Community Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study of Community School Coordinators' Experiences

Abstract

Community schools have shown promising gains for students in the areas of student attendance, academic achievement, student behavior, and school climate. However, little scholarship has addressed the experiences of these schools and their stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. To determine how community school programs were impacted by the pandemic, as well as how community school programs supported families during this time, this study utilized a phenomenological approach. Interviews were conducted with community school coordinators across a single network of community schools spanning several school districts. Based on coordinators’ experiences, the pandemic represented a clear disruption to community schools for numerous reasons. School closures eliminated many in-person opportunities to connect and increased communication challenges between coordinators and other stakeholders within their programs. Certain organizational factors and changes related to the structure of the community school coordinator role during this time further detracted from the relationships that had previously been built within these programs. This made it difficult for coordinators to monitor families’ needs and to leverage their community-based relationships to acquire resources to address those needs. Additionally, numerous community school services and programs that supported families were terminated during this time. All of these factors represented a threat to the social capital that had previously been developed in these schools. Yet, at the same time, certain structures within community school programs enabled coordinators to continue leveraging the social capital that existed within their school communities. Coordinators discussed leaning heavily on their existing networks of community school coordinators and community partners to acquire resources to address families’ changing needs. They also discussed working to develop new community partnerships to address families’ needs. Therefore, while the pandemic increased challenges within community school programs, these programs continued to serve as a critical support to families during this time. This research contributes to the growing literature highlighting the value community school programs bring to their school communities and demonstrates the value of such programs during times of crisis.