We assist schools in becoming more effective and help families to become more focused on the importance of education at home.

Community Works understands that the education system needs improvement. Schools are no longer designed to support teachers, parents and students to do their best. Community Works coaches the people who work in schools to improve rigor, relevance and relationships when working with students, and helps them target and enhance their efforts to increase student graduation and college-going rates.

Community Works believes that student success is dependent on a strong partnership between family and school. However, being a parent is more complicated and stressful than ever. Children are exposed to huge pressures, and many parents lack the time or are simply under-equipped to effectively help their children manage. Community Works is a parent’s best ally. It offers services directly to parents and students—like tutoring, after-school classes, intervention and enrichment, as well as strategies for parents to engage with their child’s school.

WHAT WE KNOW We have expertise working with both sides of the equation—schools and families—to create an optimal education system that effectively serves students academically and socially.

Schools need to:

• Have a common vision of effective instruction with clear, instructional goals tied to standards
• Hold all students to high expectations; all students should be treated as college-bound
• Offer a program of study around maximizing academic rigor, curricular relevance and personalized adult-student relationships
• Improve transitional support from elementary to middle to high school, with a key focus on ensuring 9th grade success
• Examine and use assessment data regularly to track student progress and improve instruction
• Provide timely, targeted interventions for struggling students
• Give educators regular time to collaborate, plan and reflect around effective teaching and learning practices

Families with school-aged children need to:

• Stay engaged in their child’s school and keep in touch with teachers and counselors
• Have a solid homework routine (K-12th) where an adult assists every night with completing and checking homework
• Expose children to educational opportunities outside of school
• Encourage positive adult role models in their child’s life beyond immediate family
• Limit TV, phone, computer and video games during the week
• Listen to children and youth with interest and without judgment to be accepted as coaches