Community School Leaders: The Role of the Principal
March 18, 2026|Virtual Workshop | 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM (PT), including optional office hours
Register Now
March 18, 2026|Virtual Workshop | 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM (PT), including optional office hours
Register NowWe all know that principals are essential to the long-term success and sustained impact of community schools (CSs). But do you know what it takes to be the kind of leader who can be effective in the role? What skills, capacities, and dispositions does it take for community school principals to be successful? And are strong CS principals born, or made–or is it a little of both? On March 18th, CSLX will answer these questions and more as we dig into the unique role of community school principals, and the skills, qualities and mindsets the role requires.
Designed for principals and school leaders at the forefront of community school development, this interactive session offers practical, action-oriented support for site-based leaders. You’ll explore strategies for guiding school teams, engaging a range of interest holders in community school development, and cultivating shared leadership. You’ll learn best practices for reimagining how we “do school,” emphasizing that a community school is not a program, but a transformative strategy. And, you’ll examine the necessary mindset and structural shifts that are required for lasting school transformation. Key topics such as inclusive decision-making, building trusting relationships, and forming strong partnerships with Community School Coordinators will be explored through the lens of school leadership.
Note: This session will be highly interactive. Participants will be expected to review and reflect on the materials you will receive prior to the workshop.
The Community School Leaders: The Role of the Principal workshop is designed specifically for principals, school leaders, and the school-site and LEA-level practitioners and teams who work with and support them.
The fee is $200 per person. Those coming with their teams should pay a registration fee for each person who is attending.
If you’d like a large team of more than 10 people to go through this training together, contact us at love@cslx.org so we can help you determine what type of opportunity might be the most impactful for your team.
Bring colleagues who work on the ground to lead your community school strategy at school sites. These can be Community School Coordinators, principals, teachers, and/or those at the district level that lead your community school initiatives.
Cancellation requests must be communicated to CSLX no later than Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in order to receive a refund. Please note that you will be charged a 10% fee for administration costs associated with your cancellation and that partial refunds are not available. You may request a cancellation by emailing love@cslx.org.
While we do not provide individualized support during the workshop itself, CSLX facilitators will stay in the Zoom room after the session to answer questions you might have, related to the content shared during the workshop. Depending on the number of Office Hours attendees, this may also be an opportunity to dig a bit deeper into the concepts covered with your workshop facilitators, with more specificity.
Yes! This workshop is designed for principals at all stages in their principalships and at different stages of community school development, along with the people who support them.
Registered participants will receive the materials and resources we cover through a page only accessible by registered participants.
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 on your assets and needs assessment and asset mapping processes.
No. This is a participatory, introductory session that is designed to give you the tools, strategies, and resources to strengthen your understanding of the role of the CS principal and what it takes to be effective in this position. During the workshop, there will be opportunities to share out about your individual contexts during small group breakouts, but no individualized support. If you’d like more personalized support, we’d love to support you. Send us a note.
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.
Community schools only become “the way we do school” when we strengthen and align our systems to hold the work together.
When practitioners think about community school sustainability planning, especially as CCSPP grants continue to “age,” the first question they often ask is, “how are we going to replace this funding?” But sustainability planning shouldn’t revolve around dollar for dollar replacements.
A community school principal reflects both the skill and will to lead their school communities in ways that are, at times, counter to how a principal is expected to lead. They need the curiosity, patience and humility, as well as the knowledge to lead improvement efforts and school transformation.
