IntroductionWhat Is a Community School? Community School ResourcesCommunity School Initiatives in TexasMain Page | Bridges Institute Introduction The Bridges Institute improves student achievement by making a difference in educators’ performance and professional growth, while also supporting community school models. Community schools provide intensive community engagement and wraparound social services to "turn around" struggling schools....
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Texas AFT has been the leader in initiatives for community schools--programs that use intense community involvement to provide students and their families with a wide variety of academic and social-service resources--to help schools thrive and students achieve. So we urge you to join teams and individuals from across Texas for...
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Big news this week from the Capitol —the House passed HB 92, a long-time Texas AFT priority that would allow a campus turnaround plan to permit a campus to operate as a community school. Community Schools reduce barriers to learning...
Read MoreCommunity Schools Summit provides inspiration, guidance for struggling schools TRS to hold summer meetings, and we'll be there highlighting the need for investing in health care, pensions AFT members and faith leaders protest the separation of immigrant families at Tornillo...
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Texas AFT continues to be a leader in promoting the community schools model throughout Texas, and one of the key drivers of the movement is the annual Texas Community Schools Summit, which was held on June 6 in Austin this year. Texas AFT cosponsored the summit with the Texas Community...
Read MoreThe Texas Community Schools Coalition, Austin Voices for Education and Youth, and Save Texas Schools (with support from Austin ISD and Texas AFT) will sponsor our third annual statewide Community Schools Summit on June 6-8 in Austin at Lanier High School. Whether you are new to community schools or already have an effort...
Read MoreInside Video highlights achievements of Houston community schools model Earning respect for support staff through pay increases Our Role = Power: The Texas AFT Support Professionals Conference 2018 We've lost count, but it adds up to tons of fun and learning with our First Book giveaways! Benefit spotlight: Floral arrangements...
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The Coalition for Community Schools and the Institute for Educational Leadership, together with the Family League of Baltimore will hold a Community Schools National Forum on May 2-4. The Forum is designed to bring together those who are partnering to implement community schools and those that have a vested stake...
Read MoreTexas AFT held its biennial convention--with the theme of "Public School Proud"--last weekend in El Paso. The convention included the usual business of electing statewide officers and deciding on resolutions to guide the union in the coming years. (Louis Malfaro...
Read MoreBy Dena Donaldson Texas AFT Community Schools Coordinator Since 1990, the school transformation framework known as “community schools” has become a nationally recognized way of strengthening neighborhood schools. Today, over 5,000 schools nationwide identify themselves as community schools. Texas AFT currently has four locals actively pursuing community school initiatives in...
Read MoreJoin teams from schools across Texas for a three-day summit that will provide tools for building thriving community school efforts! Whether you are new to the idea of community schools or already have an effort underway, you’ll find helpful information, ideas and networking. Sponsored by AVEY, TCSC, Austin ISD, Texas...
Read MoreSpecial-ed Vouchers to Get a Hearing in House Committee: Despite the big House majority vote (103 to 44) against any form of voucher funding in SB 1, the budget bill, the House Public Education Committee will give a hearing to two voucher bills on Thursday, April 27. Both bills are...
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