PHENND AmeriCorps VISTA Community Partnerships Project
The Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND) consortium consists of over 25 colleges and universities in the greater Philadelphia area. Their VISTA project focuses on building community-based service-learning partnerships to revitalize local communities and schools. VISTAs play a vital role in capacity-building initiatives and community outreach, with a three-year cycle at each school. The VISTA's responsibilities include documentation, needs assessment, communication, relationship building, strategic planning, and evaluation.
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Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development AmeriCorps VISTA Community Partnerships Project
PHENNDis The Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND) is a consortium of over 25 colleges and universities in the greater Philadelphia area. PHENND works to build the capacity of its member institutions to develop mutually beneficial, sustained, and democratic community-based service-learning partnerships. The consortium actively seeks to revitalize local communities and schools and foster civic responsibility among the region s colleges and universities.
PHENND K-16 Partnerships Network VISTA Project
What is a VISTA? An AmeriCorps VISTA is full-time federally funded volunteer who is responsible for capacity building initiatives and community outreach for an organization VISTAs are not standard employees or allowed to displace other workers Three-year cycle at each school
VISTA Role The VISTA builds capacity of schools in four major areas through specific activities: Documentation and Needs Assessment Communication and Relationship Building Strategic Planning Evaluation
PHENND VISTA SCHOOLS 2018-2019 Year 1 Schools Year 2 Schools Year 3 Schools Graduated Schools: Blaine ES Cassidy ES Meade ES C.W. Henry ES H.H. Houston ES Jackson ES Powel ES Southwark ES W.D. Kelley ES Penn Treaty HS Kensington Health Sciences Academy Kensington Creative and Performing Arts Sayre HS The U School HS Chester A. Arthur ES E.M. Stanton ES Cramp ES Edison HS Hartranft ES Emlen ES Key ES
Accomplishments Facilitating partnerships: School-based VISTAs interact with and support hundreds of unique partnership organizations, engaging them at partners meetings, special events both at their schools and in the city, coordinating after-school programming, and through facilitating connections with individual teachers and classrooms. Policy work and data collection: School Advisory Councils, partnership landscape and Attendance Plans to pursue a goal of 95% or more daily average attendance. Resource generation: Last year, generated over In 2016-17, the PHENND VISTAs raised a total of $25,195 in cash and $44,519 in in-kind donations and mobilized 2,360 volunteers. Positive collaborations: with some CDCs, Business and Neighborhood Associations, most notably HACE in the Kensington/Fairhill area, Mt. Airy USA and EPX (East Passyunk Crossing) as well as Friends of and Home and School groups Workforce development: There are a total of seven PHENND VISTA graduates who obtained full-time employment in the School District after graduating; Many graduated VISTAs have obtained full-time positions in Philadelphia through organizations with which they came into contact while serving.
Lessons Learned So Far Partners respond positively to regular partner meetings and hearing school needs. Grateful for an in to school and want to help in creative ways Principal and leadership team need to want to do this work Principals need to be able to clearly articulate goals and priorities, but also good to engage teachers in needs assessment
Benefits of Partner Meetings Provides forum for school to articulate outstanding immediate needs as well as longer- term goals and priorities Helps school align partner organization resources to school needs and priorities Help partners build capacity to better serve students through increasing collaboration with other partners Serves as a potential space in which to share data; improves partner access to students and staff Can be incubator for parental engagement
Aspirations Institutionalize the community partner meeting at the school level for its sustainability after VISTA Share lessons learned with other intermediaries and SDP (Toolkit; new SDP job position) Embed PHENND VISTA project in a larger city-wide community schools strategy (Organizations Coordinating Partnerships working group)
Partnership Toolkit and other VISTA project-related items (right click to open hyperlinks) Partnerships Toolkit: https://www.philasd.org/strategicpartnerships/wp- content/uploads/sites/83/2017/06/SchoolBasedPartnershipsGuide.pdf Office of Strategic Partnerships, School District of Philadelphia: https://www.philasd.org/strategicpartnerships/ Office of Research and Evaluation: 2016-17 School Support Census Report
Community Schools Community Schools are public neighborhood schools that also serve as community centers, improving access to resources and supports for students, families and the neighborhood. Each school offers a strategically placed unique set of services and programs based on feedback from the community. A City-employed Community School Coordinator manages the process at each school while working closely with the principal, community members, and service providers 15
City of Philadelphia Designated Community Schools Enrollment (16-17) Grades Edward Gideon School K-8 288 Franklin S. Edmonds School K-6 517 George Washington High School* 9-12 1345 James Logan School K-5 327 Kensington Health Sciences Academy 9-12 468 Alaine Locke School* K-8 448 Murrell Dobbins CTE High School 9-12 606 Samuel Gompers School* K-7 348 South Philadelphia High School 9-12 613 Southwark School K-8 742 William Cramp School K-5 518 William T. Tilden Middle School 5-8 367 16
About Community Schools Needs Assessment Role of Coordinator 17
Community Schools Systems of Meetings Core Work Team Weekly Meeting The Core Work Team comprised of the Community Schools Leadership from the Mayor s Office of Education and The School District of Philadelphia on a weekly basis to plan, discuss and address issues, concerns and challenges of the Community Schools work. 18 Cohorts I and II Monthly Meeting The Principals, Community Schools Coordinators, MoE Staff work and meet on a monthly basis to receive training and/or solve issues together as a professional learning organization. School Meetings: Community School Committees, Partnership meetings CS Staff weekly meetings Core team meets with key departments, organizations etc.
