The center of the world for my brothers and I was our neighborhood school -- Hohokam Elementary in Scottsdale (It was a K-8th grade school then). It was there we spent most of our days, and at night we also met there for Cub Scouts, School Pageants, Dances and Science Fairs. Day time activities included Little League, Summer School and Summer Club. These are just a few examples of how the local school reached out to my community. This meeting place was the place where we learned about our friends and neighbors.
Paradise Valley Unified School District offers similar experiences at our schools from Mascot Clubs, Before and After the Bell clubs, as well as parenting classes, and more. I would like to continue expanding the scope of our district's efforts to help be the glue that brings more of us together in support of children's learning. Like the quote above we need to support our children, but also support parents as well. Learning does not occur in a bubble separate from any other factors, which is why children need healthy meals, health care, tutoring, and other services before, during, and after school.
As an example, some neighborhoods might be in transition with a lot of new families moving in and others moving out. In this instance, arranging a forum of cultural/personal understanding could be useful to everyone in the community. This might take the form of weekly town halls, creating a human library, or even something along the lines of M.O.T.H. Radio where individuals are selected to share their story with the group.
There are many ways we can reach out to help strengthen our neighborhoods and guarantee our children have everything they need to learn confidently and effectively. If you would know more about community schools the following website is a good place to start:
https://www.nea.org/student-success/great-public-schools/community-schools