Know their value. Tell the story.

The community school strategy has proven effective in improving academic outcomes for students and it is well accepted among community school practitioners that a crucial piece of this strategy is the Coordinator. The Coordinator is the person who oversees implementation of the strategy, and shares responsibility for the outcomes.

A Community School Coordinator (or Manager) is typically a full-time staff member located in a community school. The coordinator is responsible for organizing and integrating a wide range or support services that meet the needs of students, their families, and the broader community. Coordinators create, strengthen and maintain the bridge between the school and community. Coordinators facilitate, lead and manage various pieces of community schools including:

• Collaborative leadership and infrastructure coordination

• Needs assessment, planning and sustainability

• Student-centered data and continuous improvement

• Powerful learning, and integrated health and social supports

• Authentic family and community engagement

Community Schools ROI App

The Community Schools Return on Investment App (CS ROI) is designed to capture the value and benefits of community schools and the Coordinators who serve them. The CS ROI App can be used to maximize usefulness of data, increase efficiency and consistency in data collection processes, increase accuracy and credibility in data reporting, and elevate ongoing evaluation efforts.

Other features include:

• Documenting benefits across programs, activities, events, and meetings

• Informing and guiding state and district-wide scaling efforts

• Supporting implementation of FSCS Program or Grants

The CS ROI App does all of this by capturing expenses, benefits, and stories related to the Coordinator’s work at the community school.

Expenses

The CS ROI App allows Coordinators to document expenses related to their role by logging associated costs such as office space, supplies, staff resources, salary, benefits, stipends, and professional development provided to the Coordinator.

Benefits

The CS ROI App also allows Coordinators to easily monetize the variety of benefits, resources, and contributions that their work brings to the school through the documentation of:

• Actual grant dollars brought into the school

• Volunteer hours generated at the school, or on behalf of the school

• Professional time, programs, services and spaces donated to the school or for school use in-kind

• Materials, supplies and other physical donations made to the school

Stories

When numbers can’t show the whole picture, Coordinators can provide narratives detailing the stories surrounding their work, including successes, challenges, and community impact.

Reports

To help Coordinators and Report Users understand the data collected, the CS ROI App automatically compiles a series of on-demand reports which help give meaning to the data collected.

To learn more about the CS ROI App and the Community Schools Data Hub, please visit https://apexeval.org/community-schools-data-hub/