"The Capacity-Building Strategies: A Developmental Rubric, developed by the State Transformational Assistance Center (S-TAC) for the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP), is intended to serve as a road map for both Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and school sites as they work towards transforming their schools into community schools. The Capacity-Building Strategies align with the California Community Schools Framework (CA CS Framework), its Overarching Values, and CCSPP statutory requirements. They are intended to both guide and gauge progress." 
- Capacity Building Strategies S-TAC Update 2024

When interest-holders unite in a shared understanding of and commitment to the community school strategy, it drives democratic collaboration and transparency. Deep listening and authentic relationship-building (via a robust Needs and Assets Assessment process) are critical to identifying collective priorities and for monitoring progress towards meeting shared goals.

Community-Based Learning (CBL) builds on the rich, diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of students, families, and educators. Delivered in learning environments that are relationship-centered and ensure a sense of belonging, CBL builds on community assets, cultural wealth, funds of knowledge, and indigenous ways of knowing. Community-Based Learning is powerful instruction that increases student engagement by connecting classroom learning to real-life experiences and to issues that are relevant to students’ lives and communities, improving their sense of ownership and agency.

Shared decision-making ensures that all interest-holders have a voice in the transformation process. Collaborative leadership helps to flip the traditional hierarchical structure of schools and fosters supportive relationships between interest-holders, resulting in decisions that are widely accepted and implemented, improved coordination and alignment of programs and strategies, out-of-the box thinking to address complex problems, and increased sustainability of the effort.

A focus on sustainability ensures that the necessary human and financial resources are available to maintain the community school vision and strategy over time, used effectively to ensure coherence and alignment across policies and initiatives, and to sustain continuous progress and improvement.

Developing strategic community partnerships allows schools and LEAs to expand their capacity to achieve the vision of interest-holders. Partners can strengthen and support a broad continuum of priorities, from expanded learning to integrated student and family supports. Partnerships centered on trusting relationships leads to greater support and investment in the strategy.