Tools

CCSPP Implementation Plan

Developed by the Statewide Transformational Assistance Center (S-TAC), led by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE), this template helps local educational agencies (LEAs) and participating school sites plan, implement, and continuously improve a community school approach. Treat the template as a living plan that reflects local strengths, assets, needs, and priorities. Use it alongside the California Community Schools Framework, the Capacity-Building Strategies Developmental Rubric, and current California Department of Education (CDE) guidance. It does not replace the CDE opt-in process, required attestations, grant-specific applications or documentation, or required reporting.

CCSPP Sustainability Rubric & Self-Assessment Form

The CCSPP Sustainability Strategies Scoring Rubric provides a structured framework to evaluate and enhance the long-term sustainability of Community Schools. This tool assesses key areas such as funding alignment, interest holder engagement, and resource integration using a 4-point scale. By guiding schools in holistic student support, fostering community partnerships, and strengthening strategic planning, the rubric helps identify strengths, prioritize improvements, and ensure sustained positive outcomes.

Santa Clara County Community Schools Implementation Toolkit for Community School Site Coordinators

This document is designed to support Community School (CS) Site Coordinators in beginning the process of adopting the community schools strategy at their site. The toolkit will walk CS Site Coordinators through the most common and essential activities in initial community schools implementation. The community schools strategy can be adopted and implemented whether receiving community schools- specific funding, (e.g., a California Community Schools Partnership Program [CCSPP] grant), leveraging other existing or incoming funding, or simply seeking to “do school differently” at your school site without dedicated funding.

Santa Clara County Community Schools Implementation Toolkit for Principals

This document is designed to support Principals in beginning the process of adopting the community schools strategy at their site. The toolkit will walk administrators through the most common and essential activities in initial community schools implementation. The community schools strategy can be adopted and implemented whether receiving community schools – specific funding, (e.g., a California Community Schools Partnership Program [CCSPP] grant), whether leveraging other existing or incoming funding, or whether simply seeking to “do school differently” at your school site without dedicated funding.

Family Engagement Strategies for Educators

This Family Engagement Strategies for Educators toolkit, created by the Orange County Department of Education, provides a practical framework for building reciprocal, culturally responsive, and effective partnerships between schools, educators, and families.

Central Coast R-TAC In Person Site Visit: Coaching Questions

This document aims to enhance and simplify coaching conversations with RTAC and Implementation grantees, while promoting consistency across counties so that all grantees have a similar experience, no matter which coach they work with.

Central Coast R-TAC Grantee Community Schools Learning Exchange (AKA Deep Dive Learning Exchange DRAFT)

This tool outlines the Central Coast R-TAC’s developing approach to a Community Schools Learning Exchange. It includes opportunities for participating teams to share implementation challenges, reflect on strategies and outcomes, exchange insights, and learn from one another through collaborative learning experiences. This resource is a work in progress and will continue to evolve as the Central Coast R-TAC develops and refines the Learning Exchange model.

Inflexion – What is a Community School?

A community school is a public school that serves prekindergarten through grade twelve and has community partnerships that support improved academic outcomes, whole-child engagement, and family development. Community school partnership strategies include integrated supports services, extended learning time, and collaborative leadership and practices for educators and administrators.

School Site Council & Community Schools Advisory Council

Explore the rationale and strategies for using School Site Councils (SSC) as site-based Advisory Councils for Community Schools implementation and APR drafting.

Estructura: Fundamentos Para la Transformación de Escuelas Comunitarias

This Spanish-language resource summarizes the foundational elements of the community schools strategy.

Este recurso en español resume los elementos fundamentales de la estrategia de las escuelas comunitarias.

Why Community Schools Informational Flyer

This is a quick go to informational flyer that shows the “why” of Community schools; how through collaborative leadership, integrated supports, meaningful family engagement, and expanded learning opportunities, community schools remove barriers to learning and help every student succeed in school and beyond. Available in seven languages. 

Community Walk Guide

This tool helps students, families, school staff, and community members build relationships, bridge across groups, develop shared understanding, and uncover valuable insights about their community during a Community Walk. Use this guide before, during, and after the walk to ensure meaningful engagement, reflection, and opportunities to bridge school and community experiences.

