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Editor's Note
This is the second in the Coalition's series of in-depth newsletters
on local community school initiatives. We are pleased to profile
the work of our friends in Lincoln, Nebraska. Doing so gives
us the opportunity to thank Phil Schoo, retired superintendent
in Lincoln, who is a strong champion of the community schools
vision. We know he will be sharing that vision with others
as he helps educators across the country. Thanks too to Cathie
Petsch and Lea Ann Johnson, Co-Coordinators of the Lincoln
Initiative for their help in writing this newsletter. Lincoln
also is the community with the most community schools that
have completed the community schools survey. Please complete
the survey and encourage others to do the same. Click HERE
for the survey
I. LINCOLN, NEBRASKA FINDS A SOLUTION
In 1999, the notion of "community learning centers"
(CLC) synonymous with community schools, peaked the interest
of the Foundation for the Lincoln Public Schools (FLPS), a
local education fund affiliated with the Public Education
Network (PEN). This interest grew with a visit that key Lincoln
stakeholders took to the Local Investment Commission in Kansas
City to look at their Caring Communities work, another model
of community schooling.The Lincoln Community Foundation put
up money to test the fit of CLCs for the Lincoln community.
When they received positive feedback, the Nebraska Investment
Financial Authority (a state housing group interested in reducing
mobility) joined in, giving an additional $250,000 for the
CLC endeavor. The combination of these dollars and the support
of community partners gave the FLPS enough funding to establish
four pilot elementary school-level Community Learning Centers.
These centers were designed to engage community based organizations
as partners in their development. The original partners of
these schools included Family Service, Cedars Youth Services,
YMCA and Northeast Family Center.In 2001, after a three year
struggle for federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers
funds the Lincoln Public School District received $2.3 million
for three years - enough for nine more schools. The decision
was made to interweave the CLC pilot schools funding under
the 21st Century grant, boosting the total number of CLCs
to 13. In 2003, a state-level 21st Century grant allowed for
the addition of two more elementary-level CLCs, bringing the
total number of CLCs in the Initiative to 15. Starting in
April of 2004, the original, soon-to-expire, federal 21st
Century dollars were augmented with state-level 21st Century
funding, to be used over five years.Additional dollars from
local funders such as the J.C. Seacrest Trust, Woods Charitable
Fund, Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA), as well
as national groups like the Public Education Network (PEN)
among others, help keep the blended CLC funding stream strong.
PEN believes that school based CLCs are an appropriate mechanism
to address the growing health and social service needs of
children and youth, to close the achievement gap between minority
and non-minority students and to foster community involvement
in school improvement efforts. These activities are part of
PEN's Schools and Community Initiative funded by the Annenberg
Foundation. In addition to supporting site supervisors and
their interns, PEN dollars are helping to implement a major
communication and media campaign to build common understanding
of the concept of community learning centers as more than
just after-school programs. All 15 CLC sites receive funding
from a pool of resources. Keeping the dollars blended help
strengthen the Initiative, reducing barriers and limitations
on how certain monies can and cannot be spent. The initiative
has no legal status whatsoever; instead Lincoln Public Schools
and FLPS act as its fiscal agents. Forward-thinking organizers
did not want to create a 'whole new animal' in Lincoln because
they wanted the initiative to be long term and sustainable.For
more information about Lincoln, Nebraska's demographics please
click HERE.
II. LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
A. Community Leadership Council
Many of the key leaders who initially visited Kansas City
have remained committed to this work and are now members of
the Lincoln CLC Leadership Council. Consisting of 35 members,
the Council is a diverse group of community stakeholders whose
primary role and responsibility is guiding the development
and long term financing of the Initiative. Their goals are
to develop Lincoln's capacity to implement shared partnerships
and to mobilize resources to ensure Community Learning Centers
are a fundamental part of the community fabric. Bill Johnston,
chair of the CLC Leadership Council, and publisher of the
Lincoln Journal Star, states " My passion for CLCs comes
from the belief that too many children in the United States
come to school not prepared to learn. Some do not have enough
sleep, adequate food or appropriate clothing. We cannot expect
our education professionals to teach and deal with all the
social issues. They need help. CLCs provide that help by putting
more community resources in to schools. It is a concept that
makes good sense."Leadership Council member Lori McClurg,
director of State of Nebraska Administrative Services said,
"I am so impressed with what the CLCs have accomplished.
