What are Stories of Transformation?
The Community School strategy is more than a model — it’s a movement brought to life through the voices of those living and shaping it every day. These stories of transformation reflect the deep, personal, and collective impact of community schools on students, educators, families, and partners. They reveal not only the outcomes of the work but also how those involved are transformed by it. Storytelling has always been a powerful educational tool. It simplifies complex ideas, passes down knowledge, and inspires change. Within the community school movement, stories capture the rich, often complex journey of reimagining and reshaping education to fully serve all children and youth.
Each story showcased here illustrates what’s possible when schools become hubs of collaboration, equity, and shared vision. They demonstrate how community schools can be powerful engines of change — uplifting individuals and strengthening public education as a cornerstone of our democracy.
Deep Dive Transformation Stories
The S-TAC adopted a “Deep Dive” strategy to study and support the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) implementation across different Local Education Agencies (LEAs) or consortia during the grant period. These “transformation zones,” as they are known in implementation science, represent a vertical slice of the initiative’s implementation that captures what is happening “from the classroom to the capitol,” (Earl, 2023). The goal of this strategy is to learn about effective practices in implementation and ways to transcend challenges that can be scaled and spread across the larger system.
Cohort 1:
For the inaugural cohort, the S-TAC partnered with three grantees. Please read the following Deep Dive Strategy Report for more information.
For over ten years, Anaheim Union has embarked upon a journey of coherence and improvement to create and sustain powerful spaces for teaching and learning for all their youth.
Covering 15 counties and 24 school districts, the rural experience of these Fellows illuminates the innovative practices that make this consortium a leader in the implementation of the Community School strategy.
At the center of their community schools work, West Contra Costa has created transformational collaborative spaces that elevate the contributions and knowledge of their families and students.
Cohort 2:
For cohort two, we expanded our reach by one additional site and partnered with four grantees, including a charter site.
Gateway Community Charter has been a cornerstone of Sacramento area public education, providing these options for over twenty years.
Wheatland Union High School District is located in the city of Wheatland, California, one of two incorporated cities in Yuba County. The school district began serving students in 1907. Wheatland Union High School is the single comprehensive high school in the Wheatland Union High School District.
The Ontario-Montclair School District, founded in 1884, serves a 26 square mile area which covers most of the city of Ontario, Montclair, portions of Upland, and unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. The District is the third largest elementary district in the State.
The Val Verde Unified School District is one of two public education governing bodies in Moreno Valley, California which stretches into Perris, California. It currently operates 21 schools and is the neighbor to its larger counterpart, the Moreno Valley Unified School District. This district serves 19,080 students as of 2024.
Stories from Our Community School Fellows
Storytelling helps individuals relate to one another by sharing common experiences and learning. California’s Community School Fellows represent our community school griots, the voices of the transformational impact of the Community Schools strategy across our state. As part of our Deep Dive Transformation Partnership work, the Fellows have themselves participated in a rich storytelling learning arc that has prepared them to uplift the inspirational work happening in their communities. Their accounts capture the rich journeys of communities seeking to center the voices of students, families/caregivers, educators, and community partners. Enjoy!
For over ten years, Anaheim Union has embarked upon a journey of coherence and improvement to create and sustain powerful spaces for teaching and learning for all their youth. Their CS Fellows share how their community schools approach enriches their ongoing transformational work.
Our Shasta Community School Fellows represent an extensive geographic area in the northern most part of our state. Covering 15 counties and 24 school districts, the rural experience of these Fellows illuminates the innovative practices that make this consortium a leader in the implementation of the Community School strategy.
At the center of their community schools work, West Contra Costa has created transformational collaborative spaces that elevate the contributions and knowledge of their families and students. Through the Community Schools strategy, WCCUSD has created networks that leverage cities and community-based partners to serve the needs of students in a holistic manner.
Stories from California Community Schools
Review stories from community schools across the state of California! Stories have the power to unite people and our goal is that these shared narratives of transformation create a sense of community and belonging across our state that continuously fuels our commitment to sustaining schools that serve the whole child and the whole community.
Stories from Across the Nation
Community schools stories from the national context offer us the opportunity to explore a fuller spectrum of community schooling experiences across the nation. These stories invite us to connect to our colleagues, from North Carolina to Ohio, New Mexico to Florida and beyond. The invitation to connect with school communities beyond our state will augment our sense of community and belonging in this movement fostering cooperation, empathy, and a sense of responsibility towards one another.