(Vol. 1, No. 1 - Fall 1996)

The Bumpy Road to School/Community Partnerships

by Reagan Walker

It's afternoon and the basketball courts at Franklin Middle School are swarming with young students shooting hoops. Inside one of the nearby field houses, more students are exercising their brains at a bank of computers loaded with academic programs.

School's been out for hours -- the students are here by choice. On some days, there may be only a couple dozen. Other days, more than 100 will show up.

"This is my little time, my little freedom," says Monique Drafton, 13, a seventh-grader at Franklin Middle and a two-year member of the Boys and Girls Club that meets at her school. "I could sit at home after school, but watching TV just trashes your mind. Here you can work on the Macs and take different classes and get your homework done."

This hive of after-school activity is only a half block away from one of the notorious corners for crack dealing in Long Beach-7th and Orange. And though green space is scarce on the school grounds, it's the only recreation area in a 10-block territory that's brimming with school-age kids.
That's why the Long Beach Boys and Girls Club chose Franklin Middle School for an experiment -- locating their programs on school campuses in addition to their own centers.

"Traditionally, we've been a facility-based program, pouring money into building centers in neighborhoods," says Dave Walker, director of the Long Beach Boys and Girls Club. "Money began to get tight, and we wanted to be able to use more of it for actual programs for kids, rather than bricks and mortar, so we thought we would hook up with a neighborhood school."

It's a common-sense idea: a public institution and a non-profit agency with a shared interest in improving kids' lives decide to pool resources for an effective, efficient service. And it's a win-win: by donating space, Franklin gets an after-school program at no charge; by avoiding construction costs, the Boys and Girls club has been able to sink $600,000 over three years directly into supervisors, programs, equipment and improvements to the basketball courts and outdoor recreation areas at Franklin.

On the surface, the Boys and Girls Club partnership with Franklin Middle School looks like the very model of school-community cooperation Long Beach Unified School District leaders say they need more of to earn the community's trust and build support for higher standards.

"I think there's a lot of dissatisfaction with the public schools in our community," superintendent Carl Cohn says. "One reason is that people feel left out of the process, in all parts of town."

But such efforts take more than good intentions, as the Franklin Boys and Girls Club collaboration has shown. The program began in 1993, and nearly three years later what should be a firm connection between the school and community agency remains quite fragile, proving that bureaucracy, turf wars, arrogance and poor communication can confound any collaborative effort, no matter how well-meaning the partners are.

Navigating the bumps in the road

"We thought it would be difficult for a school to hand over the keys to a nonprofit agency," said Walker. "And it was. But we set out by saying let's solve problems, take risks and keep our eyes focused on the kids. There had to be blind faith on the part of both. And there are some bumps in the road."

One of the first bumps occurred when the club first sat down with district officials to work out a facilities-use agreement. Walker said the legal requirements and incidental costs the school system wanted to charge almost halted the project.

"But then Superintendent Cohn stepped in and told his folks 'make this happen,'" recounts Walker. "The next document we looked at was substantially simplified."

As the project developed, there were problems on both sides. Some teachers worried that what was being billed as a safe after-school program for children really wasn't. There had to be some changes in security on campus. Eventually a new director was brought in to provide tighter management of the program.

Most recently, as Franklin has become more crowded, some teachers have expressed resentment about the space set aside for the club -- two classrooms and a storage area.

One afternoon late last May, Walker and Lt. Don First, a Long Beach Police officer and Boys and Girls Club board member, met with Franklin's site-based decisionmaking council, comprised largely of teachers selected by their peers to make important policy decisions for the school.
Cordiality was short lived. Walker tried to sell the teachers on the program only to meet indifference by most in the room and open resentfulness by one -- a physical education teacher who said it was inconvenient to share space with the club. On rainy days, he said, he often has to clear away club equipment in order to hold classes indoors.

Walker, who seemed uncertain about the council's role or authority, continued to defer, saying he would try to work things out with the principal. Principal Shawn Ashley remained largely silent, listening to both sides.

As the physical education teacher continued to fume, Lt. First spoke up: "Do you think the Boys and Girls Club effort here is a good program?"

"No, it's not a good program," the teacher said.

"Well, my feeling is there is a serious need for kids to do things that are positive and there aren't many opportunities after school for that," said First, a 20-year community police officer. "Let's figure out a win/win."

First pledged to stop by and meet the teacher and walk through the site during the school day to see firsthand what the problems are. Walker and Ashley agreed to continue looking for ways to make the project work.

After the meeting, First, who has worked for years with schools and community groups, said he was not surprised that a seemingly minor inconvenience could generate so much bad will toward a needed program.

"It's always the small things that people really care about," he said. "It's like the woman I met who lived in a neighborhood where there have been drive-by shootings. But what she really wanted was for people to stop parking in front of her driveway.

"That was a defining moment for me. We could do something about that and gain an ally in the process," First said.

"Well, we can do something about sharing space with teachers at Franklin. And we'd better, because if we don't then we are just stuck in the same situation we've always been in with this city's children."

Community groups want to help

Franklin Principal Shawn Ashley is guided by similar principles when it comes to community partnerships. While principal at Washington Middle School, he opened the campus up for numerous social services, not only for children but for parents. And he developed a deeper understanding of the challenges the police department faces.

"The more you look like you are afraid of the community, the more problems you will have. It's better to reach out," he says.

That kind of understanding can go a long way to strengthening the network of support for middle schools and kids -- even among community partners who have hit bumps in the road.

"I didn't know much about middle school reform until we started the club at Franklin," admits Walker of the Boys and Girls Club. "But now I understand. The school district is very clear on what it wants to accomplish."

To help them meet that goal, Walker is not only talking about opening up other Boys and Girls clubs at middle schools, but he is a key player in a new community-wide effort call Village 2000, which matches mentors with middle school students. "We understand what the goals are and we think we can help. We want to do our part."

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