Getting Started: Community Learning Centers 

A step-by-step guide to moving from inspiration to implementation 

Phase 1: Momentum 

🎬 ​ Action steps: 
● Learn more about the CLC model through research and site visits 
● Introduce potential stakeholders to the CLC model 
● Launch a committee to learn more about the CLC model and assess district readiness  

🔑 ​ Keys to remember:  
● Create space for everyone to learn about the model and its benefits  
● Assess how the model aligns with existing district priorities and initiatives 

🚩​●
Red Flags to watch out for: 
If one stakeholder gets too far ahead of the others, alignment will be difficult and the 
effort is likely to suffer.  
 
 

Phase 2: Alignment & Engagement 

🎬 ​ Action steps: 
● Host expanded stakeholders meetings to establish shared vision and leadership 
● Begin community engagement, needs assessment & asset mapping 

🔑 ​ Keys to remember:  
● This is the moment to develop shared vision and leadership, and bring the 
community into the process. Community engagement, needs assessments & asset 
mapping should be used to build alignment between stakeholders and with the 
broader community.  

🚩​Red Flags to watch out for: 

● Charging ahead, and failing to share leadership and engage the community at this 
stage could doom the project.  
 

Phase 2a: Aligning District-level stakeholders  

Step 1: Identifying & Educating Potential Stakeholders 

● Take time identifying potential stakeholders 
(see graphic for guidance) 
● Introduce potential stakeholders to CLC 
model through meetings, presentations 
1-to-1 conversations, and learning trips. 
 
Step 2: Creating a ‘big table’ and a ‘little table’ 
● The ​‘big table’ ​of stakeholders​ ​should be 
composed of cross-sector community 
leaders. It’s purpose is to generate collective 
buy-in and commitment to the CLC model.  
◆ Educate ‘big table’ members about 
the CLC model. Consider how they 
benefit/what they can contribute 
◆ Keep them informed on progress   
● The ​‘little table’​ of stakeholders are the leadership who will drive the project in its 
earliest phase 
◆ Leadership is a cyclical process of Listen > Propose > Listen > Act. The ‘little 
table’ listens, then proposes; listens, then acts. It listens to both the ‘big table’ 
of stakeholders and to the community directly. 
◆ The ‘little table’ is the ‘meeting before the meeting’. They are responsible for 
educating and listening to stakeholders at the ‘big table’, initiating community 
engagement, needs assessments, and proposing the plan to implement CLCs. 
◆ Send this group on site visits and learning trips so they can build trust and 
develop a deeper understanding for the CLC model  
● Consider how the community engagement, needs assessments & asset mapping 
processes can be used to align partners through their participation.   

🔑 ​ Keys to remember:  
● Effective leadership by the ‘little table’ is crucial to develop shared vision and 
commitment at the ‘big table’. Listen > Propose > Listen > Act.   

🚩​ Red Flags to watch out for: 

● Failing to educate stakeholders about the CLC model can lead to different 
expectations moving forward, and conflicting views about the project.   
● Failing to involve the right stakeholders can lead to a lack of widespread buy-in.  
 
Phase 2b: Community Engagement & Needs Assessment 

Assessing Needs & Mapping Community Assets 

● Take an inventory of existing programs and partnerships within your school district  
● What data already exists? Review demographic data and statistics, recent needs 
assessments, community resource/asset mapping efforts, and compile and 
synthesize existing data. 
 
Developing a Community Engagement Plan 
The process of engaging the broader community about community learning centers has two 
primary purposes:  
1) To build trust between community leadership and community members 
2) To listen, and gather valuable data for the needs assessment & asset map   
 
Here are a set of questions to develop a community engagement plan & needs assessment: 
● What is the scope of engagement? The entire school district, or neighborhoods 
surrounding specific schools?  
● What data are you looking for? Health/mental health of students? School climate & 
culture? Barriers to academic success? Identifying existing assets, resources etc. 
What you’re looking for will shape surveys and other engagement strategies. 
● Who needs to be engaged? What are strategies for engaging them? 
◆ Ex: Focus groups and surveys of teachers can identify both student and 
teacher needs 
◆ Ex: Parent surveys distributed both at school and at community events can 
help identify parent and student needs 
● Who will lead the community engagement process? Who are trusted messengers and 
trusted organizations in the eyes of the community?   
 
Telling the Story of Your Community  
● What is the story of the moment your community is in? How do Community Learning 
Centers fit in? How can you communicate the story to the public? 
◆ Ex: Public meetings to discuss the ‘Why’ and the ‘What’ of CLCs 
◆ Generating earned media for CLC-related events   

🔑 ​ Keys to remember:  
● Authentic community engagement is the cornerstone of Community Learning 
Centers. How will your community engagement build trust, and shift how parents, 
educators and others see their relationship to school and each other?   

🚩​ Red Flags to watch out for: 

● Shallow community engagement will lead to poor data and shallow CLCs. Don’t rush.  
 Phase 3: Planning 

🎬 ​ Action steps: 
● Establish team to write CLC Plan 
● Develop CLC District Plan  
● Choose CLC pilot schools, secure resources, establish board of education policy 
● CLC Plan is approved by parents, teachers, administrators, board, & ‘big table’ 
stakeholders 
● Plan for public launch   

🔑 ​ Keys to remember:  
● The CLC plan should be informed by data gathered from community engagement, 
needs assessments and asset mapping 
● The CLC plan should be integrated into the district’s strategic plan, and 
accompanied by a CLC policy from the board of education 
● While a small team will write the plan, it is crucial that they 1) have a mandate from 
leadership and 2) communicate to parents, teachers & community members   

🚩​Red Flags to watch out for: 

● Failing to engage stakeholders outside of the district in planning will have 
consequences in the long-run 

