The Rebirth Of Community Schooling

For decades now, there have been educational problems in the inner city schools in the United States. The schools inability to teach some students relates to the poor conditions in the public schools. Some of the conditions are the lack of funds that give students with the proper supplies, inexperienced teachers, inadequate resources, low testing scores and the crime-infested neighborhoods. These conditions have been an issue for centuries, but there is nothing being done about it. Yet, state and local governments focus on other priorities, including schools with better academics. It is fair to say that some schools need more attention than other does. However, when schools have no academic problems then the attention should be focused

Assuaging poverty is one of the gist missions of the Harlem Children’s Zone. In the United States today, exceeding “13 million” children live in poverty. We understand that children, who experience the backlash of poverty, often live in an unpleasantly conditions, unstable homes, and are at a great distance less likely than other children to get a favorable education and/or sufficient health care. The exposure to life of poverty more often limits learning abilities; bringing about the inability of getting the best jobs and earning maximum income, making it impossible for them to live up to their full potential, which will more like result in imprisonment.

Not only are impoverished children suffering from a late start in education, it is known that the neediest schools are the schools who's students are below the poverty line. The students with the greatest needs receive the least funding and resources. In New York the average poor student will receive about $1,000 year in resources at public school; whereas the school's with the least amount of poor children receive around $3,000 per student in public schools. Not necessarily the same number wise but this is the case in at least 37 of our 50 states (Schemo). Inadequate education for impoverished children only worsens their chances of making it out of poverty.

Children living in poverty or low-income neighborhoods are known to have lifelong struggles because of their education. The link between poverty and poor education is a known fact because children living in poverty will rather provide for their families than their own education. As a community, we need to come together to help low-income families and their children obtain a better future in their education. The effects of children living in poverty or low-income neighborhoods is a known issue worldwide and is only affecting our children’s future and ours.

“Living in a place shouldn’t condemn a person to poor health, weak education, unsafe living conditions or segregation from other races, socio-economic classes and religions. However, in cities around the world urban youth face countless barriers to successful lives.” (Fletcher). One of the biggest issues facing social services today is the urban youth problem. Many people believe that this issue with the urban youth is that they are all thugs, poor, and/ or pregnant teens. The truth is that the reason urban youth face these issues is because of the disadvantages they are provided with. The stigma against the urban youth just enhances the problem. The education system is lousy, the health system is inadequate, and the segregation is very high. All these issues are not the fault of this group, these systems are completely out of their grasps.

A great strategy for collaborating with the community is for the school to have a community day. Partners from around the community introduce themselves and provide information and assistance regarding academic, social, recreational, and health resources available to the families throughout the community. Community collaboration allows local businesses and nonprofit organizations to provide services to parents that advance student learning and overall wellness. Schools should invite community partners into the schools to participate in mentoring. Community service is a great strategy to foster student and parent participation. Providing support and learning opportunities for parents such as: GED classes, English language classes, and job training is a great strategy for collaboration with community partners. Parents and the communities should be made aware of activities and programs taking place inside of

A multiyear study performed by Schaps, Battistich, and Solomon discovered that a sense of community would result in better reading comprehension skills, conflict resolution and higher moral. Hudson public schools moved to a block schedule to give the students a better opportunity to create a “community” in the classroom by being able to spend more time with their peers. “Smaller schools outcompete larger schools academically and show less student violence and disruptions.” (Wasley et al. 2002). Berman and his colleagues divided the high school into eight smaller communities to mimic the small school

(Bredekamp, 2009). I will show the parent that we can be in harmony in the program and with the family’s values. I need to take away the feeling that I am right and they are wrong and I need to see that neither one of us are right or wrong. I need to see that we are learning and trying to help their child to grow, learn and develop. (Bredekamp, 2009). The role of our local community is to provide a physical, emotional, and cognitive environment that helps in the development and learning of the child. We with community will build a foundation that is consistent, positive, and caring relationships with adults and children. (Bredekamp, 2009). We will build that relationship with teachers and children and families and teachers. We as community it is our responsibility to contribute to the well-being and learning of the child. I will get the child involved in the community and their families because it helps them to learn about themselves and the world around them. The community involved in my school helps children respect and be able to acknowledge their differences. I as a teacher will develop responsibility and help with self-regulation with the

I have just begun my last year at Central Middle School in Quincy, and am getting sentimental about how privileged I am to live in a city that has provided me with choices and opportunities for enrichment throughout my public school years. Quincy has eleven elementary schools, five middle schools and two public high schools, all of which benefit from community/public school partnerships. Each Quincy public school shares a common goal to prepare its students for future success. Quincy’s teachers want the students in their classrooms to be successful in ways that go beyond standardized measurements: graduation rates, grades, tests, and MCAS scores. They know that success means different things to different people and sometimes need to partner with businesses and people in the community to expand what they can offer us, beyond the bell, that will enrich our learning experiences and interests.

