The community school coordinator: leader and professional capital builder

Abstract

Purpose Emerging research demonstrates that the community school model holds promise for meeting the needs of families by improving academic and social-emotional outcomes for students and strengthening communities. In this model, school leaders play an integral role in building relationships among multiple stakeholders, cultivating community partnerships and developing democratic decision making. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the community school coordinator (CSC) as a school leader who carries out all of her/his work in collaboration with students, teachers, school administrators, families and community partners. Design/methodology/approach Findings in this single qualitative case study are based on multiple data sources that include semi-structured interviews (n=29) of stakeholders (families, partners and educators), participant observations of partnership meetings and school events, and document analysis. Findings Data analysis shows how the CSC leads and facilitates professional capital among multiple school and community stakeholders. Findings are organized into three themes: the CSC as bridge-builder who connects and promotes trusting relationships with multiple stakeholders; the CSC as collaborator who fosters joint work and a sense of collective responsibility; and the CSC as leader who supports the emergence of decisional capital. Originality/value Given the nascent literature on the role of CSCs, this case study provides insight into the leadership role of the CSC as builder of professional capital. The research informs practice by providing an example of how one community school made a strategic investment in a leadership role intended to design and develop a culture of professional collaboration.

Leadership Vision and School-Family-Community Partnerships in the Model Schools for Inner Cities Initiative: a Multiple Explanatory Case Study

“…In addition to social brokering, the present study found that schools in the MSIC initiative can be sites for cultural brokering as well. Contributing to research that highlights the important leadership role of family and community liaisons in family engagement and cultural brokering (FitzGerald & Quiñones, 2018;Ishimaru et al, 2016;Yohani, 2011), the present study similarly found the MSIC Community Support Worker and the on-site TDSB Settlement Worker to be key leaders in cultural brokering.…”

“…Parents feeling a sense of trust in their relationships with the school may be an important mechanism of change, as it has been found in a number of studies to be key in schoolfamily-community partnerships and an important factor in determining how welcomed and comfortable parents feel being involved in the school (Barr & Saltmarch, 2014;Bryk & Schneider, 2002;. Building trust is not only the responsibility of principals, but can include other school staff, such as community school coordinators (schoolsupport staff who lead and facilitate partnerships between the school and community), who can also play integral leadership roles in building trust with families (FitzGerald & Quiñones, 2018;Ishimaru et al, 2016). FitzGerald and Quiñones (2018) found that community school coordinators facilitated conversations between school staff and families and acted as someone families could turn to for support, which made families feel they could trust the school and in turn made families feel more comfortable in the school.…”

“…Building trust is not only the responsibility of principals, but can include other school staff, such as community school coordinators (schoolsupport staff who lead and facilitate partnerships between the school and community), who can also play integral leadership roles in building trust with families (FitzGerald & Quiñones, 2018;Ishimaru et al, 2016). FitzGerald and Quiñones (2018) found that community school coordinators facilitated conversations between school staff and families and acted as someone families could turn to for support, which made families feel they could trust the school and in turn made families feel more comfortable in the school. Khalifa's (2012) ethnographic study of leadership at an urban high school in the United States of America (USA) found that strategies leaders used to build trust and rapport with families and communities included the principal being visibly present and involved in the local community, sharing and addressing family and community concerns (for example, through supporting organized community protests), and engaging in frequent personal exchanges at the school and in home visits with students and parents about family, community, and personal issues.…”

“…But, Khalifa (2012) and others do not intentionally test for the mechanisms of change that might explain this connection. Alongside Khalifa's (2012) work there is a growing body of literature that focuses on the ways that school leaders partner with families and communities to coadvocate for community causes and create systemic change (e.g., Auerbach, 2010;Fitzgerald & Quiñones, 2018;Green, 2015;Green, 2018;Ishimaru, 2013;Ishimaru, 2018). Research on these community-oriented practices suggests that having mutually shared goals and interests to create change could act as mechanisms of change leading to improved outcomes for families.…”

“…• The MSIC Community Support Worker emerged as an is important leader in terms of acting as a cultural broker for families and in co-advocating for community causes alongside families, despite this study's focus on the administrative leadership team (principal and vice-principal). Previous researchers have highlighted the importance of community liaisons in fostering school-family-community partnerships, particularly for nondominant groups (e.g., FitzGerald & Quiñones, 2018;Ishimaru, et al, 2016). Future research on the MSIC initiative should include the perspectives of MSIC Community Support Workers and further unpack their leadership roles in supporting school-familycommunity partnerships.…”