A child spends 80% of his/her waking hours outside of the school setting.

Education: America’s Gatekeeper
Education is the gatekeeper for the future success of every child in the United States… …whether they are born in the United States or emigrated from another country;
…whether they speak English or are English-language-learners;
…whether they are born into homes of affluence, middle class, or poverty.
Whatever the circumstances, a young adult in the 21st century must be able to learn at high levels to live productive and healthy lives.

Economic, Social, and Civic Impact on a Community
The quality of educational experiences for the citizens young and old in a community also has an impact on the economic, social and civic quality of life in the community.
 • Communities have difficulty recruiting new businesses or employees with high paying jobs if families cannot be assured of a high quality education for all children in the community.
 • Communities whose citizens are highly educated tend to have higher employment rates, lower crime rates, and more interest in addressing the social needs of the community and families.
 • Communities whose citizens are highly educated and employed also provide more support for quality of life infrastructure needs through taxes, government service, and charitable giving.
For that reason, research is focusing again on the impact the community can have on the learning of the children and youth in the community.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
This ancient Chinese proverb is getting a renewed look regarding the impact of communities and organizations on the learning of the children and youth in the community. The concept is currently being researched or promoted by a number of entities across the nation including:

• The Harvard Family Research Project’s Complementary Learning
• The Annenberg Institute for School Reform’s Smart Education Systems
• The Council of Chief State School Officers’ Extended Learning
• The National League of Cities' Cross-system Collaboration

Complementary learning is an extended version of Comprehensive School Health which American School Health Association and others have promoted since the 1980s.

The Harvard Family Research Project’s (HFRP) most recent research focus related to student achievement is complementary learning, which focuses on the role of the community in the learning of children and youth.

The national conversation about how to better educate children— particularly those who are economically disadvantaged—and prepare them for success has shifted. The focus on the achievement gap and growing national debate about No Child Left Behind policy, results, and reauthorization has ignited the recognition that our schools alone cannot fully meet the learning needs of our children. Consequently, we see an increasing willingness at all levels—national, state, and local—to consider the types of nonschool supports and opportunities that can both complement learning in schools and collectively result in better developmental outcomes.

According the Heather Weiss, the founder and director of the Harvard Family Research Project, a network of learning supports are necessary for school and life success for children and youth. These supports include:
 • Effective schools
 • Supportive families and opportunities for family engagement
 • Early childhood programs
 • Out of school time activities (including sports, arts, mentoring programs, Scouts, 4-H)
 • Heath and social services
 • Community-based institutions (including community centers, faith-based institutions, cultural institutions such as museums and libraries, and partnerships with the business community)
 • Colleges and universities

The goals of these organizations related to families and student learning need to complement one another to create an integrated, accessible set of community-wide resources to support learning and development(“Theory and Practice: Beyond the Classroom: Complementary Learning to Improve Achievement Outcomes,” The Evaluation Exchange, Spring 2005, p. 2)
Decades of research show that Complementary Learning supports…can be effective in promoting children’s learning and contributing to school success. However, we are realizing that these supports in the same old ways—piecemeal, in silos, disconnected from each other and from schools—will not achieve the goal of making sure children are successful both when they first enter school and after they’ve finished school.”

Nonschool supports for children and families need to:
 • Be in place and accessible to all children;
 • Be linked and aligned with each other and with schools to maximize their effectiveness in leveling the playing field for children.

 Research Findings: Organized Communities, Stronger Schools
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform is also studying the impact of communities aligning their work to impact student outcomes as part of their Community Involvement Program. The preview of their research findings following six years of study was released in 2008 and reports “strong and consistent relationships between community organizing and policy and resource decisions, school-level improvements, and student outcomes.” The key findings include the following:
1. Organizing is contributing to school level improvements, particularly in the areas of:
    a. School-community relationships
    b. Parent involvement and engagement
    c. Sense of school community and trust
    d. Teacher collegiality
    e. Teacher morale
2. Organizing strategies contributed to:
    a. Increased student attendance
    b. Improved standardized test-score performance
    c. Higher graduation rates
    d. Higher college-going aspirations
3. Organizing efforts impact policy and resource distribution “to increase equity and build capacity, particularly in historically low-performing schools.”
4. Participation in organization efforts is:
    a. Increasing civic engagement
    b. Increasing knowledge and investment in education issues among adult and community participants
5. Achieving the community and school impacts occurs through:
    a. System-level advocacy
    b. School- or community-based activity
    c. Strategic use of research and data
6. Improvements are generated and sustained through “continuous and consistent parent, youth, and community engagement

Community culture impacts the learning of children and youth.
Iowa Data: Iowa Youth Survey
One way to evaluate how well Iowa’s community members are doing in supporting the children and youth is through the Iowa Youth Survey.  Since 1999 students in grades 6, 8, and 11 in almost every school district in Iowa have participated in the Iowa Youth Survey. The survey is a collaborative effort conducted by the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Iowa Department of Education, the Office of Drug Control Policy, the Iowa Department of Human Services, and the Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning in the Department of Human Rights.