 
Planning Process Flow 
 

 
 Phase 4: Launch & Learn

🎬 ​ Action steps: 
● Hire site coordinators 
● Launch building committees & governance structure 
● Re-engage stakeholders from ‘big table’, and enlist their support in telling the story 
of CLCs to the public  
● Build in feedback loops to learn quickly and make adjustments

🔑 ​ Keys to remember:  
● The quality of your site coordinators will have a massive impact on the quality of 
your community learning centers; take your time finding the right ones.  
● CLCs will be sustained by developing effective and adaptable systems (governance, 
management, evaluation & planning, etc). Your systems will not be perfect, and you 
must be commit to flexibility and evolution. This orientation is only possible within a 
culture of cooperation and collaborative leadership.   
● Engage your ‘big table’ stakeholders as public spokespeople and advocates. Create 
space for both affirmation and feedback from the broader community.  

🚩​Red Flags to watch out for: 

● Inflexible implementation, unilateral leadership, and poor communication with 
district and building-level stakeholders can create serious problems. 
● Lack of clear goals, objectives and short-term measures of success can lead to 
mission drift and an inability to effectively evaluate your CLCs. 

 
 
Understanding Leadership in the Community Learning Center Model 
Leading from different levels & roles 
 
*Adapted from: GROWING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: THE ROLE OF CROSS-BOUNDARY LEADERSHIP  
by: Martin J. Blank, Amy C. Berg & Atelia Melaville* 
 
Effective leadership in the Community Learning Center Model is like an orchestra. CLCs 
depend on many leaders in many different roles, working together collaboratively. It’s critical 
that CLC advocates understand their unique role, and the importance of working 
collaboratively. Below is a quick glance at 3 different leadership levels, and a variety of 
leadership roles at each level.   
 
 
 Community-level Leaders:  
The key figures from school boards, school districts, unions, local government, civic groups, 
businesses and agencies whose shared vision and policy commitments say to their 
constituencies, “We can do this together.”  

★ Teachers’ Union Leaders 

Teachers’ union leaders are natural champions of CLCs. CLCs allow teachers to teach, and 
provided needed supports for students and families. Union leaders can build teacher 
support for CLCs, and communicate the impact of CLCs to the public as trusted messengers.  

★ School District Leaders 

School board members and Superintendents can be strong advocates of CLCs. They have 
ready access to parents, community organizations and other public- and private-sector 
officials. They can use their platform to make the case for CLCs, and communicate the vision 
to other stakeholders. They can convene stakeholders, identify resources to support CLCs, 
and create space for other leadership to emerge. School districts can also host site 
coordinators and CLC staff. 

★ Municipal Government Leaders 

Mayors and county officials can build public support, tap local funds and bolster grassroots 
efforts by facilitating partnerships. In addition, these leaders’ connections to elected officials 
beyond the local community can help leverage state and federal financial support.  

★ Public Agency Leaders 

Public agency officials in public health and parks and recreation can be key leaders in CLC 
initiatives. They can help facilitate partnerships, support with needs assessments and 
community engagement and deepen the relationship between CLCs and local government.   

★ Non-Profit, Faith and Community Leaders 

The leaders of community-based organizations and agencies as well as clergy often have 
deep roots in their communities and the respect of civic figures and neighborhood 
residents. They can help facilitate partnerships, support with needs assessments and 
community engagement. Their participation helps ensure that CLCs can find funding, 
technical assistance and the right community partners. In some cases they serve as lead 
agency and host site coordinators. 

★ Philanthrophic & Business leaders 

The leaders of local foundations and businesses are often respected figures among 
community leaders and neighborhood residents. Local community foundations often know 
the non-profit landscape better than anyone, and both can help ensure that CLCs have 
access to needed resources.  
 
 Building-level Leaders:  
The school staff and community members at school sites who know the issues, embody the 
culture, and have the skills to build relationships and connect young people and families to 
resources and opportunities.  

★ Principals 
In successful CLCs, principals lead the shift in culture by fostering collaborative leadership 
with community partners and building opportunities for family and community engagement 
in the school. 

★ Site-coordinators 
CLC site coordinators serve as the link between the school and community partnerships and 
services. They work to build these partnerships, and smoothly integrate them into the 
academic mission. They serve as a hub of relationships, between staff, community partners, 
parents and students, and can play a massive role in fostering a collaborative culture.   

★ Teachers 
CLCs allow teachers to teach, and provide needed supports for students and families. 
Teachers know the issues their students face in and out of the classroom, and can play a 
critical role in identifying needs. Teachers can also support the shift toward collaborative 
leadership, and a deeper connection between the school and the surrounding community.   

★ Parent Leaders 
Parents in CLCs are welcomed as partners and leaders. A variety of opportunities and 
supports help parents emerge as strong advocates for their children and schools. A feeling 
of family ownership in schools can bring partners on board and keep people involved—even 
when the going gets tough.  

★ School-level Groups & Committees 

School-level groups can serve as advisory & decision-making bodies as well as highly 
engaged volunteers. Members can include school staff, neighborhood & parent leaders, 
representatives of partner organizations, and students. While exact roles vary, these groups 
help to maintain the integrity and accountability of the CLC to the needs of its community.   
 
Mid-level Leaders:  
While organizational affiliation may vary depending on whether CLCs are hosted by the 
district, or a non-profit or university partner, leaders inside of these organizations are 
critical to the growth and sustainability of CLCs. From overseeing grantwriting and writing 
policy, to training and managing site coordinators, to evaluating progress and telling the 
story of CLCs, mid-level leaders who are neither ‘on-the-ground’ in schools or in 
director-level roles are often a wellspring of institutional knowledge, and crucial to the 
sustainability of CLCs.