Reprinted with permission from School-Age Notes, the most trusted publisher and provider of quality, innovative resources designed to elevate the skills of adults who create learning opportunities for children and youth.

Organizing and sustaining school-community partnerships can be central to address the diverse and multiple needs of the whole child and to promote positive learning and non-learning outcomes for youth. This summer, researchers from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time surveyed and interviewed 34 urban school principals and community program leaders about the types and nature of these collaborations, with specific attention to partnership structure (such as division of labor, hierarchy, agreement and decision-making, use of individual and shared resources, accountability) and qualities of successful school-community partnerships.