Resources for Educators
Community Involvement
Community groups including YMCA, local religious groups, school administration, teachers, other staff
Boys and Girls Club: Homepage -The Boys and Girls Club is a youth-focused community non-profit that focuses on child wellness and after school care.
CDC Resources Include:
Family and Community Engagement -The CDC wrote this guide on the importance of community involvement within schools and how schools can establish more of this.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/family-community.htm
Out of School Time -The Out of School Time program is a WSCC modeled program for students anytime that they need out-of-school care. It includes information on the importance of this care and how school districts can implement these programs.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/ost.htm
Change Lab Solutions: Developing a Joint Use Agreement -A Joint Use Agreement (JUA) is a formal agreement between two government entities about the shared use of a public space. These two entities often include the local government and schools about their facilities and other community-use spaces. A JUA can support a school by limiting or increasing public use of a space to increase safety and/or decrease abuse.
https://www.changelabsolutions.org/product/developing-joint-use-agreement
Journal of School Health: Building Sustainable Health and Education Partnerships -This Wiley Online Library article describes stories of local communities and schools who partner together to establish wonderful relationships that benefit the children and locals.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josh.12311/full
Let’s Move!: Create a School Health Advisory Council -A School Health Advisory Council is a group of leaders who assess the school environment’s accessibility to physical and healthy activities, then work together to establish an overall healthier environment for students. This link describes how this council can be formed and what they can do to increase overall health.
https://letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/create-school-health-advisory-council
U.S. Department of Agriculture: Effective School Health Advisory Councils -The U.S. Department of Agriculture describes how to create a School Health Advisory Council and its importance. It includes detailed information on how to form the council and what meetings should look like.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NC_effective_school_health_council_manual.pdf
YMCA Resources Include:
Homepage -The YMCA is a youth-focused, non-profit community group designed to promote health and wellness for locals.
Supporting Student Success -This short infographic describes how to become involved with the local YMCA and what a partnership can bring school programs.
https://www.ymca.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/NAESP-Afterschool-Programming.pdf
Child Care -Most local YMCA’s provide after-school child care programs to assist parents with care taking. This link leads to information about Early Learning and Child Care, Child Watch, YMCA-School Partnerships, and more.
https://www.ymca.org/what-we-do/youth-development/child-care
Education -YMCA Community Learning Centers are school-community group partnership opportunities. This link leads to the Tacoma, Washington resource list, however, any school can benefit from its detailed connection information.
https://www.ymcapkc.org/ymca-center-community-impact/participants-families/education