Community Schools

Welcome to the Community pages of our website. Hempstead Union Free School District is dedicated to engaging with our community.  When families, communities, and schools work together, students are more successful and the entire community benefits. 

What is a Community School? 

Community Schools support:

• the whole child, the child’s family, and learning both inside and outside of the classroom

Every community school partnership shapes its programs and services to the needs of its own
community and students, but all models share many basic elements. Among the most prominent are:

• Focus on Education
• Continuous Support Along the Pathway to Productive Adulthood
• School, Family and Community Engagement
• Extended Hours and Expanded Learning Opportunities
• Wellness
• Partnerships
• Whole School Transformation

Through their attention to school climate and to the school as a wellness environment, and through
what one prominent researcher calls “new institutional arrangements,” community schools become
more than the sum of their programmatic parts. While, compared to traditional schools, community
schools do indeed offer a wide array of programs for students and their families, the real hallmark of a
community school is the transformational effect of all the ingredients as they interact with one another,
every day.  To learn more: Key Elements of a Community School