Family
Peoples
Welcome to National Family Week!

November 21 – 27, 2010

Family

Coalition for Community Schools Establishes National Awards Program

Throughout the year, the Alliance for Children and Families will promote programs, ideas, and activities sponsored by national organizations that support the core values inherent in National Family Week (NFW). These organizations reinforce the NFW objective to strengthen children and families, especially those who are vulnerable.

To highlight the expansion and effectiveness of community schools, the Coalition for Community Schools has established a national awards program. Alliance members are encouraged to work with local partners in submitting a community application. The communities’ award recognizes a city, county, school system, or region that has demonstrated a strong commitment to going to scale with multiple community schools.

Community-wide initiatives that have been operating for three or more years and have demonstrated positive results for students, families and/or communities are invited to submit an application by March 22.

The Coalition encourages nominations from any school or initiative that meets the selection criteria, whether or not the school or initiative refers to itself as a community school. Many schools doing this work choose to call themselves a community school, but many do not or are not aware of the term.

View the selection criteria or download the community application form. Previous award winners can be seen here. Awards will be announced in May and given on Capitol Hill in June. Three individual schools (an elementary, middle and high school), and up to two communities will be honored.

The Coalition for Community Schools is an alliance of national, state and local organizations in education K-16, youth development, community planning and development, family support, health and human services, government and philanthropy as well as national, state and local community school networks. The Coalition advocates for community schools as the vehicle for strengthening schools, families and communities so that together they can improve student learning.