"This seems so obvious that it shouldn’t have to be said, but with standardized testing being the focus of school reform, here goes anyway: Children can’t become high achievers in school if they arrive in class hungry, sick, exhausted, traumatized. That’s why community schools should be a bigger part of the school reform movement than they are.
"Community schools focus not only on academics but also, through partnerships with outside organizations, child and youth development, family support, health and social services, and community development. By aligning with non-profits, businesses, and public agencies, community schools can streamline services to their students while avoiding costly redundancies and gaps in delivery....
"So much of what makes California’s community schools movement so profoundly inspiring to me is that its core tenets reflect the fundamental belief that disadvantaged children are resilient, complex, thoughtful human beings. They are assets.
"What children are not are pieces of raw data....
"The consequences of academic failure are everyone’s problem, costing the state over $58 billion each year in incarceration expenses, health care, and taxable income....
"...The community schools movement isn’t a quick-fix policy instrument or forced decree. It represents a cognitive and cultural shift toward a more effective, efficient, sustainable, and ethical public school paradigm...."
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h/t @extcharte TY!
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