Exploring the link between school and community: The case of three urban public charter school leaders

Ardent supporters of public charter schools as a powerful education reform lever, the Obama Administration has championed the Promise Neighborhood grant competition, a nationwide initiative focused on building strong links between schools and communities, administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The White House\u27s new emphasis on community has important implications for public charter schools. Much of the research on public charter schools has focused solely on the effect the model has on student achievement. There are few studies that look at how public charter school leaders build their organizational capacity to access resources drawn from the community. In this study, the researcher examined how three urban public charter school leaders understand their community, and identify, use, and manage relationships external to their school to support teaching and learning. A deeper framing of how these public charter school leaders work with their community might explicate an emerging understanding of how public schools can build the external support necessary to meet their education goals