Federal commission on families

1990 study revealed large number of family support programs across United States

Programs served all family members

Services in many communities linked schools with other agencies

Some communities had long history of family support

Family support programs

Parent education, support groups

Activities for parents and children to support development

Classes on budgeting, nutrition, health, etc.

Drop-in centers for families

Child care

Information and referral

Other programs

Home visits, often designed to introduce isolated parents to resource programs

Developmental exams or health screenings for infants and children

Dental care in selected communities

Two primary beneficiaries were military families and families of children with disabilities

Schools as locus of delivery

Many communities have developed programs within schools to deliver primary health care, child care, preschool and parent education, recreation, and family counseling

Some facilities are labeled full-service schools. Dryfoos has discussed such programs in 500 communities

Comer's School Development Program began in 1968

Heavy emphasis on mental health approach

Four components: government and management team, mental health team, parent participation program, curriculum and staff development program

Models, continued

Levin's Accelerated Schools, mid-1980s

Targeted low performing elementary schools

Borrowed concepts from gifted education

Implementation model emphasizes shared governance, collaborative inquiry

Models, continued

Davies' League of Schools Reaching Out, began late 1980s

Parent centers, parent outreach workers, teacher research teams

Partnerships with families, schools, and communities

Models, continued

Meier's Coalition of Essential Schools, consortium began late 1980s

Student-centered schools, high standards, shared decision making

Many experiments with schools-within-a-school

Strong links with area businesses

Models, continued

Zigler's School of the 21st Century, late 1980s

Unified system of child care and family support using public schools as locus of services

All-day, year-round child care for preschoolers; older children's child care linked to family support system

Models, continued

Hogg Foundations School of the Future, 4 cities in Texas, 1990s

Social workers as coordinators

Strong links with community services, on-campus presence (e.g. job training)

Target at-risk issues

Support individual school experimentation