Creating Engagement between Schools and their Communities: Lessons from Educational Leaders

Creating Engagement between Schools and their Communities: Lessons from Educational Leaders addresses how educational leaders have made efforts to reconnect their schools to their communities and the varied goals they achieved. The contributors of this book are educational leaders who have stayed committed to their neighborhoods and who have seen the moral imperative to provide equal opportunity to all students. This book shares their experiences, particularly looking at community-based schools in urban, impoverished, or immigrant communities—communities that often are disconnected from the political and economic centers of the country.

Table of Contents:
Contents Chapter 1: What is a Community-focused Leader? Ted Purinton & Carlos Azcoitia Chapter 2: Building Local Academic Identity Ted Purinton & Carlos Azcoitia Chapter 3: Boundary-crossing Leadership for Community Schools Martin Blanks Chapter 4: Leading through Community-based Partnerships Chris Brown Chapter 5: Academic Achievement and the Community Schools Model Mary A. Ronan Chapter 6: The Rural Solution: How Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Rural Education Dorris Terry Williams Chapter 7: Leading STEM in the Community School Setting Judith Dymond Chapter 8: Preparing Aspiring Leaders for Community School Leadership Karen Carlson Chapter 9: Evaluating Community School Leadership Adeline Ray, Daniel Diehl, & Neil Naftzger Chapter 10: Succession Planning for Community School Leadership—A Personal Reflection Francisco Borras References About the Contributors

About the Author :
Ted Purinton is dean of the Graduate School of Education at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Carlos Azcoitia is distinguished professor of practice at National Louis University in Chicago.

Review :
Often rural schools and communities are overlooked when considering the current circumstances and future prospects for students and families in our most remote places. The authors and contributors have done an outstanding job in focusing on this population and why leadership is so critical to the success and vitality of rural people and places. [The book] makes a persuasive case for establishing community schools in every type of setting — urban, exurban, suburban and rural. . . . A community school is a hub for integrated services and support that cultivates opportunity and agency in students, families and neighborhoods. No specific, one-size-fits-all model is prescribed to a community school; collaborative people and partnerships define it. Most importantly, stakeholders in a community school are accountable to one another as they create and sustain a culture of equity and empowerment. . . . Community schools inspire hope for the future of public education. The complexity of helping all students overcome societal challenges and preparing them to thrive in globally connected economies and communities requires a much broader and bolder approach than most education “reforms.” Creating Engagement between Schools and their Communities spotlights the ways in which community schools can achieve that moral imperative.