Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1509126
"What does every child need to be self-regulated enough to learn today's lesson? The community school approach allows us to wrap ourselves around a child and their family's need so we can get them there." —BVHM Principal Claudia DeLarios Moran implementation, "working closely with them to make sure we are in close alignment with state guidance"; the person hired has a background in community nonprofits. Third, the local is involved at the ground level with UESF Secretar y Leslie Hu, who is on full-time release as UESF's Community Schools Initiative Coach. "It's a position we felt was important to have to bring up mem- ber 'Community Schools IQ' and to help directly at sites as they navigate the community schools process," Curiel says. Hu works with educators, school staff and administrators. Curiel adds that for "our 6,500 UESF members, learning about community schools is an ongoing process. We've been work- ing to educate and elevate this — not just the application to become a community school, but what it means to be part of a community school. "At school sites operating with a shared decision-making model where families are actively invited to help make decisions and embraced and empowered, we're seeing a big impact.... At one elementary school, the administration and educators were trying to seek an intervention to raise reading and math scores. [Stakeholders] devised a plan collectively to shift schedules and carve out the school budget for extended hours so educators could work with the after-school program [toward] those math and reading goals. It spread into what families engaged their students on at home as well." Curiel points to multiple other examples of community schools' collective decision-making that have successfully addressed challenges at individual sites, and made students and families feel like they are represented and have a voice. B oisterous students congregate in the BVHM yard at mid- day, some eating lunch and talking with friends, others engaged in games. e administrative offices also bustle with students and educators. In contrast, students in Marcos Espino's 7th grade class upstairs quietly work on assignments. Espino, who grew up in the Mission District, moves from table to table, speaking in Spanish. BVHM Principal Claudia DeLarios Moran is a native San Fran- ciscan whose children attended the school before she stepped into her current role. She notes that BVHM has been a com- munity school since its inception in 2012; she expects the new funding and protocols will amplify the school's resources and programming. While DeLarios Moran was BVHM vice principal, she worked to pilot the Stay Over Program. "e shelter started out of desperation during a particularly rainy winter," she recalls. "A number of families asked us directly if they could stay overnight. We quickly realized that that is exactly what we should do. "Our true north is 'What does every child need to be self-reg- ulated enough to learn today's lesson?' e community school approach allows us to wrap ourselves around a child and their family's need so we can get them there." Bilingual teacher Marcos Espino with 7th grade students. BVHM Principal Claudia DeLarios Moran. 34 cta.org Social Justice C O M M U N I T Y S C H O O L S