From Classrooms to Communities: How Community Schools Change Lives

Education Access & Advocacy

This session highlights how Community Schools serve as a powerful, equity-driven strategy to improve student success, expand opportunity, and strengthen longterm economic prosperity, particularly for Latino students and those from lowsocioeconomic communities. Grounded in the California Community Schools Partnership Program framework, the presentation will focus on the Four Pillars, key conditions for learning, cornerstone commitments, proven practices, and capacity-building strategies that address barriers to learning both inside and outside the classroom. Using a student-centered scenario, participants will compare outcomes for a student without Community School supports versus one with coordinated academic, health, family, and community resources. Through guided reflection, small-group discussion, and data-informed dialogue, participants will engage with the content and explore how Community Schools foster educational attainment, workforce readiness, and community wellbeing. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of the model’s impact and actionable ways community leadership can support and sustain this work.

Dr. Ernesto Vela

Dr. Ernesto Vela is a veteran educator with over 30 years of experience serving students and communities across California. He has worked as a classroom teacher, site administrator, and district leader, and currently serves as Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for the Monterey County Office of Education. Throughout his career, Dr. Vela has championed academic achievement, student well-being, and family and community engagement, grounded in the belief that student success depends on meeting social and emotional needs alongside academic instruction.A former migrant and English learner student raised in the Salinas Valley, Dr. Vela brings firsthand experience to his advocacy for firstgeneration and low-socioeconomic students. Under the leadership of County Superintendent Dr. Deneen Guss, Dr. Vela and his team were among the first in California to secure funding through the California Community Schools Partnership Program and the Regional Technical Assistance Center Grant. Through this work, he has developed deep expertise in the Community Schools framework and the strategies that drive meaningful, sustainable impact for schools and communities.