Spotlight on the Comer School Development Program
Laurel School District and Kuumba Academy are taking on the challenge of implementing the Comer School Development Program, which is designed to change how school leaders serve students' needs. The Comer Model is built on decades of research in child development and psychiatry by Dr. James Comer, Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine's Child Study Center, Yale University. Building on Dr. Comer's work, the School Development Program helps school leaders construct learning environments that address the academic, social, and emotional needs of students.
How does it work?
- The School Development Process is built on a shared leadership model. School responsibility is shared among all major constituents of the school community, including parents, students, teachers, and administrators. There are three distinct structures that comprise this framework. First, a School Planning and Management Team is responsible for setting the curricular, academic, and social goals of the school and implementing and bringing the goals to life. A Student and Staff Support Team builds the social conditions and relationships that enable all student supports to work together to address the needs of every student. The team facilitates access to resources inside and outside the school to ensure all students have they support they need to succeed. Finally, a Parent Team supports parental involvement by creating activities and space for parents to play active participants in their child's education.
- These three leadership teams work together in the school under a shared responsibility framework. Together they work to develop and implement the services and structures that best meet the needs of the students in their building. They are responsible for looking at student data, establishing professional development for school staff, and designing and implementing the comprehensive school plan.
What are the results?
- The Comer Model has been implemented in over 19 states and 23 school districts, and has been rated by the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk (CRESPAR) as one of three comprehensive school reform models meeting the needs of at-risk students. Numerous evaluations of the Comer model point to improvements in school environments, meeting students' needs, and academic achievement. Over five years of implementation in Ashville, North Carolina, schools using the Comer model saw significant improvement in the number of students meeting proficiency targets in both reading and math, moving from 42 percent in the first year to 98 percent after five years in one school. Laurel School District will begin implementing the Comer Model this fall and will be receiving support from the Comer Institute for the next two years as part of a federal grant that Comer has received to pilot this model in school districts. Kuumba Academy will begin implementation this fall.
How does Vision 2015 address meeting the needs of the whole child?
Vision 2015 recommends:
- putting students at the center of all decisions that are made in schools and districts
- meeting the diverse needs of our students to allow them to concentrate on their academic goals
- empowering school leadership teams with the flexibility to meet the needs of all students
- developing the systems that allow parents to be active participants in their child's education
Where can I learn more?
Comer School Development Program website
