District reports year-one progress on California Community Schools Partnership Program

Dr. Jessica Reid, assistant director of student and family services, and director Liz Teresi presented an annual update on the district's first year implementing the California Community Schools Partnership Program. The program is organized around four pillars: integrated student supports, family and community engagement, collaborative leadership, and expanded learning opportunities.

Year-one accomplishments included hiring five community schools coordinators and launching work at five pilot sites (Anna Kyle, Cleo Gordon, David A. Weir, Grange Middle School and Sheldon Academy). Dr. Reid described three capacity-building priorities for year one: developing a shared vision, creating a culture of belonging and strengthening collaborative leadership through shared governance. Examples included empathy interviews to gather "street data," expanded mental-health clinics, after-school interventions, identity-affirming student projects, and partnerships with providers such as the UC Davis Math Project.

Trustees and presenters said labor partners and community groups were key to implementation; trustees praised the collaborative approach and noted the program will move into a second year of expanded needs assessments and asset mapping.

Why it matters: Community schools align wraparound services with classroom instruction and can address barriers to learning by coordinating district, family and community resources.

What's next: Sites will expand qualitative "street data" collection, update needs assessments and refine site priorities based on community voice.