The results are very impressive. The leadership has done a
great job of giving this focus and making great strides."Kathy
Danek, vice president of the Lincoln Board of Education says,
"The challenge to close the achievement gap has been
at the forefront of many initiatives in the Lincoln Public
Schools. Community Learning Centers in Lincoln help empower
parents, faculty and neighborhoods to combine forces to help
all children succeed in school. I like community learning
centers because they are tailored to each individual neighborhood,
in doing this we bring parents into the schools - acquaint
them with the curriculum, empower them to be a partner in
their children's education, and help them establish a strong
community for their children to grow and succeed".
B. Management Team
The Lincoln CLC Initiative is staffed by co-coordinators (Cathie
Petsch and Lea Ann Johnson) and one administrative assistant.
As Barb Bartle, FLPS executive director, puts it: "It
is critical for the superintendent to feel confident and be
able to trust the CLC administrative staff. When Cathie and
Lea Ann were hired that was key to the success of the work
in Lincoln. Lea Ann has huge credibility in the human service
world, and Cathie is very well connected with the superintendent,
school board and community."The CLC management team is
comprised of partners from the Lincoln Public Schools, the
City of Lincoln, and the University of Nebraska. Through shared
leadership this team models and is committed to strong connections
between schools and community, collaborative partnerships,
respect for diversity and neighborhood strengths, results,
and long-term sustainability. The Initiative-level staff does
the financial and relationship building work, which includes
leadership development, evaluation, sustainability, and development
of core operating principles. "The relationships that
develop in this process are essential to achieving positive
results," notes Co-coordinator Lea Ann Johnson. "No
one system can be perceived as bigger or better. But rather
we have to honor the contributions that each partner brings.
These contributions can't always be measured in dollars. The
ability to create mission alignment and shared goals among
partners is a huge contribution that must not be underestimated."
"Some days I feel like I work for the world, says Cathie
Petsch, co-coordinator of the Initiative. "Lots of times
we become the go-to people when folks don't know where else
to take something interesting. The loops we get involved in
really show that our presence is a valuable one. We become
a conduit for a lot of different things that maybe wouldn't
happen if we didn't exist."
C. School Neighborhood Advisory Committees
Each CLC site or pair of sites has an operating School Neighborhood
Advisory Committee (SNAC). SNACs are the cornerstone of Community
Learning Center (CLC) governance, and are made up of parents,
youth, educators and other school personnel, neighborhood
residents, concerned citizens, community-based organizations
and service providers. Their primary function is to assist
with planning, communication, and oversight of the neighborhood
CLC. SNACs are maintained as open groups with no rigid ratios,
appointment processes, or membership limits. The membership
is inclusive and fluid to allow for adaptation, changing and
evolving as interest grows, relationships develop, and outcomes
change. Each SNAC is expected to reflect the uniqueness of
its school and neighborhood community, building on or coordinating
with existing planning structures. For this reason, the committees
may look different across sites; however, they all operate
under a common set of principles.
In Lincoln's experience the key to organizing site teams
is to focus on and evaluate the following operating principles:
- Collaboration: The SNAC has a process for identifying
and selecting partners to deliver program services.
- Integration: Service activities tie into the three CLC
goals and the CLC Annual Plan.
- Lifelong Learning Culture:
- The CLC has a range of program opportunities available
for children and youth, adults and families.
- Outcome focused: The annual plan is developed based on
the needs of neighborhood children, adults and families
utilizing various sources of information, and its activities
are based on site goals and outcomes.
- Community Leadership: Membership of the SNAC has both
parent and neighborhood resident representation and develops
the annual plan.
- Neighborhood Based: Community/neighborhood service is
part of the regular program activity, and the neighborhood
association and the CLC work together to support the neighborhood.
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