BEACONS FOR CHANGE
The San Pablo Community Schools Initiative is joining the national movement
By Matt Larson
The recipe for a perfect education is constantly evolving.
Everywhere you look there’s a new type of educational
facility that is taking a new approach toward how we
teach our children. San Pablo has recently implemented
a Community Schools education model for their youth,
which was done in collaboration with the West Contra Costa
Unified School District. Community Schools are a nationally
recognized strategy that combines strong academic instruction
with an array of vital supports and services for both students
and their families.
In May of 2017, the San Pablo City Council approved a
full scale-up of the San Pablo Community Schools Initiative,
dedicating more than $600,000 in funding to support
personnel and program services to all six San Pablo schools. At
the same time, the council also passed a resolution to join the
Beacon National Network, thus strengthening the connection
and coordination with the national Community Schools
movement.
Beacon Centers are based on a 25-year-old model for
community-school partnerships. Currently they only exist in
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Denver, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco (including
San Pablo). They operate year-round programs which include
during school, after school, and in the summer. These centers
are supported by a citywide intermediary office that provides
technical assistance and capacity building; they’re housed in
schools, and each school has its own Beacon Director. “It’s
built heavily on collaboration and teamwork here,” said Diana
Baires, Beacon Director at Lake Elementary School. “We’re
working on supporting adults here so that we can better
support kids and their families.”
For 20 years the San Francisco Beacon Initiative has
been growing steadily, and San Pablo will be working closely
with them as their own program evolves. The San Pablo
Community Schools Initiative has been developing since late
2011. By joining up with Beacon, they’ll have access to an
entire network of national Beacon leaders for sharing practice
and learning tools that will take their Community Schools to
the next level.
Beacons are a model designed by the Coalition for
Community Schools at the Institute of Educational