The Maine Department of Education Office of School and Students Supports is taking steps to advance community schools as a strategy to help public schools in Maine provide supports so that every child has access to what they need to thrive and reach their full potential.

In many communities throughout Maine, not all families have access to healthy food, stable housing, vision care or dental health services their children need. The impact of these challenges doesn’t stop when students step into the classroom. Students can’t learn and do their best if their basic needs aren’t being met outside the classroom.  For example, without access to affordable vision care, a student in need of glasses can’t read what the teacher is writing on the board. A painful toothache makes it hard to concentrate during lessons. Hunger, a lack of adequate housing, or personal trauma can interfere with a child’s school attendance and ability to focus on learning.

Schools need help to address inequities in such areas as health care, stable housing, and access to affordable and healthy food, which are foundational to every child’s ability to learn. According to the Partnership for the Future of Learning, community schools create the conditions necessary for students to thrive by focusing attention, time and resources on a shared vision for student, school and community success. Community schools work with partners such as local government agencies and nonprofits to provide comprehensive supports and opportunities to meet the needs and interests of students and families, and that are rooted in existing resources within their neighborhoods.

A community school, as defined by the Coalition for Community Schools, is both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development and community engagement lead to improved student learning, increased parent engagement, and healthier communities. The community school strategy transforms a school into a place where educators, local community members, families, and students work together to strengthen conditions for student learning and healthy development. As partners, they organize in- and out-of-school resources, supports, and opportunities so that young people thrive. Community schools are deeply connected to the DOE’s Whole Student Approach.

Varying in the programs they offer and the way they operate, depending on their local context, community schools generally have four features:

• Integrated student supports
• Expanded learning time and opportunities
• Family and community engagement
• Collaborative leadership and practices

In community schools, staff, families and community partners collaborate to focus explicit efforts toward finding solutions to challenges children face-such as lack of stable housing, inadequate medical and dental care, hunger, trauma, and exposure to violence – which helps students to attend school and be ready to learn, setting them up for academic and life success. By coordinating critical supports at the school site, community schools ensure the needs of students and families are met with minimal disruption to the school day. This, in turn, enables teachers to focus on instruction, knowing that there are other professionals attending to the non-academic needs of their students

Community schools also provide opportunities for expanded and enriched learning time so students, particularly those who may be struggling academically or who are unengaged with learning, have access to tutors and other resources to support their academic success. These in-school programs-often delivered by nonprofit partner organizations- help level the playing field for students who don’t readily have access to enrichment programs or personalized tutors.

Community schools exist in all regions of the United States and their numbers are growing fast. In Maine, the community school model was first recognized by Maine Legislative Action of the First Regular Session of the 127th Legislature (2015-2016), in the budget bill Public Law 2015, chapter 267. At that time, the Maine DOE was authorized to fund a limited number of community schools, established in accordance with 20-A MRSA Chapter 333. Currently, there are three schools in Maine who receive funding from the Maine DOE to support their community school strategies: the Gerald E Talbot School in Portland, the Cape Cod Hill School in Farmington; and Old Town Elementary School in Old Town. In addition, several schools in Maine are joining the Maine Coalition of Community Schools as they seek to adopt targeted strategies to meet their students’ needs, including South Portland’s newest middle school.

More recently the Maine DOE has welcomed Ann Hanna, who has joined the Maine DOE Office of School and Student Supports as a Community Schools Consultant. Hanna is a lifelong educator, starting her career as a teacher for Portland Public Schools over 33 years ago. For the last six years, Hanna proudly served as the principal of the Gerald E. Talbot Community School in Portland where she led the school through a transformative process to become a Community School. Hanna will be working on advancing Community School strategies in interested schools across Maine by providing technical assistance and support as needed.  The Maine DOE is also working on the next application for funding for SY 24-25, and information on that will be shared via Newsroom in the coming months.

Community schools foster a shared vision for student success and thoughtfully engage the community in making the vision a reality. Over time, community schools become the center a of community where everyone belongs, works together and thrives. They become the hub of their neighborhoods and communities, uniting families, educators and community partners toward student success.

To learn more about community schools in Maine, please contact Ann Hanna, at ann.c.hanna@maine.gov.

Sources on Community Schools: