Community Schools Scale-Up in LA County
How can we align schools with community resources to improve student outcomes?
UCLA CTS is partnering with the Los Angeles County Office of Education and The LA Trust for Children’s Health to form a Regional Transformational Assistance Center (R-TAC) to support Los Angeles County schools as they seek to establish or sustain a community schools model. This regional initiative is part of the statewide California Community Schools Partnership Program, an initiative to help schools leverage local government and community partners’ support to align community resources to improve student outcomes.
A California community school serves students using a “whole-child” approach, with an integrated focus on academics, health, social services, youth and community development, and community engagement. By integrating community resources and family involvement, community schools serve as a holistic improvement strategy to support local education agencies, and schools address their community’s unique needs and aspirations.
As the research partner for the R-TAC, CTS is investigating implementation strategies and providing technical assistance to grantees as they develop processes for progress monitoring. CTS draws upon its experience and expertise as a research partner for large statewide initiatives to help the R-TAC and grantee schools interpret and assess their data as they implement the California Community Schools framework.
About The Greater Los Angeles R-TAC
Purpose:
The Greater Los Angeles Regional Transformational Assistance Center (R-TAC) transforms educational practices and reduces disparities at Community Schools across Los Angeles County by partnering, guiding and co-learning with grantees to leverage the Community Schools Framework.
The Greater Los Angeles R-TAC envisions K-12 schools as sanctuaries of growth and holistic well-being, where every student, family, staff member and community partner feels valued, empowered and thrives through a steadfast commitment to racial equity and justice in every decision and action.
Values:
Equity: We prioritize equity in every decision and action.
Accountability: We maintain accountability and fidelity in our support.
Collaboration: We foster collective and individualized support.
Inclusivity: We view students and families through an asset-based lens.
Cultural Responsiveness: We ensure our schools’ curriculum reflects the history and culture of our community.
Shared Leadership: We celebrate and encourage shared leadership within our schools.
Restorative Practices: We commit to creating racially just and restorative school environments.
Community Schools Research Library
Welcome to the Community Schools Research Library!
Each month, the UCLA CTS Community Schools research team curates research briefs as part of our role in the Greater Los Angeles Regional Transformational Assistance Center (R-TAC).
These research articles align with core commitments of the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) Framework. The articles reflect a monthly theme and offer timely, actionable insights to support intentional practice, guide thoughtful implementation, and strengthen coherence across school transformation efforts.
January 2026: Funding for Educator Diversity
California Educator Diversity Funding Guide 2025-26
This annual guide from UCLA CTS’ California Educator Diversity Project compiles federal, state, local, and philanthropic funding opportunities to support the recruitment, preparation, and retention of a diverse educator workforce. For Community Schools practitioners, the guide offers practical pathways to strengthen educator pipelines, advance equity-focused staffing, and build school environments that reflect and affirm the students and communities they serve, aligning with the goals of the CCSPP.
December 2025: Equitable Discipline & Restorative Practices
Beyond the Ban: An Overview of California School Suspension Data
This brief from the UCLA CTS Race, Education, and Community Healing (REACH) Network examines California school suspension data from 2017–18 through 2023–24, finding that overall suspension rates remain largely unchanged and racial disparities persist. For Community Schools practitioners, the findings highlight the importance of strengthening restorative practices, deepening family relationships, and using data to guide more equitable, whole-child approaches aligned with the CCSPP.
November 2025: Equity That Shows Up in Practice
Scaling Equity: Unfulfilled Promises and Lessons California’s MTSS Initiative
UCLA CTS has served as the lead research partner in California’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (CA MTSS) Phase II pilot—an ambitious 5-year, $15 million initiative aimed at building integrated systems of academic, behavioral and social-emotional supports across schools. CTS conducted research, including interviews with over 60 school and district leaders, to understand implementation and impact of CA MTSS on student learning and school climate outcomes like attendance and suspensions. This final report reveals critical insights from 35 school sites across California, highlighting the promise and challenges of scaling systems of support—especially amid state wildfires, policy shifts around school discipline and the disruptions of COVID-19.
Lessons from the California MTSS pilot closely align with the goals and structures of the CCSPP, particularly through their shared emphasis on relationships, context, and governance and leadership. Both frameworks recognize that meaningful transformation begins with strong, trusting relationships among students, families, educators and communities. In CA MTSS, this focus is reflected in practices like community asset mapping and gap analysis to identify local strengths and needs, while the CCSPP framework embeds family and community engagement as a core pillar to promote environments of emotional safety, belonging, and collaboration. Similarly, the CCSPP’s cornerstone commitments—equity, cultural relevance, racial justice and restorative practices—mirror MTSS’s attention to understanding and addressing the diverse contexts of learners and communities. Governance and leadership practices such as the use of Community School Coordinators, site-based advisory councils and collaborative decision-making structures further reinforce both models’ commitment to shared leadership, continuous professional learning and collective responsibility. Together, these approaches create an integrated vision of school transformation that is relational, equitable and community-centered.
