Developing Relationships and Trust | 21st CCLC Integrated Service Delivery
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers Integrated Service Delivery Study aimed to elevate the role 21st CCLC grantees can play in building integrated service delivery systems and to identify promising approaches.
Building trust between a school and its community is crucial for the successful integration of a 21st CCLC program. Developing trust takes targeted efforts through strategic outreach and activities that can develop bridges between communities and schools. Deliberate trust building can transform 21st CCLC funding into a foundation that comprehensively supports students and families and serves as a catalyst for broad community engagement.
Because Newport is extremely diverse, we have diverse needs, but the community school reaches out of its sleeve to help. And I think that’s the unique thing about the relationship between Newport Public Schools and the Newport Community School, is that I think the goal is the same and we work together to reach it.
— Teacher
Several centers in our research shared how they used 21st CCLC funding to establish a platform to develop interpersonal relationships, trust, and norms of mutual aid and reciprocity. These efforts benefited both students and the broader community. These centers described intentional efforts to invite the community into schools through
- Hosting special events;
- Identifying the talents and strengths of community members; and
- Inviting them to share those talents.
Opportunities to share talents might include leading programming, creating strategic opportunities for youth leadership, and engaging community businesses and non-profit organizations in efforts to meet the needs of students and families.
Grantees also emphasized the importance of “showing up” in the community and building a reputation for consistency and an ability to address emerging needs.
Related Briefs
Collaboration between schools and external organizations can yield benefits, but also pose risks for silos in program delivery and the potential for misunderstandings. Grantees for programs in Rhode Island and Washington State offer models for how external organizations can cultivate trust within the school site, thereby enhancing their collective ability to serve students and families.
Community is baked into the name of the 21st CCLC program. However, as part of this study, we learned about some grantees that are using the program as a platform for broader community renewal, a theme we explore more fully in this brief by focusing on 21st CCLC grantees in Oklahoma and Illinois.
Coordinating Service Provision to Facilitate Access to Resources
This brief expands on the approaches and strategies for service coordination observed in the study. It also includes recommendations for 21st CCLC project directors, site coordinators, and state coordinators as they pursue more integrated service delivery systems.
Summary of Results from the 21st CCLC Center Survey
As part of the Integrated Services Delivery Study, AIR surveyed 21st CCLC programs in five states: Illinois, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Washington. This brief summarizes the results of that survey.
