Leadership in full-service community schools: a driving force for change

Abstract

Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) are designed to increase access to holistic support services for historically underserved children and families. To do so, FSCS have developed local, community partnerships with health and social services providers to bridge the gap between needed and available resources. Sustained implementation of a FSCS model requires school-community partnerships that cross traditional lines of organization and engage in a high level of interprofessional collaboration. Researchers have found FSCS partnerships difficult to sustain, as they require significant change to traditional boundaries between school and community leaders (Abrams & Gibbs, 2000; Campo, 2017; McMahon, Ward, Kline Pruett, Davidson, & Griffith, 2000). Using the dual lens of Fullan (2016) and Lewin (1947), this qualitative case study examines one school district's journey in sustaining the implementation of twenty-six FSCS over twenty years. Perspectives of school district administrators, city leaders, and school board members in a large, urban school district tell the story of leadership support during the development of the proven difficult FSCS partnerships. This study underscores the importance of providing intentional support for leaders during change and connects the redefinition of school-community partnerships required to implement a FSCS to the broader scope of school reform.