Achieving Equity in Education Through Full‐Service Community Schools

Supporting Latinx immigrant children and families in the transition to elementary school

“…It recognizes the potential within communities by establishing schools as sites of leadership development to bridge “the culture and power gap that typically exists between family and local community members, on the one hand, and the professional educators employed in the neighborhood school on the other” (p. 152). Other models of community–school partnership emphasize making available a variety of options, including offering an array of programs for family involvement in the community, conducting needs assessments to tailor outreach to families, providing opportunities to work in tandem with organizations that already have relationships with both families and schools, and making other key services available (Arias, 2015; Galindo & Sanders, 2019; Gonzalez et al., 2013), including adult education, health, and employment programs.…”

“…However, creating authentic partnerships in which families are seen as co‐equal collaborators “remains more rhetoric than reality” (Sheridan & Garbacz, 2022, p. 732). Despite the emerging evidence for what is needed for effective family–school–community partnerships (for examples, see Epstein et al., 2019; Galindo & Sanders, 2019; McWayne, 2015; McWayne et al., 2019; McWayne et al., 2022), evidence of broad‐scale uptake of these ideas by practitioners and policymakers at the elementary school level is limited. Given the many demands placed on teachers and elementary schools, especially in the under‐resourced schools that Latinx immigrant students are likely to attend (Soutullo et al., 2016; Votruba‐Drzal et al., 2015), it is understandable that authentic partnerships may not be a top priority for educators.…”

Betwixt and Between Justice and Inaction: Full-Service Community School Principals and Community Equity Literacy

“…Partnerships and services are often coordinated by a coordinator, and preliminarily results indicate FSCS are effective in reducing risky behavior, lowering the dropout rate, and increasing the academic performance of students (Heers et al, 2016). In terms of equity-centered reform strategies, Galindo and Sanders (2019) emphasized FSCS “have taken on new appeal as we again recognize that holistic approaches to learning are needed to realize the presently elusive goal of educational equity for all students” (p. 523).…”

“…As an equity-centered improvement strategy, FSCS rely heavily on partnerships between the local school, community agencies, faith-based institutions, and local government (Maier et al, 2017). Galindo and Sanders (2019) stated the actions of these partners are intended to (1) provide coordinated services to students and families that are responsive to localized needs (e.g., academic, health, and social services), (2) strengthen family communication and engagement by supporting and empowering caregivers as active partners within the school, and (3) reinforce overall community well-being by “facilitating low-income and racially/ethnically diverse residents’ access to political leaders, media representatives, activists, grant-makers, and others with critical resources” (p. 514). Working in tandem, these mechanisms are designed to move the needle on the long-term goal of creating educational equity for all students.…”

“…Recent articles by Shiller (2020) and Goessling et al (2020) indicated that, despite early efforts to be community driven and transformational, FSCS initiatives in Baltimore and Philadelphia remain primarily focused on service provisions. This is problematic because the nature of FSCS require school personnel, especially school leaders, to “enact their professional roles differently to build on students’ cultural, family, and community assets” (Galindo & Sanders, 2019, p. 523).…”