South Whittier School District held its Community Schools meeting on Wednesday, May 7, in the district board room to review its planning road map, reflect on Community Schools’ progress, and look ahead at what’s next.
A community school is a public school that collaborates with families and community organizations to provide a wide range of educational and support services for students, families, and the community. These schools focus on a "whole-child" approach, addressing academic, social-emotional, physical, and mental well-being needs. South Whittier’s Community School’s grant was approved, allowing the district to move forward with implementing its Community School planning.
During the meeting, South Whittier’s Community School Director, Karina Hartl, began the presentation by sharing the SWSD’s roadmap, a summary of work, and lastly, what the structure of the Community Schools team will look like. She then shared all the elements that make up a Community School. These elements include expanded learning programs, mental health programs, antibias education, professional learning, and more.
After her presentation, she got attendees involved in a reflection walk with the objective of gathering collective information from staff and educational partners on the implementation, impact, and improvement of community schools so far. Subjects included strategies and partnerships, impact and equity, barriers and highlights, leadership and learning, and looking ahead at ideas and recommendations.
All attendees, including parents, teachers, community partners, principals, and others, were able to reflect at each station. At the end of the reflection walk, attendees shared their feedback, and there was a time for open discussion.
The meeting wrapped up with a look at the next phase of implementation, which includes finalizing site advisory committees, calendar planning, and sustaining implementation.