Building sustainable community schools: Seven strategies for long-term impact
California’s new budget includes a long-term investment in the community school strategy in the form of a new allocation for community school development based on the state’s education funding formula (instead of a competitive grant process). While this is cause for celebration, it's also a good time to think through what we actually mean by "sustaining" community schools work.
For years, sustainability planning has centered on figuring out how to replace California Community School Partnership Program (CCSPP) grant dollars when they sunset. Now, a new, steadier funding structure raises a different question, one that's less about dollar-for-dollar replacement and more about growth: with more predictable resources, how do we do more, and do better, by the whole-child, whole-system vision community schools are built to achieve?
CSLX’s Sustainability Series is built on this reframe – sustainability isn't just about proverbially “keeping the lights on” or programs running. It's about what it takes to deepen the work over time and build the systems, teams and relationships that bring about lasting and transformational changes in how we do school.
What do we mean by "sustaining"?
When we talk with practitioners about community school sustainability planning, especially as CCSPP grants age, the first question they often ask is, "how are we going to replace this funding?" But effective sustainability planning is not about dollar-for-dollar replacement–and with new state investments in the picture, that’s truer than ever. Like everything else in a community school, sustainability planning is an opportunity for inclusive processes and strategic thinking aimed at clarifying what should (and shouldn’t) be sustained, identifying the right strategies for your schools and contexts, and considering which investments made now will deepen the work over time.
And like all the other aspects of community schools, there is no magic bullet or one-size-fits-all sustainability solution. What works for one LEA or site may not work for another. We’re offering some ways you can think about sustainability and strategies to align goals, priorities, resources, and interest holders around a long-term vision of student success. Here are our top tips.
1. Define explicitly the changes you're trying to make and what you want to sustain, and grow – practically, and realistically. CCSPP funding supports tangible investments — like a full-time Community School Coordinator (CSC) and capacity-building — but transformation also requires mindset shifts, new ways of organizing systems, and new collaborative behaviors that, over time, become part of a school or district's DNA. When you invest in capacity-building and new ways of working together throughout the life of your grant, you can help solidify community school (CS) development while centering equity, student outcomes, and collaborative leadership.
2. Build your leadership and sustainability planning teams. At its heart, community school development is about shared ownership and shared responsibility. Community schools that sustain and strengthen their work across grants and staff changes do so because interest holders see themselves as co-owners of the process and outcomes. The more people who feel genuine responsibility for CS development, the more resilient the work becomes.
With that in mind, sustainability planning shouldn't be done by just a couple of people who are familiar with “the grant.” Cast a wide net among interest holders — teachers, students, families, community partners, and municipal agencies. Examine your CS development to date: what's gone well, where have you met your goals, and where do you want to grow? According to whom? Who else should weigh in? What’s your data telling you?
This is also the time to think strategically about “braiding and blending” funding across grants, initiatives, and partnerships, which is easier said than done, we know. Pooling resources requires trust and transparency — as one colleague puts it, "putting your money on the table and your hands behind your back." Building those relationships now supports both funding conversations and stronger CS development. Use the CS Essentials Framework to map your strengths and identify the right, long-term partners, ones who bring expertise, experience, and commitment in different aspects of the work.
Quick sidebar– what do we mean by “long-term partners?” We mean organizations and people who play strategic roles and share ownership in your community school development. This kind of partnership is different from vendor/ customer relationships or collegial “collaborative” initiatives (both of those have different benefits). Within a community school, partnerships are centered on mutual accountability, co-creating a vision and goals and working together to achieve them, building the trust required to work through challenges to improve, and sharing resources.
For example, a long-term partner might be a community-based organization (CBO) working with your school on expanded and enriched learning opportunities, like after school programs. Other long-term partners could include other public entities like libraries, health providers, or a community college. Keep in mind, however, that not every organization that you work with will be a long-term partner.
