Community Schools as an Urban School Reform Strategy: Examining Partnerships, Governance, and Sustainability Through the Lens of the Full-Service Community Schools Grant Program

Abstract

The community school concept has become a popular school reform model that has gained traction in urban school systems. To date, however, few studies have looked across contexts to see how various communities are conceptualizing the reform: the aims that are articulated, the partnerships that are being created, or sustainability plans. In this study, we explore these questions through an analysis of 32 funded proposals from the federal Full-Service Community Schools grant program. We examine the goals, aims, and plans of reformers and ask questions about governance, inclusion, and sustainability, situating our analysis in the policy implementation literature.