Three Goals
The SUN Community School model has three broad goals:
- Educational success for children
- Wrap around social and health support service systems
- Enrichment and recreational opportunities for children and their parents
About the Goals
Educational success for children is the primary goal of SUN. Schools take the lead on this priority and the other partners play a supportive role. SUN partners provide a social and health service support system that will help children and their families be successful in schools and the community. The county, DHS and non-profits experienced with community-based social services take a lead role on this.
The enrichment and recreational opportunities connect the curriculum of the school and after-school activities for the students. It also provides recreational and educational programs for parents and other adults in the neighborhood by extending both the school day and number of hours a school is open and being used.
With SUN a school becomes a community center and community-gathering place for any number of services and activities. The City of Portland and Portland Parks & Recreation, the City of Gresham, Gresham parks and Recreation and youth programming agencies take the lead in enrichment and recreational opportunities as well.
Program Integration
Program Integration of activities is vital to increase the chances of success for children. Curriculum alignment, establishing relationships between school and other staff and coordination of programming and building use are essential.
The involvement of youth, their parents and other in the community in the design, leadership and participation in the programs is key to building a relevant and effective community school.
Program Evaluation
Evaluation and continuous improvement are key mechanisms ensuring that we see the same successes as full-scale models being used in other cities such as Los Angeles, New York and St. Louis.
Management
Each SUN Community School is jointly managed by the school principal, a site manager and a lead agency (a non-profit or community organization). Schools are also governed by a site partners team, which represents all entities in the school that work with students, and a site advisory body, which includes representatives of the school, youth, families and the community.
Age Groups
SUN Community Schools serve a wide age group-from preschoolers to seniors- with the majority of students served falling between the ages of age of 5 and 19.
Primary Activities
Although SUN Community Schools provide a broad range of activities, SUN's primary activities are:
- Extended-day academic and enrichment programs that are linked with the school day>
- Family involvement and strengthening programs
- Health and social services for students, families and community
- Community events
- Adult education
SUN Community Schools Staff Contact
Wilma Goudy
503-988-7425
wilma.goudy@multco.us
