The first of the four pillars is Integrated Student Supports. Students cannot focus on academics until their non-academic needs are met. Community School staff work with the students and their families to identify the barriers to those needs, then bring in community partners to address and break through the barriers. Having services offered within the schools improves attendance, academic achievement, behavior, and overall well-being. 

The second pillar is Expanded and Enriched Learning Time and Opportunity. Young people who come from under-resourced communities have limited access to activities outside of school, which widens the achievement gap. Community Schools provide programming where young people are able to build social, emotional, physical, and academic skills through hands-on learning. This programming improves student attendance and behavior, raises graduation rates, and reduces juvenile crime involvement. 

The third pillar is Active Family and Community Engagement. Parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors, and other community friends are all important pieces to the school puzzle. Full-Service Community Schools function as neighborhood hubs that bring all of those people together to increase student support. They work as a team to create goals and strategies, monitor student progress, and identify and navigate barriers to success. Informed and included families are better equipped to help their kids outside of school, and it is proven that students have higher attendance rates and increased academic achievement when their guardians are involved in their education.

The fourth and final pillar is Collaborative Leadership and Practices. Everyone is on the same team and has the same goals: student success. Parents/caregivers, teachers, principals, and community partners are all committed to their students’ academic (and non-academic) achievement. Together, they create and maintain an inclusive, trusting environment based on local cultures and needs, then collaborate during planning and implementation of services. When people from different backgrounds come together, their individual expertise morph together into a collaborative masterpiece. Without collaborative leadership, the other three pillars would fall apart.