There are many challenges in the American education system. Not all American students are learning the same, and many are not having the opportunity to go to an accredited school. Urban schools are at the head of these challenges.7.1 million students are enrolled at an urban school across the United States. Hispanics make up 39%, African American 31%, White 19%, and other 9%; with 68% of those students needing free and reduced lunches (Council of the Great City Schools). The challenges include, but are not limited to: being over populated, race, ethnicity and structural challenges. The students attending these schools are not only having to subsist with the school issues, but they have separate challenges of their own to deal with; students are in poverty, from single family homes and have to deal with violence outside of the school. While not all urban schools are struggling, a majority of the schools is lacking resources, funding and fraught with high turn over’s with expert teachers.

“Poverty and education are inextricably linked, because people living in poverty may stop going to school so they can work, which leaves them without literacy and numeracy skills they need to further their careers. Their children, in turn, are in a similar situation years later, with little income and few options but to leave school and work” (“Poverty and Education”). The National Center for Children in Poverty sponsored a study that found that in families whose income falls below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Line, scores are far below the national average in reading, math, and general knowledge tests (Jordan). Subsequently, poverty ridden families live within the same neighborhoods and, thus, the surrounding schools follow the trend of not receiving enough money and the inability to facilitate the students with the best teachers and technology to learn.

“The focus on schooling is rooted in the widespread belief that children who do well in school have a better chance escaping poverty when they are adults (McCarty). While we recognize the importance of a stable environment in children’s earliest years, we know very little regarding how their housing conditions can play a factor in or alter their early literacy skills maturity for kindergarten. Inadequate parenting can affect education success. “It is well documented that attentive, responsive and consistent parenting is critical yto early learning and cognitive development” (Bradley, Corwyn, Burchinal, McAdoo, & Coll, 2001). Poor housing and surrounding neighborhood conditions could be responsible for negligence in parenting through temporary and excessive moves in low-income

My vision for high-quality education in urban schools is to strengthen the capacities of students to act progressively on their own behalf through the acquisition of relevant knowledge, useful skills, and appropriate attitudes. Complementary to this, I believe that a quality education is one that focuses on the whole child. This approach allows schools to integrate fully with their communities in order to access a wide range of services to support the educational development for their students. Equally important, is the need to ensure access to quality teachers, effective learning tools, and professional development opportunities. These factors contribute to the ability of faculty and staff to establish a safe, supportive learning environment

According to Sickmund & Puzzanchera (2014), as of 2010, 22% of youth under the age of 18 lived in poverty---with nearly half (45%) of those juveniles living in “extreme poverty”. Statistics show that juveniles from certain racial groups tend to face economic hardships more than others. The racial breakdowns of juveniles living in poverty during 2010 are as follows: 39% were African American, 35% were Hispanic and 12% were White. That data concurs with previous research that indicates that minorities (more specifically African Americans) have a higher prevalence of living in disadvantaged neighborhoods in comparison to Whites (Chauhan, Reppucci & Turkheimer, 2009). In

Communities In Schools in Charleston, South Carolina has 11 members along with 31 site coordinators at various schools in the area. Communities In Schools is funded through different sources, such as federal and corporate grants, and also through foundation and individual donations. A journal article, The Mint Hill Times, wrote about Communities In Schools receiving a grant from Wells Fargo, in the amount of one thousand dollars, during this year. ("Communities In Schools receives Wells Fargo grant"). The facilities are schools located in the Charleston area. A majority of the middle school and high schools that are served are considered, Title I institutions. These are schools that have a big number of adolescents (as well as elementary aged students) that come from low-income families. Communities In Schools of Charleston was formed in 1989, after a study was conducted by John Hopkins University, which suggested the Charleston County School District to put a dropout prevention program into place ("Communities In Schools - Charleston Area - Who We Are"). “The mission of Communities In Schools is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life ("Communities In Schools - Charleston Area - Who We Are").” The services that are provided for adolescents come from two specific program initiatives. The New Morning