OK, back to sustainability. Site-based practitioners should proactively engage their district teams, and district-level leaders should consider involving their County Office of Education, local businesses, and advocacy groupsDon’t forget municipal agencies such as the health department, library, senior center, transportation, workforce development, and early childhood and higher education. They, too, can be partners in your CS development across the board, and over time can play key roles in not just sustaining your work, but growing it.
3. Strengthen your supportive infrastructure. Elements of the CS Essentials Framework's Supportive Infrastructure ring — shared governance, professional learning, strategic partnerships, data systems, and sustainable resources — are crucial to sustaining community schools. Here are some things to consider:
4. Embed the community school strategy in district planning – and vice versa. Over time, ensure that community school development reflects strategic priorities of the district and sites (e.g., align goals at the site level with district-level goals, and align goals across sites). Along the same lines, LCAPs and site-level SPSAs should reflect CS development priorities and goals. They should all go hand-in-hand. This also means that cabinet leaders, department heads, and their teams don't just receive updates —they understand how they support CS development and how their work is integral to building, sustaining, and growing transformational community schools.
5. Make investments now that pay off later. Take a look at the CS Essentials Framework — where are your strengths, and according to whom? Maybe you and your team have done a lot of work around actionable data, or maybe your community school is really strong on a couple of the key practices. Build off these strengths to deepen other aspects of your CS development work. Maybe you need to strengthen the enabling conditions (trusting relationships, shared vision, actionable data, and inclusive decision-making).
When you look at the key practices (expanded and enriched learning opportunities, integrated support services, collaborative shared power, leadership and voice, rigorous community-connected classroom instruction, powerful student and family engagement, and culture of belonging, safety and care), are there opportunities to grow in these areas? Some ideas:
6. Build and deploy your champions. Storytelling plays a key role in cultivating champions who are critical to sustaining your work, and the most compelling stories are grounded in data. Using data to illustrate your community school's impact — whether that's improved attendance, increased access to services, stronger family engagement, or shifts in school climate — gives your story credibility and helps skeptics become believers.
By the way, “data” doesn't have to be dense spreadsheets or technical reports; it can be simple visualizations paired with student and family voices that make numbers relevant. When interest holders can see clear evidence of impact alongside the human stories behind it, they are far more likely to invest — financially, politically, and personally — in sustaining the work. Get in the habit of sharing student impacts, school transformation stories, and promising practices — through avenues like social media, board presentations, data reports, and more. Create tools, templates, and a regular cadence for sharing so that schools, district teams and champions are set up to tell the community school story consistently and compellingly, with both the heart and the evidence to back it up.
7. Just do it. No matter where you start your sustainability planning journey, the point is simply to start. Bring people together, have honest conversations about highs and lows, and document your ideas and decisions. If you're a CCSPP grantee, consider using the S-TAC sustainability planning template as shared text to work through with different interest holders. You could even consider breaking it into smaller pieces to engage groups over time.
These conversations – and the documentation that goes along with them – are the engine of real sustainability planning. They’ll help ensure that everyone understands the direction and shares in the progress, and will help you connect more people to how you are all working towards success.
This is the first installment in CSLX's (new!) series of blogs on the topic of, you guessed it, sustainability. Future topics include navigating unique contexts, the power of storytelling, and blending and braiding funding. We'd love to hear from you — what other sustainability topics would you like us to address? Send us a note.
Melissa Mitchell is a community school practitioner with more than fifteen years in the field. Her experiences range from Community School Coordinator to leading the Federation for Community Schools, a Illinois-wide capacity building and policy organization. Melissa has supported community school development in a variety of ways, from providing coaching and direct technical assistance to schools, districts, practitioners and community partners to working with legislators and policymakers to develop supportive-state level policies that advanced community school development across Illinois.
Student voice isn't about inviting young people to validate adult ideas. It's about recognizing that lived experience is expertise.
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?
Transformative relationships are formed when we share pieces of our humanity with others, and thus, invite them to do the same.
