Community School Essentials

Effective community schools happen through team effort and start with a clear foundational understanding of what community school development entails. With the guidance of a Community School Coordinator, teams can design a community school process that reflects their school’s unique perspectives and priorities, and make informed and collaborative decisions about how their community will understand, imagine, and own the work. How do they get there? By taking the time to know what it means–as individual contributors, members of a community, and as a team. That takes getting people on the same page about where they are, where they want to go, and how a community school strategy will help get them there.

On October 30th, 2024, the Community Schools Learning Exchange (CSLX) will host Community School Essentials–a three-hour virtual workshop designed to serve as a starting point for community school teams to come together, and develop shared language and understanding around how they can design a community school development process that reflects the unique needs of their school community.

By joining, participants will gain:

• Shared language for and common understanding about what community schools are all about;

• Shared understandings of how CCSPP (or other) funds can provide seed funding to enable you to use the CS strategy to work towards school, district, and/or county priorities;

• Strategies, tools and guidance to help you build collaborative relationships with interest holders, and to co-create a vision for your work together;

• Ways to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for partnership;

• A grounding on how to build a powerful team, including hiring community school coordinator(s).

Date

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 9:00 am- 12:00 pm PST

Location

Community School Essentials is a 100% virtual event. Registered participants will receive links and instructions to join the workshop via Zoom prior to the event.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Community School Essentials?

CSLX’s Community School Essentials workshops are designed to give you a solid foundation in the skills and capacities needed to set the stage for strong and sustained community school development. You’ll get an overview of the community school strategy – from the necessary components of community school planning and implementation, to strategies for gaining the skills required to build and sustain CS work.

Who, specifically, is this for?

Community School Essentials is designed for district, school, COE, and community partners who are newer to, or could use a refresher on, the CS strategy, from planning to implementation. This session will ground participants in a shared framework for community school development, introduce the fundamental skills and capacities required to build and sustain community schools, and who is involved in this work.

Who from my team should I bring?

Bring colleagues who work on the ground to lead your community school strategy at school sites, or at the LEA level. These can be community school coordinators, principals, teachers, community partners, and/or those at the district-level that lead your community school initiatives. So we can ensure a meaningful and engaging virtual experience for all our participants, we humbly ask Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to limit attendance from their LEA to 10 people.

How much does it cost and what is included?

The cost of registration is $295 per person.

What if I want to register my whole team? Can we register as a group?

If you’d like a large team of more than 10 people to go through this training together, contact us at register@cslx.org so we can help you determine what type of opportunity might be the most impactful for you.

Will workshops be recorded?

The workshop presentation and group community share-outs will be recorded and shared with workshop registrants after the workshop. Breakout group discussions held during each workshop will not be recorded. Recordings will be shared within a week after the workshop and will be available for 30 days.

How can I access the tools and materials we discuss once we’re done?

Registered participants will receive the materials and resources we cover through a shared Google Drive folder.

I’m looking for personalized support in designing my community schools strategy. Will I get that here?

No. This is a participatory, introductory session that is designed to give you the tools, strategies, and resources to guide your community school development work. During the workshop, there will be opportunities to share out about your individual contexts during small group breakouts, but no individualized support.

What if I want more one-on-one support?

We’d love to hear more! Just send us a note at love@cslx.org so we can discuss other options that might enable us to provide you with more individualized support.

What if I need to cancel my registration? Will I get a refund?

Yes, but please note that you must notify CSLX of your cancellation by Wednesday, October 16th, 2024 in order to receive a refund. You will be charged a 10% fee for administration costs associated with your cancellation. Partial refunds are not available. All refund requests should be emailed to register@cslx.org.