Huffington Post April 29, 2016
“Wraparound Services Alone Won’t Improve Student Outcomes.” is the title of a recent blog by Paul Hill Director of the Center for Reinventing Public Education. As leaders of the community schools movement we couldn’t agree more…
To realize this vision, community schools are reorganizing existing community resources so they are aligned with the mission of public schools. The assets of health systems, cities and counties, higher education institutions, United Ways and community-based organizations are being aligned around the education of our children. Community schools are using existing space – the public’s schools — as the place to make this happen because schools are where the challenges students face emerge, where student learning must improve and where communities gather. And many parents, working as part of education organizing groups, have adopted community schools as their chosen vision for their public schools.
Cincinnati has received well-deserved attention for its pioneering community schools work. It is noteworthy that Cincinnati’s Oyler Community Learning Center (aka community school) is the focal point of Dr. Hill’s blog. Virtually no students who left Oyler Middle School graduated from high school before Oyler was transformed into a K-12 community school. In 2013, 40.5 percent of its high school students graduated in four years. In 2015, the rate was 48.7%. This year Oyler’s graduates have been accepted to college. To understand what a significant achievement this represents and to understand the impact of poverty on education, readers are encouraged to view the documentary Oyler: One School, One Year…