Community schools are collective organizations that provide every student with access to resources, opportunities, and supports. They provide “more equitable opportunities and prepare students for success in life and as citizens. [] Many community schools stay open year-round, from dawn to dusk, and on weekends.” Community schools are described as a “core element of an equity strategy. [] Community schools can address systemic barriers that limit opportunities for students and families – often based on race and class.”
In Ottawa County, community schools are being implemented through the Ottawa Community School Network (OCSN) which was established in 2017. Since its creation, the OCSN has advocated for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE), implicit bias, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), the Whole Child approach and other divisive philosophies.
According to their OCSN Pilot Year One Report shown below, “We believe that the community school strategy is the vehicle for achieving educational equity and justice for all students. The primary goal of the Ottawa Community Schools Network (OCSN) is to ensure that all students from grades Pre-K through 12 are physically, emotionally, and socially well.” The type of justice they refer to requires observing identity traits of those who have done wrong as the primary consideration in finding resolution. Rather than holding individuals accountable for their actions, it holds transgressors more or less accountable based on their group identity characteristics and the subjective standing of those identity groups in society.
The November 14, 2022 OCSN Newsletter gives tips on instructing others with Implicit Bias from the “How to be an Equity Advocate” resource provided by the Leading Equity Center. The concept of implicit bias asserts that people are naturally aware of the identity groups of others and make judgements based on those identities in every interaction. In other words, everyone is naturally racist, homophobic, etc.
The November 28, 2022, OCSN Newsletter pushes being hyper aware of personal bias, identity and diversity. Rather than teaching that we are all humans with different ideas, the OCSN is teaching people to be conscious of the identities of others and to make equitable decisions based on those identities. This is interesting because, if people are unconscious of the identities of others, they will not make decisions based on those identities. Many other newsletters expanded upon this theme, but there are just too many to list here. Here is the link to view additional newsletters.
According to the OCSN Monthly Report from August 2022 to January 2023, the OCSN referred 116 students for in-school therapy and served 384 students in small group mental health interventions. This shows how the OCSN is moving towards servicing the needs of the Whole Child.
According to the Summer 2021 Newsletter, OCSN follows the Whole Child Approach to education. The Whole Child approach ensures schools can meet all of the needs of children including education, medical care, dental care, and mental health care. In other words, in one building children can have all of their basic needs met by the apparatus of big government. The end goal is complete state control over the lives of our children, but this does not happen with a quick transformation. Rather, over time the ideals of the Whole Child approach and community schools will slowly be implemented to shift the role of parenting to the state.
