Community | National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE)

The role of community in schools consists of the connections between schools and individuals, businesses, and formal and informal organizations and institutions that can leverage community resources and assist students in achieving positive outcomes.

The notion that community has an important role in the education of America’s children is long-standing and is a central theme of education reform. Community members partnering on the ground (e.g., neighbors along route to school) can ensure safety and provide support to staff, students, and family members. Community agencies partnering between systems (e.g., child welfare, law enforcement, libraries) offer protective factors that can contribute to student resilience as well as help efficiently and effectively address issues when they arise. Schools that are well connected to the local community can create a safe and supportive environment inside and outside of the classroom.

Schools can benefit from additional resources to educate students and these resources, whether material or human capital, can be provided by members of a student’s community.

Involvement of community members in schools can improve the overall quality of education that students receive.

Community involvement is one way to help schools prepare students for future success.

References

Featured Resources

Title page for resource with "Delivering Services in School-Based Settings: A Comprehensive Guide to Medicaid Services and Administrative Claiming"

Delivering Services in School-Based Settings: A Comprehensive Guide to Medicaid Services and Administrative Claiming

Provides guidance for how CMS is expanding access to Medicaid health care services in schools, including behavioral health services, and reducing administrative burden for states and schools.

Handbook on Family and Community Engagement

Provides educators, community leaders, and parents with a survey of the best research and practice related to engaging families and communities in students’ learning and academic, social, and emotional development. Includes chapters on aspirations and expectations, self-efficacy, homework and study habits, engaging families in reading, reading and literacy, college and career readiness, partnerships, and more.

IACP Programs Online Training Portal

Offers courses for law enforcement and criminal justice professionals to gain knowledge and training via specific courses on school safety and other related topics.

Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action

Finds supporting evidence for the hypothesis that, in elementary age behavioral development, cognition about the acceptability of aggressive behavior is influenced by group expectations and sanctions, but not by the actual presence and extent of aggressive behavior.

Sustainability Resource Guide Front Page

Building Sustainable Programs: The Resource Guide

Provides practical tips and activities for developing a long-term sustainability plan. Building Sustainable Programs: The Resource Guide is part of a collection of resources developed for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) grantees, which provides guidance to help programs and services achieve sustainable impacts.

Community Action Planning: Bullying Prevention Training Module

Includes materials to create a community event using promising bullying response strategies. The toolkit helps communities plan, execute and assess community events and includes resources for each stage of the campaign. Contains resources to conduct an assessment before the event, a sample template agenda for the day of the event, and follow up steps.