Editor’s Note: This is part one of a five-part series
You might live in a state that has recently committed to building community schools. Perhaps your district is starting conversations about them. Or maybe you remember community schools as a promising idea from years past and wonder why it hasn’t become widespread. The concept has circulated for decades—first gaining attention about 30 years ago, and again more publicly when former Education Secretary Arne Duncan advocated for it. It has always sounded wise, but until recently lacked the urgency that the pandemic created.
And then, the world changed
When COVID-19 arrived in early 2020, schools and communities faced unprecedented disruption. The pandemic exposed and intensified long-standing gaps—in access to in-person learning, health services, mental health supports, and consistent family resources. In response, educators and community leaders began to look more closely at community schools as a practical, proven strategy to reconnect schools with the full needs of students and families.
Sara Sneed, President of the NEA Foundation, notes that a wide range of stakeholders—educators, parents, researchers, and policymakers—have increasingly rallied around community schools. She characterizes them as public schools that form authentic partnerships with families, student leaders, and local organizations to deliver comprehensive support that improves outcomes for students and strengthens communities. Today there are more than 5,000 community schools in the United States, and many served as community anchors during the pandemic.
Community schools as a long-term strategy for success
The National Center for Community Schools defines community schools as a long-term strategy centered on partnership. These schools bring together community members, leaders, and educators to ensure every child feels safe, nurtured, challenged, and inspired. When students receive coordinated support—academic, social, and health-related—they are more likely to succeed and to contribute positively to their communities.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has emphasized three priorities for pandemic recovery: promoting health and safety in schools, supporting students’ social and emotional needs, and accelerating academic learning. He has pointed out that districts are investing federal recovery funds in essential services—hiring social workers and psychologists, expanding mental health supports, and funding tutoring and extended learning time to address lost instructional time. Cardona also warned that the coming years will determine whether we close or widen existing opportunity and achievement gaps driven by factors like race, income, and zip code.
Powerful partners for equity
Community schools are particularly relevant to equity efforts. The National Center for Community Schools argues that strong community schools actively counter systemic barriers and expand opportunity. Schools should model anti-racism and value students for their identities and backgrounds, helping to repair systems that have historically limited opportunity for many communities.
The Community Schools Playbook, produced by the Partnership for the Future of Learning, describes community schools as public schools that work closely with families and community organizations to offer well-rounded educational experiences. These schools combine strong classroom instruction with supports that address out-of-school factors such as poverty, racism, and violence. Many community schools extend their hours, stay open during summers, and provide services that range from health clinics to enrichment programs—services that reduce barriers to learning and help prevent summer learning loss.
The impact of the pandemic on learning has been uneven and severe for some students. Remote and hybrid learning uncovered weaknesses in systems that were not designed for sustained virtual instruction and exposed longstanding unmet needs. These effects touched whole families—especially those in low- and moderate-income households whose work and caregiving circumstances made remote schooling particularly challenging. Community schools respond by addressing the full set of needs a child brings to school: academic, social-emotional, health, and family support.
By leveraging local assets—nonprofits, museums, businesses, and cultural institutions—community schools can broaden learning opportunities in under-resourced schools and restore parts of the curriculum narrowed by budget and testing pressures. While community schools cannot instantly fix years of disinvestment in low-income communities and communities of color, they offer a scalable, practical approach to mitigating those harms and creating more equitable, high-quality educational environments.
Conclusion
Community schools are an idea whose time has come. Even with more than 5,000 community schools in the country, they still represent a small fraction of all public, private, and religious schools—leaving substantial room for growth. As Suzanne B. Goldberg of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights observes, the pandemic has deepened educational divides that were already present. Many of the students most affected by these divides came into the pandemic with the fewest opportunities and now face greater risks to their educational futures. Collective action that centers equity and opportunity is essential to prevent those gaps from widening.
Coming in part two of this series: In the next installment, we will examine community schools through the lens of a Connected Village—how seamlessly harnessing a community’s combined strengths can ignite learning for students, educators, parents, and community leaders. When a community rises together, it lifts all of its members.
About the authors
James Stoffer is Chief Executive Officer at Abre.io, where he leads company growth, operations, and talent strategies. He has dedicated his career to the education sector, including leadership roles at DreamBox Learning, Hobsons, and MasteryConnect. He holds an MBA from Xavier University and a BS in Marketing from Clemson University.
Zach Vander Veen has worked as a history teacher, technology coach, administrator, and director of technology. He is co-founder and VP of Development and Customer Success at Abre.io, and enjoys learning, teaching, traveling, and family adventures.
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news organization focused on the shift to digital curriculum in education.