The inaugural Southern Roots: Growing University-Assisted Community School Partnerships symposium, held over two days in mid-April at North Carolina Central University and Duke University brought together nearly 200 public school practitioners, community-based partners, and higher education students, faculty and staff from across the U.S. South.
Participants engaged in dynamic workshops, site visits, student-led research and movement building, and focused on established and emerging university-assisted partnerships designed to answer some of the most pressing needs of the U.S. South’s public-school communities.
The first day — held at North Carolina Central University’s School of Education — featured workshops on topics ranging from health integration in K–12 public schools and rural community school partnerships to STEM initiatives and teacher development programs. The day concluded with conversations between attendees and community school coordinators from three Central North Carolina districts, Orange County, Durham County and Vance County who shared insights and context about their communities in preparation for site visits the following day.
On day two, participants boarded buses to visit community schools throughout the region, where students and staff showcased the real-life impact of their work.
Amy Ellis, Director of the University of Central Florida’s Center for Community Schools, was struck by what she described as two “standout projects” during her visit to Vance County High School: a student-built greenhouse and a tiny house — both created with purpose. The tiny house sits on the Vance High School campus and serves as a family resource center, built by students, for the students and families of Vance HS.
The Southern Roots symposium concluded at Duke University with a powerful round of student-led research presentations from undergraduate and graduate students. The work included asset-based data dashboards for family resource centers, high school history curricula exploring Rosenwald Schools, narrative research on community school coordinators, and psychometric tools for evaluating community school impact — all developed in response to questions posed by community school practitioners.
The event was hosted by the Southeast Regional Coalition for University-Assisted Community Schools, the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Coalition for Community Schools, Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania the NEA Foundation and Partners for Rural Impact.
