What are the Implications of SchoolPlus and the Effective Practices Framework for School and Community Networking?

According to the document SchoolPLUS at a Glance, schools today have two major functions. The first is to educate children and youth in a holistic way, and the second, to support service delivery. In order for this to occur, the schools need to become the centers of their respective communities. Thus, the movement toward SchoolPLUS has implications for changing schools’ and communities’ perceptions about what a school is, and can be.
Change is needed in three areas according to the SchoolPLUS at a Glance document:
1.) Families and communities need to work together to ensure the healthy development of their children. Therefore, schools need to engage families and communities. To sustain involvement the engagement needs to be meaningful to both parties. Consideration needs to be given to the strengths of parents and community members. Not only does the school need to know what resources are available to them, they need to utilize them as well. Once relationships are developed, involvement in planning and problem solving can become a reality.
2.) Services need to be linked to schools. Aside from education, examples of the human services that were discussed include health, social justice, recreation, culture and housing supports. In fact, any services that contribute to the well-being of a family and/or its members may fall under the category of human services. The change should make these services more accessible to all.
An excellent example of service delivery lies in a partnership between Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and the University of Saskatchewan College of Nursing. St. Luke Elementary School and Pope John Paul II Elementary schools serve as locations for the clinical practicum for third and fourth year nursing students. A number of student programs have been the result of the partnership. As well, the nurses are able to provide primary health care. For this and other stories of success go to the following document: Many Roads Taken: Stories of SchoolPLUS. http://www.education.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia.aspx?DocID=1212,589,144,107,81,1,Documents&MediaID=1851&Filename=Many+Roads+Taken.doc

3.) Schools need to meet the needs of all of their students by being open, inviting, and inclusive. Participants will thrive in a caring and respectful environment that is culturally affirming. In the book Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships, four versions of partnerships are presented: partnership school, open-door school, come-if-we-call school, and fortress school. A scoring guide is presented that will give you a rough idea of where your school falls. The most effective of course, and the goal, is the partnership school.