and talents of community organizations and members.
NEEDS ASSESSMENTThis step focuses on the gap between local resources identified in asset mapping and the vision. The team accesses local information through a variety of sources to better understand its needs. For example, each school has a OnePlan that lays out the needs of its student population. In addition, the team considers other community information such as mobility rates, housing trends and socio-economic data.
SETTING PRIORITIESBased on the information gathered during the visioning, asset mapping and needs assessment steps, priorities now are set to further sharpen the vision of the community learning center. This may include some adjustment to the physical building or site. For example, it was a high priority for the Pleasant Ridge community to have a school building that was environmentally friendly because it is healthier and more cost efficient. As a result the new Pleasant Ridge Community Learning Center is being designed to meet LEED standards.
The view from Montgomery Road shows how the building will use natural light in more spaces to create an environmentally friendly, cost-efficient facility.These LEED standards are similar to a food nutrition label, but give guidelines for "green" schools. Pleasant Ridge's design will include such items as more natural lighting, solar panels, climate controls for energy savings, and improved ventilation and air pollution controls - all of which can be used as teaching tools.
PARTNERSHIPSTo support the identified priorities, the team develops partnerships to enhance opportunities for student success and community investment. For example, the Fairview community learning center campus includes a newly created Clifton Cultural Arts Center with the Art Academy of Cincinnati, the Institute for Lifetime Education and the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music as partners. The campus offers arts programming to all ages - from Fairview students to seniors in the community.
IMPLEMENTATIONAt this point, the School Planning Team's role is to make sure the vision is sustained. The implementation is turned over to the Community Resource Coordinator who manages the community learning center. This person also is responsible for maintaining the partner relationships linked to the center.
Using this community engagement process creates a sense of ownership within a community, which is a key factor to sustaining school improvement efforts.
