Los Angeles County Office of Education defines the Community Schools learning model as working to identify what barriers students are facing, collaborate with community partners to leverage resources, and ultimately improve the academic, emotional and physical well-being of students within their communities.
Each school is unique to the community it serves. By incorporating specific strategies, schools are transformed into a community hub providing services and resources to meet the needs of students, families and the community.
In order to properly inform the community school program at VAMS, the community school manager conducted a needs and assets assessment from 2023-2025 to gather data and ensure that the Community School grant for VAMS was properly informed and supported by data, accounts, and vision, from students, families, school staff, and the North Hills Community. This included conducting surveys, focus groups, 1 on 1 conversations, and attending meetings at all levels.
The VAMS Advisory Council met to discuss data trends, plan for how Community Schools strategy can further support the students at VAMS to remove barriers and allow students to reach their full potential.
The Needs & Assets Assessment was fundamental to the planning stage for the Community School grant. moving into the 2025- 2026 school year, VAMS is officially a Community School. As a community and collective leadership, we can all work together by ensuring that the Implemenetation phase of the Communutity School strategy at VAMS is as successful as possible!
The 4 Pillars of Community Schools
Integrated Student Supports:
Support student success by meeting their academic, physical, social-emotional, and mental health needs. Statute defines this as including the “coordination of trauma-informed health, mental health, and social services.” Effectively supporting students also requires that students be well known so that they can be well served.
Expanded and Enriched Learning Time and Opportunities:
include academic support, enrichment, and real-world learning opportunities (e.g., internships, project-based learning). Statute refers to these opportunities as both “extended learning” and “expanded learning” and defines them as including “before and after school care and summer programs.” Expanded learning opportunities can also include tutoring and other learning supports during school hours.
Active Family and Community Engagement:
Involves actively tapping the expertise and knowledge of family and community members to serve as true partners in supporting and educating students. Statute defines this as including “home visits, home-school collaboration, [and] culturally responsive community partnerships.” Learning opportunities for family members as well as structures and opportunities for shared leadership are other important elements of authentic family engagement.
Collaborative Leadership and Practices:
Establishes a culture of professional learning, collective trust, and shared responsibility for outcomes in a manner that includes students, families, and community members. Statute defines this as including “professional development to transform school culture and climate that centers on pupil learning and supports mental and behavioral health, trauma-informed care, Social Emotional Learning [and] restorative justice.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Brian Martinez has worked in supporting students academically by bringing programs and resources to campuses throughout Los Angeles County.
Brian joined Bright Star Schools in 2023 and is currently serving as Community School Manager for Valor Academy Middle School in North Hills, where he has the opportunity to address the needs of the community that allow for informed building and growing of partnerships that will bring valuable resources to campus. Through his own experiences in education attending public schools in Los Angeles, Brian has gained immense self motivation to bring change and work to ensure all students succeed!
After transferring from Los Angeles Valley College, Brian obtained a B.A. in History & Education from the University of California, Santa Cruz and an M.A. in Educational Foundations from California State University, Los Angeles.