To what extent are LEAs engaging system-level activities to coordinate community school support?
Overview of System-level Supports and Coordination
In this section of the LEA-level APR, LEAs were asked about the systems-level infrastructure and coordination supports they have in place to advance community schools implementation. Specifically, LEAs reported the extent to which they engage in a set of systems-level coordination activities—such as learning and reflection through a steering committee/advisory council, policy alignment, data systems for continuous improvement, professional learning supports, sustainability planning, and coordination with external partners.
Across all 3 cohorts, most LEAs report developing systems to support school capacity to access, understand, and use data for continuous program improvement (82%–91% medium/large extent) and pursuing policy initiatives that align with and reinforce the shared vision for community schooling (77%–88% medium/large extent). Findings also show strong external coordination, particularly for newer cohorts: Cohort 2 and Cohort 3 report higher “large extent” engagement with R‑TACs and County Offices of Education than Cohort 1. One area that remains less developed across cohorts is establishing a structure for cross-sector problem-solving of system-level barriers, where only about half of LEAs report engaging in this work to medium/large extent—an important opportunity for strengthening system conditions that can sustain community school implementation over time. These findings demonstrate that LEAs are working to build system-wide infrastructures to support the capacity-building of interest-holders.
