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An illustrated image of a young woman walking into her high school, Castlemont High.

Before we called them community schools

Youth development doesn't just change young people, it raises the adults who spend the rest of their lives changing systems to better serve young people.

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A group of young students with backpacks enter school

September is Attendance Awareness Month. What will you do to celebrate?

This Attendance Awareness Month, we started thinking about what new routines community school teams might develop to support attendance and, more importantly, belongingness.

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An illustrated image of a woman in a classroom, at a chalkboard numbered 1-7

Building sustainable community schools: Seven strategies for long-term impact

Effective sustainability planning is not about dollar-for-dollar replacement–and with new state investments in the picture, that’s truer than ever.

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Youth are not the future of community schools–They are the architects of the movement

Student voice isn't about inviting young people to validate adult ideas. It's about recognizing that lived experience is expertise.

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An illustrated image of two figures analyzing the FY27 budget with a calculator and notepad.

California's FY27 budget: What community school leaders need to know

May…a time for transition, a time for celebration, and a time for the state budget May Revision. What do CA school district leaders and site teams need to know about this year’s state budget so far?

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An illustrated image of a woman looking in the mirror.

Whole-child systems transformation starts with whole-person leadership

Transformative relationships are formed when we share pieces of our humanity with others, and thus, invite them to do the same.

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Honoring Deanna Niebuhr: A champion for children and community schools

We are heartbroken to share that our dear friend and colleague Deanna Niebuhr passed peacefully after a short illness, surrounded by her family, on Saturday, February 28th.

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An illustrated image of two figures connecting two large puzzle pieces.

Stop adding frameworks. Start connecting them.

If you’ve ever left a meeting and felt like you learned a lot, feel like the material is relevant, but also are more confused than before you came in, you might be experiencing framework fatigue.

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An illustrated image of a whole group of people behind a white woman indicating that it takes the village to raise literacy in our communities.

It really does take an entire village

It’s time to stop siloing and start collectively owning our goals as the village that holds the power of our students’ futures. Because it really does take a village to reach our literacy and math goals!

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