This book challenges a common assumption: that education is the first priority
for families, including those who are raising their children in low-income, high-need communities. Instead, it argues that these families must confront daunting challenges in five other areas-food, shelter, safety, health, and access to technology-before they can focus on their children's education. To make his case, the author draws on his experience as the award-winning principal of an elementary school in the Bronx and as a leader in New York City's community schools network. A community school focuses on educating the whole child, supporting families, and extending its reach into the larger community-both by tapping into resources the community can offer and by providing a range of social and health services to that community. This book demonstrates how leaders in challenging education environments can improve their schools through a community-matching process
that consists of four steps: identifying the gaps between what is available and what is necessary for a school and its community to function well; specifying needs, including prioritizing and distinguishing needs from wants; telling your story, as a way to gain support for the effort to close the gap and address the needs; establishing strategic partnerships with individuals, organizations, and agencies that can provide resources and expertise. To help you implement the process in your own school, this insightful guide includes a downloadable community-matching worksheet. The goals of this process are clear: to reduce the shocking inequities between impoverished communities and their wealthier counterparts; to help disadvantaged students succeed; and, ultimately, to steer them toward productive lives beyond the classroom.