CS Leaders: The Role of the Community School Coordinator

While Community School Coordinators (CSC) are hired to support and lead community school (CS) development, their role is often not well understood. Sometimes CSCs are seen as just an extra set of hands instead of as a strategic partner in school transformation. Other times they’re seen as the person holding “all the things” – they’re the “family engagement person,” the partnership person, the CS person. This lack of understanding about and clarity around the role of the CSC gets in the way of community school development. Ensuring that everyone - including the CSC – is clear on the role, responsibilities and opportunities, on the other hand, can help accelerate it.

CS Leaders: The Role of the Community School Coordinator is a two-part, virtual workshop designed to help participants understand the foundational components of what a Community School Coordinator (CSC) does. Facilitated by the Community Schools Learning Exchange (CSLX), these interactive sessions will walk through the enabling conditions essential to community school development, use real-life examples of the role CSCs play in building teams’ capacities to do this work, and offer guidance for leading teams and engaging in long-term planning. Participants will also develop a greater understanding of topics like shared leadership, inclusive decision making, and meaningful interest holder engagement. Each session will include time for collaboration with and learning from peers, and real-time action planning.

As a result of the workshop, participants will:

• Have an in-depth understanding for setting up your CSC for success;
  
• Gain an understanding of and plans for the arc of the year – how CSCs’ activities and priorities changes throughout the school year, and ways to map out those priorities and activities across the year;
• Hear about strategies for getting the work done, including plans of action for next steps you'll take, and;
  
• Receive tools and materials designed to support your equity-driven work.