Community Schools in St. Louis: A Brief History
By Megumi Hine, Ph.D.
Published On: March 7, 2025
Community schools are commonly defined as physical and relational hubs for partnerships between the school and community to support student, family, and community well-being (Oakes et al., 2017). These schools are expanding nationwide to improve equity and student success. St. Louis has experimented with community schools since the 1960s, with various iterations such as Community Education Centers and Full-Service Schools. Many initiatives faced funding shortages, leadership instability, or external disruptions, highlighting the need for sustainable implementation strategies.
What are Community Schools?
Community schools, or physical and relational hubs for partnerships between the school and community to support student, family, and community well-being (Oakes et al., 2017), are expanding nationwide to improve equity and student success.
Recent reports about the St. Louis region recommend implementing the community school strategy to provide academic enrichment, health and nutrition services, and other resources for students and their communities (e.g., Citywide Plan for Education Ad Hoc Committee, 2023; Ferguson Commission, 2015; Washington University in St. Louis & Saint Louis University, 2015).
Despite this renewed attention on the community school strategy, community schools have existed in St. Louis Public Schools since the 1960s. Over nearly six decades, several community school initiatives have cycled through the city school system: the original cohort of community schools in 1968; a relaunched group of Community Education Centers in 1994; a cohort of Full-Service Schools in 2009; and the Consortium Partnership Network initiative in 2019.
Renewed Interest?
Though this most recent push for community schools may dwindle due to larger problems in the district, a retrospective of past community school initiatives may be helpful to guide future implementation. Before launching yet another community school initiative in SLPS, the district must foremost consider the factors that contributed to the dissolution of these programs if lasting school reform is desired.
About the Author
Megumi G. Hine is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the St. Louis Translational Fellows in Education. She completed her placement at the Policy Research in Missouri Education (PRiME) Center during the Fall 2024 semester.
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