NYC CSTAC CoP Update: Building Resilience in New and Developing Community School Directors 

Fordham NYC CSTAC’s Resource Specialist Peter Tinguely has developed a series of online modules and virtual site visits to support Community School Directors.

NYC CSTAC Community of Practice Update, October 2020 

One of the greatest challenges facing community schools is the high turnover rate of Community School Directors. Over the past year, the Fordham CSTAC has implemented a series of strategies to address this ongoing issue. One of these strategies has been utilizing virtual site visits to support new and developing Community School Directors. This has been a primary responsibility of our Resource Specialist, Peter Tinguely, who has developed a series of modules on relevant topics to help support the CSDs he has been working with.

During the new school year, the CSTAC will be further addressing the needs of new and developing CSDs through a collaboration with the Office of Community Schools specifically designed with these CSDs in mind. The New Community Schools Institute is a series of four intensive professional development sessions for new CSDs. Using a cohort model that brings together CSDs with similar start dates, each session will provide key skills and content, while also cultivating relationships between CSDs as another pillar of support for sustainability in their roles.

To further meet the needs of new and developing Community School Directors statewide, Fordham CSTAC is launching Community of Best Practices: Building Resilience in New and Developing Community School Directors. 

Over the course of five interactive webinar sessions, each centering around a key component of a successful community school, CSDs will build their resilience through the sharing of best practices that can be replicated in their own school community. Participants will make connections with other statewide CSDs, developing their own network of colleagues to help them sustain and thrive in their CSD role.  

Registration will be open as of October 13th for all five sessions of this series:

• Wednesday, October 28, 2020; 12 PM – 1 PM:  Session #1: Relationship Building Through Conversations
• Wednesday, December 9, 2020; 12 PM – 1 PM:  Session #2: Addressing Attendance Challenges and Chronic Absenteeism
• Wednesday, January 13, 2020; 12 PM – 1 PM:  Session #3: Cultivating Student Voice
• Wednesday, March 24, 2020; 12 PM – 1 PM:  Session #4: Getting Creative with Family Engagement
• Wednesday, April 21, 2021; 12 PM – 1 PM:  Session #5: Self-Care and Establishing Healthy Boundaries