Table Of ContentThe Full-Service Community
School Movement
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The Full-Service Community
School Movement
Lessons from the James Adams
Community School
Jeanita W. Richardson
THEFULL-SERVICECOMMUNITYSCHOOLMOVEMENT
Copyright©JeanitaW.Richarson,2009.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-61848-0
Allrightsreserved.
Firstpublishedin2009byPALGRAVEMACMILLAN®inthe
UnitedStates-adivisionofSt.Martin’sPressLLC,175FifthAvenue,
NewYork,NY10010.
WherethisbookisdistributedintheUK,Europeandtherestof
theworld,thisisbyPalgraveMacmillan,adivisionofMacmillan
PublishersLimited,registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,
ofHoundmills,Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XS.
PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabove
companiesandhascompaniesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld.
Palgrave®andMacmillan®areregisteredtrademarksintheUnited
States,theUnitedKingdom,Europeandothercountries.
ISBN 978-1-349-38107-4 ISBN 978-0-230-10156-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230101562
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Richardson,JeanitaW.,1957–
Thefull-servicecommunityschoolmovement:lessonsfromthe
JamesAdamsCommunitySchool/JeanitaW.Richardson.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN 978-1-349-38107-4
1. JamesAdamsCommunitySchool(Coatesville,Pa.)
2. Communityschools—UnitedStates—Casestudies. 3. Children
withsocialdisabilities—UnitedStates—Casestudies. 4. Childrenof
minorities—Education—UnitedStates—Casestudies.
5. Segregationineducation—UnitedStates—Casestudies. I. Title.
LB2820.R532009
371.0309743(cid:2)13—dc22 2009023746
DesignbyIntegraSoftwareServices
Firstedition:December2009
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Somanypeoplejoinedmeonthisjourneybutafewmustbespecifically
named.ThankyoutoDianeRofiniandtheChesterCountyHistoricalSoci-
ety staff, Paul Johnson, Barry Gibney, Mrs. Betty Cuff, Vance “Carmin”
Garnett, Aunt Teenie, David Anderson (Cuz), Aunt Angella, Wendy, and
alumniandfriendsofJamesAdams.ToMom,Amanda,John,andallthe
invisible shoulders (like Grandmother White) I stand on who kept me
goingbeyondmycapacity,thankyou.And...
ToGrandmaandGrandpawhosehandsguidedmebeyondtheveiltomake
suretheirstorywastoldinthespiritofCIHU.Iloveyouandmissyoumore
nowthanever...
T.J.andAnitaAnderson
By:JeanAndersonWhite
MomandDadwereanexcellentteam
Inourheartstheyreignsupreme
Demonstratingloveintegrityandsuch
Encouragingthosewhoselivestheytouched
Aspecialcouplegeneratinghope
Leaderswithcouragehelpeduscope
TheytaughtusCIHUthatthetruthwillsetusfree
Tobeourverybest,abetterworldwewouldsee.
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Contents
TablesandFigures viii
Introduction 1
1 Full-ServiceCommunitySchools:TheirPast,TheirPresent,
andTheirFuture 11
2 TheEfficacyofaCommunityApproach 37
3 PursuingExcellenceinaSegregatedSystem:Coatesville,a
TownofParadoxes 65
4 TheCornerstones:TheBlurredPersonalandProfessional
LivesofT.J.andAnitaAnderson 87
5 JamesAdamsCommunitySchool:ManifestingtheVision 111
6 InTheirOwnWords:ReflectionsfromAlumniandFaculty 139
7 LookingBackwardtoPlanAhead:Lessonsforthe
CommunityandFull-ServiceSchoolMovement 161
Index 187
Tables and Figures
Tables
1.1 ConcentrationofStudentsinMajority–MinorityPublic
Schools 15
1.2 CommunityandFull-ServiceSchoolDefinitions 18
2.1 LeadersandLeadership 52
3.1 JamesAdamsPrincipals 80
4.1 CommunitySchoolLeadershipComparison 106
5.1 PartnershipComparison 114
5.2 OrganizationalDevelopmentandJACS 123
5.3 JACSGraduationThemesandSpeakers 129
6.1 BenefitsofaHighlyFunctioningCommunitySchoolfor
StudentsandCommunities 157
Figures
2.1 FromRisktoResilience 43
2.2 EcologyofHumanDevelopment 45
2.3 HighlyEffectiveCommunitySchool(HECS)Model 50
4.1 CIHUandtheCommunity 103
7.1 HighlyEffectiveCommunitySchool(HECS)ModelRevisited 169
Introduction
Wehaveapowerfulpotentialinouryouth,andwemusthavethecourage
tochangeoldideasandpracticessothatwemaydirecttheirpowertowards
goodends.
–MaryMcLeodBethune(Bethune,2000,p.395)
Schools and the way they interact with children and families possess
untapped potential. Unleashing the intellectual prowess of all of the
nation’s students requires a courage we have not yet collectively demon-
strated.Thebraverythateducatorsneedtoexercise,asperMaryMcLeod
Bethune, is a willingness to break from traditional ideas and practices
in order to embrace new and different strategies. For some children the
standardizededucationalsysteminthiscountrysuffices.Theyaredemon-
strating acceptable degrees of success and in some cases are excelling.
However,therearetensofthousandsofotherstudentswhoarelanguishing
inclassroomsacrossthecountry.
Public K – 12 schools are charged with meeting prescriptive account-
abilitystandardsatatimewhenmanychildrenfacedilemmasexternalto
schoolsthatdirectlyandindirectlyinfluencelearningreadinessandcapac-
ity. Tremendous resources ($440.3 billion in 2002–3) are being devoted
to public schools and yet, schools alone do not command the resources
neededtoeliminateormitigatethestressorstolearningexternaltoschools
thatimpactlearningreadinesssuchasthespectersofrace,socioeconomic
status,andhealth(Richardson,2006).
In the wake of stringent standards and increasing numbers of “at-
risk” youth failing to meet performance benchmarks, there is a growing
acknowledgementthatsocialnetworksarecriticaltoacademicsuccess.In
the late1980s andearly1990s callscamefromthe academicliteratureto
considernetworksoforganizationspartneringwithschoolsasaneffective
means of meeting the needs of children (Dryfoos, 1994; Kronick, 2005;
Warren, 2005). Theorists such as Joy G. Dryfoos posited holistic inter-
ventions on behalf of children that by definition necessitated family and
community inclusion (Dryfoos, 1994, 2002, 2003; Dryfoos & Maguire,
2002).Therationalewasthatschoolsarealmostthelastinstitutionwhere
all members of a community might express a vested interest. As schol-
arship and the practical application of holistic theories confirmed their
