Community Schools Development and Implementation

Our team of experts can facilitate and support your implementation efforts related to community schools through communities of practice, content-specific knowledge and capacity building, and creation of high-quality tools and resources.

How We Help

We know that community schools should be led by the communities they serve. Our work together will help you shape successful partnerships to create learning conditions designed to prioritize agency, self-determination, and liberation.

We Help You

enhance community schools through intentional planning, implementation, and continuous improvement;
strengthen the conditions for systemic youth and family engagement to grow and align community-based partnerships to support the whole person;
work with regional and state agencies to cocreate support systems for community schools;
identify a shared vision for equitable whole-person outcomes around which community schools’ efforts can be united; and
develop and strengthen collaborative leadership approaches, expanded learning opportunities, and program evaluation aligned with a comprehensive community schools framework.

Thanks to the expertise and guidance from the WestEd team, the Central Valley Regional Transformational Assistance Center is better able to equip educators and community members with the tools they need to lead effective transformation. The resources, professional learning, and strategic insights WestEd shared are invaluable, and the impact on our grantees, non-grantees and community are evident in the work.
— Director of Community Schools, County Office of Education

Featured Experts

Rebeca Cerna

Rebeca Cerna is an expert in school climate, health and wellness, and the strategic use of data and participatory approaches. As Director of the Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities area at WestEd, Cerna is dedicated to creating and maintaining safe, supportive, and collaborative learning environments that are supportive of children and youth as well as the adults who guide them.

Expert

Ashley Boal

Ashley Boal is a Senior Research Associate for the Justice and Prevention Research Center (JPRC). She brings years of experience conducting research and evaluation studies across a diverse range of content areas including education, criminal justice, violence against women, and mental and physical health.

Expert

Amber Valdez

Amber Valdez directs a body of work on systems change and leadership with a focus on designing and leading systems for equity. Her expertise includes strategic planning, cross-sector/interagency collaboration, systems of support, continuous improvement, human-centered design, complex systems change, and equity leadership.

Expert

Connecting Research With Practice

Community schools embody a whole-person approach to education that prioritizes collaboration, community engagement, and equity. WestEd’s support for community schools is grounded in evidence-based practices, including the four pillars of community schools for achieving transformational outcomes and participatory systems change for equity.

More Related to this Service

Insights & Impact

BlogArticles

How Schools and Families Can Partner to Support Youth Well-Being

BlogPodcasts

Leading Voices Podcast Series Episode 12: Cultivating Belonging, Inclusive Spaces, and Reflective Practices—A Conversation With Monica Mathur-Kalluri

BlogPodcasts

Leading Voices Podcast Series Episode 5: How Students Can Help Shape School Climate Policy and Practice—A Conversation with Rebeca Cerna and Julian Berkowitz-Sklar

Discover More About Our Impact

Resources

Browse our high-quality publications and resources designed to inform and engage professionals in a variety of fields including K–12 education, early childhood, and health and justice.