Building Bridges Toward Excellence: Community Involvement in High Schools

Despite increasing interest in the role of community involvement in school improvement, few studies have examined motivations for, or results of community partnership development in high schools. To fill this gap, the authors conducted case studies of three high schools with successful community partnerships. The authors found that case high school leaders' motivation for community partnership development fell into three inter-related categories: (1) improving student academic and personal success, (2) enhancing school quality, and (3) supporting community development. The case high schools developed an array of community partnership activities that reflected these different motivations for partnership development. The article concludes with case school leaders' advice for building effective school-community connections.