Marisa Saunders, associate director for research at the UCLA Center for Community Schooling, has co-written a case study on “Social Justice Humanitas: A Community School Approach to Whole Child Education,” for the Learning Policy Institute. Saunders, whose work aims to support and connect the work of the UCLA Community Schools to the broader community schools movement, writes about the LAUSD partnership community school, located in the San Fernando Valley, and how “structures and practices implemented at SJ Humanitas honor and nurture whole child development in ways that are supported by the science of learning and development.”
In the case study, Saunders and her co-authors highlight the principles of supportive environments that promote strong attachments and relationships; social and emotional development that promotes skills, habits, and mindsets that enable self-regulation, interpersonal skills, and resilience; productive instructional strategies that support motivation and engagement while building on children’s prior knowledge and experiences; and support systems that enable healthy development, meet student needs, and address learning barriers.
“Community schools, like SJ Humanitas, are increasingly elevated as an equity-driven, research-based approach that can address students’ holistic needs,” notes Saunders.
Saunders is the author of “Linked Learning: A Guide for Making High School Work.” (Los Angeles: UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access, 2013). She currently serves on the RFK UCLA Community School’s Research and Accountability Committee.
Visit this link to read, “Social Justice Humanitas: A Community School Approach to Whole Child Education” on the Learning Policy Institute website.
To learn more about the UCLA Center for Community Schooling, visit this link.