Full-Service Schools: Involving the Urban University in School Improvement and Community Redevelopment

Abstract

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has developed close partnerships with public schools and community organizations to improve urban student performance in two key ways: teacher education and full-service schools. One helps develop seamless progress for students from school to college by collaborating to coordinate performance standards and expectations. The other helps develop a seamless wrap-around of services to eliminate or minimize socioeconomic or healthrelated barriers to urban students' learning progress. Although the projects have a different focus, the methods for approaching them and making them successful are much the same. Both require an intense and sustained three-way commitment by the urban school, its surrounding community, and the university to establish and maintain trust and to make optimal use of the resources available to achieve mutually beneficial goals.