I've attended the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL)(opens in new tab) Community Schools & Family Engagement conference since 2022. I've made incredible friends and connections at this event, including Dr. Rhonda Gladden(opens in new tab), an Instructional Specialist in Prince George's County Public Schools(opens in new tab) Office of Community Schools. For conversation #97, I got to explore Dr. Rhonda's challenges and strategies for implementing community school models.

"Eight years in, and I'm still explaining what a community school actually does. That's the reality of my work as a Community Schools Specialist in one of the largest US school districts. We've grown from 44 community schools to 148 in our district, and yet a significant part of my job remains helping colleagues understand the depth and intentionality behind this model. It's not just food boxes. It's not just another pot of money. It's a whole-child, whole-community strategy, and aligning that vision across a complex system takes constant, deliberate effort.

One of the biggest professional learning challenges I navigate is that most of my 19 community schools (CS) coordinators did not come from the classroom. They came from HR, health and human services, and social services fields. They bring invaluable case management expertise, but they often need support developing an instructional lens. So this year, my focus is on deepening their understanding of what good instruction looks like, and how the community schools model, our partnerships, and our budget can directly support that.

In practice, this means I wear a lot of hats. I'm a thought partner for my CS Coordinators. I'm a data coach helping teams connect school-level outcomes to the resources we have available. I'm a bridge between our office and others, like Title I, Family and Community Partnerships, and Student Services, working to reduce the ‘us vs. them’ dynamic that can emerge when resources feel scarce and roles feel siloed. And I'm an advocate, constantly pushing our narrative upward and outward so that the work gets the respect and visibility it deserves.

Our big goals act like guiding stars, and they are super clear: 1) reduce chronic absenteeism and 2) increase parent and family engagement. When the system feels complex, those goals keep us anchored.

I'm also thinking more intentionally about how AI tools might help us work smarter. Our office now has access to Gemini, and we're just beginning to explore the possibilities, from content creation to instructional support. This aligns directly to where our Strategic Plan is pointing us, with focus areas around AI-enhanced personalized learning; AI-driven workforce capacity & instructional innovation; and responsible, safe, ethical, and inclusive AI integration across learning environments. I'm excited to bring more of these opportunities to my coordinators in the months ahead.

The work is hard and the landscape shifts constantly. But the schools we serve, and the communities behind them, remind me every day why it matters."