October 2025: Affirming Black Boys’ Mattering in Schools
Carey et al. apply a racialized lens on “mattering” to examine how Black high school boys perceive their significance in schools. They found many experienced either marginal mattering—treated as threats through stereotypes and surveillance—or partial mattering, where athletic talent was valued but intellectual potential was overlooked. Within the community schools framework, racially affirming supports, collaborative leadership, and culturally relevant instruction are needed to ensure Black boys’ diverse strengths are fully recognized and valued.
September 2025: Expanding Youth Voice in School Decision-Making
Youth Involvement in School Decision-Making during the Pandemic
Deolindo et al. examine how Sandoval School created multiple opportunities for student voice during the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from surveys to youth-led classes and clubs. The findings underscore both the promise and the tensions of centering student voice as part of whole-school transformation, aligning with CCSPP’s commitments to shared leadership, culturally responsive practice, and equity-driven school climates.
May 2025: Reframing Latinx Student Achievement
Claudia Galindo’s research calls for an asset-based approach to understanding Latinx students’ educational experiences. Rather than focusing on deficits or achievement gaps, she highlights the importance of recognizing students’ cultural wealth and lived experiences. Her framework aligns with CCSPP’s commitment to culturally responsive education, urging educators to center student voice and build inclusive, identity-affirming classrooms.
April 2025: Culturally Responsive Personalized Learning
Culturally Responsive Personalized Learning: Recommendations for a Working Definition and Framework
Teresa Ober and colleagues present a Culturally Responsive Personalized Learning (CRPL) framework that blends differentiation with culturally relevant instruction. They highlight how race-neutral strategies often fail to meet the needs of diverse learners. The CRPL model promotes student agency, connections to lived experience, and shared power, offering equitable strategies for instruction and support.
March 2025: Elevating Student Voice and Agency in Shared Leadership
What Is Student Voice Anyway? The Intersection of Student Voice Practices and Shared Leadership
Samantha Holquist offers a framework for centering student voice and fostering shared leadership in schools. The research identifies key structures and relationships needed to meaningfully involve students in decision-making. These practices reflect core CCSPP values and support the development of inclusive, collaborative school environments where student perspectives help shape policy and practice.
February 2025: Understanding Black Boys Through an Intersectional Lens
Keisha Wint et al. explore how race and gender intersect to shape the educational journeys of Black boys, starting in early childhood. Using life course and intersectional frameworks, they advocate for strength-based approaches that acknowledge trauma and promote healing. The research encourages schools to move beyond deficit narratives and involve families and communities in creating inclusive, asset-based environments. These holistic support systems align with CCSPP values and can improve outcomes for historically marginalized students.
January 2025: Centering Teachers of Color and Racial Justice
Behind School Doors: The Impact of Hostile Racial Climates on Urban Teachers of Color
Rita Kohli’s study captures the voices of over 200 teachers of color and their experiences with racial injustice in public education. The findings highlight the need for community, support, and collective action among educators committed to equity. This work reinforces the importance of solidarity and healing spaces like Communities of Transformational Practice.
November 2024: Strength-Based Discipline and Shared Decision-Making
Day-Vines and Terriquez explore a strengths-based school discipline initiative that reduced suspension disparities for Black and Latino students. The success was rooted in student leadership, stakeholder collaboration, and acknowledgment of racial inequities. The study underscores the power of shared decision-making and culturally responsive, restorative school climate practices.
October 2024: The Role of Coordinators in Advancing Community Schools
- Leadership for Collaboration: Exploring How Community School Coordinators Advance the Goals of Full-Service Community Schools
- The Role of Community Schools In Place-Based Initiatives: Collaborating for Student Success
Research by Sanders et al. and Potapchuk highlights the critical role of community school coordinators and the power of place-based initiatives. Through trust-building and cross-boundary leadership, coordinators promote collaboration and systemic change. These models show how integrated supports, community engagement, and holistic strategies improve academic and social outcomes for students.
Publications
Greater Los Angeles Community Schools Regional Transformational Assistance Center (R-TAC) 2023-24 Impact Report
The report highlights early implementation efforts, lessons learned, and emerging priorities from the Greater Los Angeles R-TAC’s foundational year. Drawing on data and field-based insights, the report documents how schools and districts across Los Angeles County are building systems of support aligned with California’s Community Schools Framework.
