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Citation:

Dryfoos, J. G. (1998). A look at community schools in 1998: Occasional paper #2. New York, NY: National Center for Schools and Communities. ED423034.

Annotation:
This report examines community schools and considers whether they are working to improve results for students. The author reviews the roots of the community school concept and indicates they represent a marriage of the concepts of John Dewey about education and Jane Addams' about social institutions. The article describes 15 variations being implemented and evaluated across the U.S. In response to the question, Do community schools work? Dryfoos says, "Early returns from a few places are encouraging." Impressive data are cited from the Children's Aid Society, Caring Communities, and others, and include improved math and reading scores, attendance, and decreased suspensions. The emerging literature on community schools is rich in anecdotal data and transformed lives. Advocates for school reform, youth development, social services integration, and childcare are coming together to develop partnerships to initiate community schools and agree that "Enough is known about these models to warrant wide replication." Dryfoos points out that standard research methods don't work very well in these complex fluid situations. Therefore, research is lagging behind in a field that is currently moving forward and changing schools, communities, and the lives of students and families. This article provides an effective examination of the school-community movement with well-reasoned arguments and sound, although preliminary data.