Editor’s Note: This is part three of a five-part series. (See part one and part two.)
This may be the first time in history that technology exists to make true community schooling a scalable reality. Here’s what you need to know.
Community schooling is not a new idea—its roots stretch back more than three decades. Yet it has gained momentum recently and now encompasses roughly 5,000 schools across the United States, approaching four percent of public and private K–12 institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified both the urgency and the visibility of long-standing needs, accelerating interest in community schools as a comprehensive response to academic loss and social-emotional challenges.
The disruptions of the past few years exposed gaps in learning systems: rapid shifts to remote and hybrid instruction, uneven access to technology, and insufficient supports for families coping with economic and emotional strain. Low- and moderate-income households were hit hardest, amplifying needs not only for students but for entire families. Community schools aim to address those interconnected needs by aligning school resources with community partners, local government services, health providers, and family supports.
Several states and districts are proposing community schools as a strategy to mitigate the pandemic’s academic and social effects, to improve school responsiveness, and to better organize community resources to remove barriers to learning. For example, some policy proposals describe community schools as an approach that enables local education agencies to collaborate closely with educators, students, and families to understand the unique strengths and needs of each school community. Schools then design programs and curricula to support the whole child while partnering with community-based organizations and agencies to marshal aligned resources toward shared goals.
To work well, community schools require a seamless, connected system that brings together teachers, administrators, students, families, community organizations, local businesses, and faith groups. Achieving that level of integration depends on effective use of technology: not simply digital tools for instruction, but logistical and data systems that coordinate services, measure impact, and inform decisions. If schools can adopt a logistics mindset—similar to modern service platforms that match supply and demand—they can deliver education, health, and social supports more efficiently and equitably.
There is an old saying that it takes a village to raise a child. In today’s world, a more accurate version is that it takes a connected village to raise the whole child. Students thrive when routines, relationships, and supports are consistent. When social-emotional needs go unmet, academic learning falters. Community schooling is designed to bridge those gaps by prioritizing relationships, shared accountability, and coordinated supports across the school and the wider community.
Your Need-to-Knows for a Community School
Running an effective community school requires timely, actionable information. Below are the essential data points and questions that help leaders measure impact and guide resource allocation:
Which partners or programs perform best?
Track program sign-ups, student engagement, retention, and outcome metrics to identify high-impact programs. Understanding which partners draw the most participation and produce positive outcomes helps schools invest wisely and scale successful models.
Which types of partners are missing or underrepresented?
Review the distribution of community partners to ensure alignment with strategic priorities—such as improving social-emotional learning or mental health supports. A high-level inventory makes it easier to recruit partners that fill service gaps and advance school goals.
How can partners increase student success?
Linking program participation with student outcomes highlights factors that drive engagement and success. Comprehensive student profiles and program analytics can reveal barriers to participation and opportunities to enhance program design, leading to stronger academic and social results.
How do we boost family engagement?
Family engagement correlates strongly with student achievement. Measuring family participation in events and programs enables targeted outreach strategies that bring parents and caregivers into meaningful roles supporting student learning and wellbeing.
Which programs lead to better student outcomes?
One of the central promises of community partnerships is improved student success both in and out of school. Connecting program data with academic, social-emotional, and attendance indicators empowers leaders to allocate resources to the interventions that deliver measurable improvement.
Connectivity Is Key
Effective community schools rest on a foundation of shared accountability and collaborative design. A policy brief on community schools stresses that student success depends on joint responsibility among educators, families, students, and community partners. Teachers remain the closest school-based link to students and are essential for designing and evaluating programs. Community partners—such as after-school providers and mental health services—are formal collaborators who share responsibility for outcomes.
Community schools prioritize ambitious instruction, student-centered learning climates, and a whole-child approach informed by the science of learning and development. While expanded school days and after-school supports are often highlighted, truly transformative community schools also redesign classroom practices and provide sustained support for teachers and leaders tasked with ensuring equitable results. These approaches are grounded in the understanding that students learn best when they feel known, supported, and represented. Building on the strengths of students and families, community schools emphasize relationships and cross-sector collaboration to create high-quality, nurturing, and equitable learning environments.
In the next installment
Next, we will examine the necessary connections in more depth: how student wellbeing, teacher health, and community supports must work together to create opportunities for academic achievement and long-term success for students, families, and neighborhoods.
About the authors
James Stoffer is the Chief Executive Officer at Abre.io, where he leads company growth, operations, and talent strategies. He has spent his career in the education industry, 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 served 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, an education management platform, and enjoys learning, teaching, traveling, and adventures with his family.
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media hub focused on providing context for the shift in education to digital curriculum.