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Community Schools » Background / Historical Information

Background / Historical Information

Today

 

Starting in the 2021-22 school year, and with funding through the 2027-28 school year, the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) is funding planning, implementation, and coordination grants for six Seaside schools. Schools do not need to be grant-funded to begin the transformative journey to becoming a community school.

 

Background

 

In the 2021-2022 school year, the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District requested a California Community

Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) planning grant in the amount of $200,000 for two years of funding. That funding allowed the district to:

 

  • Strengthen its current community partnership infrastructure
  • Engage in training, technical assistance, and professional development
  • Assemble a collaborative leadership team; develop shared goals
  • Conduct ongoing assessment and continuous improvement to support a sustainable community schools model
  • Prepare a community school implementation plan for approval by the Board of Education
 
What has been done during the planning grant phase
 
Timeline of what has been done to date image
Community, Student and Family Engagement Timeline
  • MPUSD has built the capacity of the district, identified qualifying schools, and developed community resources. 
  • Contracted with the Community School Learning Exchange, which provides direct coaching on how to facilitate collaborative community school development, focusing on a sustainable model that includes the four pillars of community schools: integrated support services, family and community engagement, collaborative leadership, and expanded learning time and opportunities. 
  • The organization’s director provides guidance as MPUSD designs its initiative.
  • MPUSD has appointed a Director of Community Schools and Educational Partnerships to lead the development of partnerships with school leaders, stakeholders, and community organizations and oversee the process of building a sustainable community schools initiative.
  • MPUSD brings together existing school teams, including school site councils, instructional leadership teams, and multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) teams, along with students, families, staff, and local community organizations. 
  • MPUSD has conducted a student,  family and community survey, with both one-on-one interviews and panel forums led by facilitators to gather information on the needs of students and families, and staff perspectives.
  • MPUSD has hired paid high school student researchers who are supporting with peer to peer interviews, parent interviews and school staff interviews to deepen our understanding of experiences within our school community
  • Identified local agencies that filled gaps in services identified by the family and community survey and expanded services to provide students and families greater access to school-based mental health treatment.
  • Partnered with agencies that support FAFSA completion; parent-student engagement in post-secondary planning; and expanded apprenticeship opportunities.
  • Built relationships with agencies that provide professional development for staff to support newly arriving families, adult ESL services, and a family engagement coordinator.
 
Our Community Partners
 
  • Monterey County Behavioral Health Department
  • Monterey Office of Education
  • Juvenile justice system
  • The Village Project, Inc.
  • Girls, Inc.
  • Community Partnership for Youth
  • Restorative Justice Project
  • Building Healthy Communities
  • Local community colleges
  • Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)
  • Department of Defense Education Activity military school liaison
  • City of Seaside
 
In the 2023-2024 school year, the district applied for a CCSPP implementation grant for qualifying Seaside schools in order to better serve the needs of all students. Planning and implementing community schools in Seaside will provide the needed infrastructure, support, and services for mental health, physical health, social-emotional development, cognitive development, academic development, and identity development among our students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

During the grant period, Seaside established integrated community school strategies that help address its vulnerable students’ and families' needs and provide services to enhance whole-child education for all MPUSD students.

 

Seaside schools addressed the priorities of its qualifying schools and leveraged the assets of our students, families, and community partners. Through this initiative our schools partner with students, families, school staff, community organizations, and local government agencies to provide improved academic programs and interventions, health, social services, and other community resources. The whole-child school improvement strategy we propose will result in a sustainable community schools initiative that will help students overcome social and economic barriers and improve outcomes across the district.