Part of the CIVIC FUTURES Track at the EVOLVE Conference

WHAT WOULD A COMMUNITY SCHOOLS MINDSET MEAN FOR CHARLOTTESVILLE?

A multi-sector conversation on how Charlottesville can address education as a broad social issue, and prioritize student success and scholastic achievement through creative collaboration across the whole community.

Wednesday April 16, 10AM - 12PM | By Invitation

Co-Hosted with City of Promise and African American Teaching Fellows (AATF)

About the Summit

The Education Innovation Summit brings together diverse stakeholders to discuss how we leverage a Community School model to address noted and growing educational disparities between minority and under-resourced students and their peers in Charlottesville and Albemarle. 

Nationally, Community Schools are public schools that provide services and support that fit each neighborhood’s needs. They are created and run by the people who know our children best—all working together. A Community Schools mindset speaks to a mentality of building coalitions and collaboration between all the diverse organizations caring for our kids inside and and outside of the school building.

This Summit poses the question: what would Community Schools look like in Charlottesville? The multidisciplinary gathering brings together community stakeholders and local, mission-aligned organizations representing key social service agencies, government agencies, philanthropic institutions, community members, and research institutes with a stake in addressing poverty and educational engagement of children and families in Charlottesville. 

At the Summit, partners will start mapping a coordinated system of services and explore, in depth, opportunities, strengths, and asset mapping across the coalition, with the goal of developing a more comprehensive understanding of how we address persistent academic gaps through community engagement.  

Part of the CIVIC FUTURES Track at the Tom Tom Festival’s EVOLVE Conference on Wednesday April 16, 9am - 5pm. Participants will have the option of joining a morning keynote on shared futures, and then break out into a facilitated conversation. The Forum itself will take place from 10am - 12pm.

Intention & Outcomes:

A Q&A with Price Thomas, Executive Director of City of Promise

What inspired you to host the event?

Growing educational disparities between minority and under-resourced students and their peers in Charlottesville indicate that we need a new approach. At present, Charlottesville, with all of its intellect and resources, has one of the largest literacy gaps in the state of Virginia. Across the country, communities are leveraging multi-sector resources to build a “community school” model of addressing these disparities. This model helps students and families access resources for basic needs, build economic mobility and community health, and connect with in- and out-of-school academic support by coordinating multiple partners across various sectors to more effectively respond to and meet whole community needs. We are hosting this event to explore and imagine what a community school model could look like in Charlottesville. Participants will discuss–as a whole group and in breakout sessions–what resources exist to support this kind of coordinated approach and what resources are still required, community needs and priorities, and what we can learn from other communities who are implementing this model successfully. Our goal is to use this session to develop a concrete roadmap for building a community school framework in Charlottesville over the next 2-3 years.

How did you decide who to invite? 

When thinking about who to invite to this event, we’re thinking about the variety of public sector leaders, community-based organizations, parents, teachers, school administrators, and philanthropic partners who play an often overlapping role in building healthy homes and communities, and supporting student success. We believe that school is only one part of a complex and integrated system that supports student success. Much of what complements students in being actively engaged in school and able to maximize what is being taught, exists out of school: at home and in their communities, where they spend most of their time (around 80%). 

*** If you were not included in the initial invitation, please fill out the registration form above and tell us more about your interest and experience in the work. ***

In the months to come, what do you hope to accomplish? 

Our goal is to use this convening to think creatively about designing a system that creates real positive impact for real people by amplifying and unifying the work of the schools, the community organizations, and the individual homes. We hope to have transformed multiple local schools into community schools, creatively and comprehensively bringing together systems of support that contribute positively to academic success. We expect to see rates of chronic absenteeism go down among our minority and under-resourced students and to see progress on the foundationally important measure of literacy rates. 

Tom Tom Summits: Background

In the past years, the Tom Tom Foundation has prioritized working with young leaders in Charlottesville to elevate important issues in the community. One example was the ReEntry Summit, which took place in April, May, and December 2024. Led by Martize Tolbert (The Fountain Fund) and Sam Heath (Equal Justice USA), The Summit was a first-of-its-kind event for Charlottesville and Albemarle's criminal justice community to better coordinate resources to help those returning to society from jail and prison, and raise awareness in the general public.

Ultimately, over 245 Participants representing 50 community organizations participated. Small working groups generated over 35 pages of data. The Fountain Fund and Equal Justice USA partnered with the UVA Equity Center to boil that data down into key themes and some specific suggestions. The ReEntry Summit has continued to convene, and issued a report to local municipalities with cross-sector recommendations. In December 2024, multiple organizations, including the Albemarle/Charlottesville Reentry Counsel, agreed to oversee the implementation of these recommendations.