The Role of the Community School Coordinator

The Basics: Community School Coordinator

"The Basics" from CSLX covers foundational elements of community school development by answering the questions we see most from practitioners like you. Use this resource to get a deep dive on the role of the Community School Coordinator with commonly asked questions, and valuable resources to support your work, from job descriptions, tools and resources, and more.

The Community School Coordinator (CSC) – sometimes called a Community School Manager, or Resource Coordinator, plays an essential role in a community school. A CSC functions as a high-level school administrator to facilitate community school partnerships and practices aimed at supporting student learning and development.

The CSC role will often entail:

Convening, facilitating, and often staffing a community school leadership team to set goals, evaluate progress and support community school development.
Recruiting, coordinating, and convening partners to integrate and align efforts that support student and school success (including identifying new partnerships).
Helping facilitate trust and relationship-building among school staff, families, and the community.

Just as important as what the CSC role is, it’s important to understand what the CSC role is NOT. The CSC is not the person “in charge” of community school implementation. Rather, they will need to develop an understanding of what programs and initiatives are already underway and support strengthening those efforts.

Because of the unique and non-traditional nature of the CSC role, the temptation often exists to pull the CSC in many different directions or to treat the CSC as a “case manager” or an “extra set of hands” to help out with putting out fires. The CSC certainly contributes in these ways (as do all school staff and team members). However, it is critical to protect the CSC from being constantly pulled to manage “fires”: they need dedicated time and space to focus on the specific systems, culture, and infrastructure building of community school development.

The experiences, educational backgrounds, and career trajectories of CSCs can vary quite a bit. In some schools, the CSC has transitioned from a teaching or paraprofessional role. In other schools, parent liaisons grow into the CSC role. Successful CSCs often have the following “superpowers.”

Building teams, fostering collaboration, organizing & championing CS efforts;
Case management & systems-building experience
An understanding of school systems, the California education system, and/or youth-serving systems, including how schools and youth-serving agencies work and the dynamics inherent in those systems
Strong connections to and trusting relationships with community, students, families and/ or school site teams (i.e., teachers, community partners).

People of many different professional backgrounds are successful CSCs. The most important characteristic of a CSC is about the right fit with the site, relational and systems capacity, and organizational and problem-solving skills.

As of November 2022, CCSPP Implementation and Planning funding guidelines allow for using CCSPP funds to hire a CSC. It is important to think about a long-term funding strategy for the role. There are several approaches to consider:

Offer community school implementation sites a graduated funding model, wherein the district funds the CSC role 100% for the first year, with the school site absorbing an additional 25% of costs each succeeding year.

Sometimes CS partners – municipal agencies, local nonprofits and others – commit to sharing the costs associated with the CSC role.

Your CSCs need district support to be successful in their role! A community of practice or professional learning community for CSCs can be incredibly helpful and provide opportunities for:

Sharing innovations and practices between CSCs (e.g., consultations);
Identifying consistent trends and needs for successful community school implementation (e.g., multiple CSCs share that their school communities are struggling with a specific challenge–possibly something that the district can address);

Supporting each other as they work through the process – and potential pitfalls – of CS implementation (e.g., mentoring new CSCs).

Districts also support CSCs (and site-level work more broadly) by:

Providing capacity building and learning opportunities for CSCs and their teams
Reinforcing the role of the CSC as a high-level administrator and not “an extra set of hands”
Ensuring that CS development is a priority across the district, thereby further enabling coherence and alignment at the site level
Providing support for accessing and analyzing data.

Learn more at a virtual workshop

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. Join to develop a greater understanding of topics like shared leadership, inclusive decision making, and meaningful interest holder engagement.

The Role of the Community School Coordinator

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The Basics: Community School Coordinator

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Learn more at a virtual workshop

CS Leaders: The Role of the Community School Coordinator