Versions of the survey have been administered to various students since 1975. In 2005, 98.4% of Iowa’s school districts and 13.9% of non-public schools in the state participated in the survey. Because of this widespread use of the survey, it can be said that it reflects the perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of Iowa youth.

Many of the questions focus on substance abuse and other destructive behaviors of teens to help organizations plan education, prevention, and support programming. Other questions focus on the existence of the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets which result in less risky behaviors among youth and can also promote academic success. When the spotlight is focused on the research-based external assets that community youth receive through their families and the community, organizations can consider opportunities for alignment, as described in complementary learning, to provide stronger support to all families and youth in the community.

Iowa Youth Survey - Family Data (2008)

Iowa Youth Survey - Community Data (2008)

Reports for the Iowa Youth Survey statewide data is available on the website listed above. Reports are also available on the website for each AEA and county in the state. Local district data are sent directly to the superintendent of schools to distribute at will. Most schools use the data to report to the community on Safe and Drug-free Schools indicators.

When only the data on safe and supportive communities (survey items #G16 and #G19–24) and safe and secure families (survey items #F4–11) are displayed, community members can analyze these needs of the children and youth in their community which impact their learning. The data can be used to develop education opportunities for community and family members about local data on behaviors to support learners. One advantage of these data is that the instrument is administered every 3 years giving community planners an opportunity to see the impact of work they are doing related to the safe and supportive communities and safe and secure families.

Iowa Initiatives
In Iowa several efforts have been underway to bring together the organizations in communities to align their efforts to ensure all Iowa children learn at high levels.

Iowa’s Promise
Iowa’s Promise is aligned with the national America’s Promise campaign,  which is focused on providing all children with:
 -Caring Adults: Ongoing relationships with caring adults—parents, mentors, tutors, or coaches—who offer youth support, care, and guidance.
 -Safe Places: Safe places with structured activities during non-school hours to provide both physical and emotional safety.
 -A Healthy Start: Adequate nutrition, exercise, and health care that pave the way for healthy bodies, healthy minds, and smart habits for adulthood.
 -Marketable Skills: Marketable skills through effective education to help youth navigate the transition from school to work successfully.
 -Opportunities to Serve: Opportunities to give back through community service in ways that enhance self-esteem, boost self-confidence, and heighten a sense of responsibility to the community.

Iowa Collaboration for Youth Development
In 2004 the following Iowa government agencies made a commitment to work together to impact the learning of all Iowa students:
 • Governor’s Office;
 • Iowa Workforce Development;
 • Iowa Department of Economic Development;
 • Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice, Department of Human Rights
 • Iowa State University Extension;
 • Iowa Department of Human Services;
 • Iowa Community Empowerment;
 • Iowa Department of Public Health;
 • Iowa Department of Education.

The directors of these governmental agencies reached consensus on results they would focus on together to “produce the results Iowa’s citizens want for all their children and youth—that they are:
 • successful in school;
 • healthy and socially competent;
 • prepared for productive adulthood; and
 • in safe, supportive schools, families, and communities.”
Various data reports on these results can be found under the Planners/Grant Writers button on the website.

Some of the ways to address these promises are through schools, but the IA Collaborative also identifies key principles for School-Community-Family Collaborations working together:
 • Agencies and organizations work together so that all needs are addressed.
 • Families are strengthened to help their children be successful learners.
 • Schools and community organizations/institutions align their efforts to reach student-learning goals.
 • Schools, families, and communities work together to support academic achievement and to reduce barriers to learning.

Partnering in Communities: Strong Families, Strong Communities Project
Partnering in Communities: Strong Families, Strong Communities brings together local community organizations that have a stake in the quality of life for families and children in their communities. The project nurtures individual and organizational commitments to create a strong community culture to support parents in raising children who thrive as learners.

Participants from diverse community backgrounds learn about research-based practices that impact the learning of children and youth. During this period of 4 to 5 months participants develop implementation plans to collaboratively communicate messages about the research-based practices throughout the community. During the implementation phase of the project, community organizations work together to provide opportunities for families to have access to the knowledge and skills they can use in their own homes to help their children maximize their learning at school.

The project focuses on developing community members who:
 • Exhibit in a variety of ways a personal sense of influence for strengthening families;
 • Develop/nurture a community environment for all families where all youth can thrive as learners.

Partnering in Communities: Strong Families, Strong Communities  is a collaborative project between the Iowa Statewide Parent Information Resource Center and Iowa State University Extension. It is aligned with Partnering with Parents: Walking the Journey Together, an Iowa State University Extension academy designed for parenting educators who want to continually improve their programs. For more information, contact Dr. Kimberly Greder at Iowa State University Extension (kgreder@iastate.edu) or Dr. Jane Neff  at the Iowa Statewide Parent Information Resource Center (jeneff133@mac.com).

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