Findings Report

Interest-holders and the Community School Coordinator create an engaging and easy-to-understand findings report that summarizes the data obtained from a Needs and Assets Assessment process.

Data for Equity Protocol

To identify equity gaps in our system, reflect on the conditions that create and perpetuate them, and move forward with concrete steps for understanding and interrupting inequities.

Anaheim UHSD Performance Task Assessment Template

Considerations for use: You can work through this template in any order, as you see fit. This process will be ongoing, PTAs will need to be revisited, revised, and further developed over multiple years and iterations.

Job Descriptions and Staffing

This S-TAC Resource is a list of commonly used resources related to job descriptions and staffing below for your reference.

Building Strategic Partnerships: MOUs and Other Common Agreements

Strategic community partnerships increase the capacity of community schools to work towards and achieve the aspirational vision of interest-holders by supporting and sustaining a broad continuum of priorities such as integrated student supports, family and community engagement, collaborative leadership, extended learning time and opportunities, etc.

Fresno County Superintendents of Schools: Community Schools Resources Network

This tool offers a resource directory to connect Community Schools with Community Based Organizations (CBOs). The purpose of this tool is to provide school principals, administrators, and Community Schools Coordinators in the schools with a list of organizations that offer services within the school district boundaries area.

Participatory Systems Change for Equity

The purpose of this guide is to help system leaders facilitate participatory systems change for equity. The guide is based on the idea that meaningful, liberatory, and lasting change is more likely to result when young people, families, community partners, and system leaders work side by side to design and improve child-, youth-, and family-serving systems. This guide describes elements of participatory systems change that institutions and organizations can apply depending on local context and locally defined goals.

Open Space: Innovative Approaches to Reconnecting through Community Conversations

Open Space or Open Space Technology is an opportunity to invite participants to co-create and manage their own agenda and sessions focusing on a central theme. Open Space is a participatory facilitation process that involves inviting participants to actively join the sessions that interest them and contribute to the decisions around what topics are on the agenda. During our Community of Practice session, we held conversations asking, “What is the conversation you need to have now about your community?” We then built an agenda around the answers we received.

National Equity Project: Leading for Equity Framework

National Equity Project’s Leading for Equity Framework provides a frame of reference that enables leaders to navigate the complex territory of equity challenges and to develop the capacity to engage in purposeful leadership action. In its simplest form, the Framework helps build habits of mind that are continually in practice. In its more elaborated form, it provides a set of tools, frames and processes that leaders can use in their work.

Participatory Budgeting for Organizations

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget. It gives people real power over real money.

Mapping Community Strengths and Assets

This resource describes how to take a strength- or asset-based approach and is a useful tool to help explore and capture the gifts, talents and strengths in your community.

Teacher-Powered Schools: Collaborative Leadership Self-Assessment

The purpose of this self-assessment is to guide team reflection and identify potential areas of growth. We recommend that each team member completes the assessment individually and then discuss it as a team.

The California Partnership for the Future of Learning Community Schools Toolkit

The purpose of this toolkit is to provide tools, curricula and step-by-step resources for students, families, community members, and school and district staff to apply and adapt to co-create community schools; and share stories about challenges and solutions from students, families, educators, and communities who are co-governing at school site, district, regional, and statewide levels to transform schools across California.

National School Reform Faculty: Data Analysis Protocol

Discussions around data can make people feel “on the spot” or exposed, either for themselves, their students, or their profession. The use of a structured dialogue format provides an effective technique for managing the discussion and maintaining its focus. This protocol allows participants to look at data with new eyes, and ends with possible implications, next steps, and strategies.

NEA: Building Our Pitch

The purpose of this tool is to guide educators, advocates, and school leaders in effectively communicating the vision, value, and impact of community schools in a concise and engaging way. It provides a clear structure—a “pitch”—to help speakers explain what community schools are, why they matter, what they do, and how others can get involved.

Coalition for Community Schools: Community Schools Communications Toolkit

The Coalition for Community Schools, an initiative of the Institute for Educational Leadership, has developed this communications toolkit as the go-to resource for materials for effectively communicating the transformative impact of Community Schools. As advocates for comprehensive and community-driven education, the Coalition understands the importance of clear, compelling messaging. This information can guide organizers and supporters of the Community Schools movement in outreach to communities and lawmakers.