A group of national education organizations has released a guide that is designed to encourage school board members to leverage community partnerships to meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of individual students. The guide emphasizes better coordination between schools, faith-based groups, community organizations, and charities to end overlapping programs and better face challenges that can impede academic progress.
The central strategy of the report, released last month, is the creation of a “personal opportunity plan” that will outline how schools and organizations can provide the support and enrichment necessary to help every student, regardless of such out-of-school factors as family income or stresses related to poverty.
Developers of the guide are the: Alliance for Excellent Education; American Federation of Teachers; Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning; Coalition for Community Schools; National Education Association; National School Boards Association; Opportunity Action; National Opportunity to Learn Campaign; and Rural School and Community Trust.