California’s Historic Investment in Community Schools: Early Evidence to Understand Shifts in Community School Practices Before and After Grant Participation

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To improve students’ educational success and well-being, policymakers and educators across the United States are investing in community schools. In 2020, California became a leader in these investments via the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP), which invested over $4 billion dollars for the development and implementation of community schools. To gain an initial understanding of whether participation in CCSPP is associated with shifts in community school practices, this study presents findings from a pre-post survey assessment of the CCSPP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) Cohort, which consisted of 19 local education agencies serving 206 schools. Descriptive and inferential analyses shed light on changes in grantee-and school-level practices associated with the Four Pillars of Community Schools from the beginning to the end of the grant period. Although meaningful changes in grantee practices were limited to the Collaborative Leadership and Practices for Educators and Administrators domain, changes at the school-level were observed for each scale reflecting the Four Pillars of Community Schools, suggesting participation in CCSPP supported shifts in varied school practices. Given the magnitude of the CCSPP investment, these findings serve as a first crucial step at understanding the impact of the CCSPP initiative.