Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/740763
vision care program, which made a big difference. "Our school is very unique," she says. "It's helpful when low- income students get free health care." e community school model ties in with the state's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), sharing similar goals of fostering parent engagement, improving school climate, and helping students with high needs. CCPA, for example, serves students in grades 6-12 who are mostly poor and live in a high-crime area. e school works hard to create a college-bound culture. Students are given extra interventions, such as tutoring, mentor- ing, and pathway programs to start them thinking about careers. ere's also an intensive two-week session at the end of the school year to bring struggling students up to speed, so they can complete coursework needed to pass their classes. In ad dition to ser v in g stud ent s and th eir fami - lies, community schools help their neighborhoods. CCPA students enrolled in the social justice career pathway program are involved in local politics and learn about issues such as evictions, tenants' rights, g e n t r i f i c a t i o n a n d ra c i s m . S o m e h av e e v e n w o n internships to h elp struggling countries like Haiti build schools and dig wells. Opposite page: Mural at the front of Coliseum College Prep Academy in Oakland. CCPA world history teacher Edgar Sanchez, above, says the school stresses the importance of both academics and students' role in the larger world. Tyjun Mack, left, oversees the computer science pathway program at CCPA and expects that skills students learn will help them improve their community. Above, CCPA students Mary Meza and Natalia Hernandez; Meza received her glasses from the school's vision care program. Photos by Kim Sanford 17 October 2016