University-Assisted Community Schools (2025-2026)

Background 

Public schools in North Carolina experience many challenges related to equitable school experiences and outcomes. In response, the North Carolina Community Schools Coalition was formed as a grassroots effort to transform public schools through the community schools strategy.  

Community schools aim to serve as centers of the community, bringing together academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement to develop innovative curricula and teaching practices based in social justice and local leadership. Premised on a comprehensive asset and needs assessment, strategic planning, continuous improvement science practices, partner engagement and dedicated coordinators, community schools employ culturally sustaining practices and stakeholder leadership to reduce barriers to success and offer school communities a chance for renewal.  

Local universities are central to this endeavor as part of the University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) model. 

Project Description 

Since 2019, this project team has been studying how institutions of higher education (IHE) can better prepare their students for engagement with public schools. Through robust collaboration between Duke, North Carolina Central University and Elizabeth City State University, the team has been working to establish more equitable and imaginative partnerships between Durham universities and public schools in central North Carolina.  

Building on the work of previous teams, the 2025-2026 team will address five research questions:

• What languages and values do Republicans and Democrats share concerning public schools in North Carolina?
• What skills, strategies and lessons do community school coordinators describe as essential for their roles?
• What lessons can the contemporary community schools movement learn from the historic Rosenwald Schools in North Carolina?
• How can the cultural competency training curriculum for DPS volunteers be refined and shared throughout the district?
• How can community school practitioners in North Carolina deepen relationships in distinct regions of the state and implement innovative strategies from across the country?

Team members will focus on sharing these resources with other IHEs and stakeholders through publications, presentations and national site visits. The work of the research collective will further strengthen the development of a regional center, the Southeast Regional Coalition for University-Assisted Community Schools (SRCUACS), designed to deepen the impact of UACS work across the south. 

Anticipated Outputs 

Youth participatory action-research projects in Durham and Bertie counties; expansion of training series for public-school volunteers; expansion of a pilot program to prepare future community school practitioners; development of hybrid statewide professional learning platform; publications/presentations; regional symposium in Spring 2026 

Student Opportunities 

This team will ideally include 2 graduate and 20 undergraduate students, from Duke and North Carolina Central University. Interested students may be from such fields as education, sociology, social work, public policy, nursing, psychology, public health, economics and more. Students with assessment and evaluation skills are especially encouraged to apply.  Applicants should also demonstrate a desire to support the holistic needs of public-school communities. 

All students will develop skills in broad areas related to public schools, civic engagement, community-based research, service-learning, social scientific inquiry and oral and written presentation of findings. Students will also have the opportunity to travel to University-Assisted Community School sites across the United States.

In Fall 2025, this team will meet on Fridays from 2-5 p.m.  

See the related Data+ project for Summer 2025; there is a separate application process for students who are interested in this optional component.

Timing 

Fall 2025 – Spring 2026

• Fall 2025: Contextualize Durham Public School communities; analyze prior years’ data; conduct national university site visits and interview subject matter experts; pilot curriculum modules and data visualization tools for university partners; assess pre-service preparation resources; research undergraduate student publication opportunities; develop spring research agenda
• Spring 2026: Conduct mixed-methodology research to meet end-of-semester deadlines for respective sub-research teams; cohost symposium to highlight best practices for University-Assisted Community Schools 

Crediting 

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters 

See related Data+ project, Building Stronger Communities: The Evolution of Funding in North Carolina Education (2025), and earlier related team, University-Assisted Community Schools (2024-2025).

 

_{Image: Team members in Baltimore for a site visit to a community school}