Community Engagement
We believe our community thrives when multiple stakeholders work towards a common vision.
What is a Community School?
A community school is a “whole child” school improvement strategy through community engagement. Like every good school, Community Schools must be built on a foundation of powerful teaching that includes challenging academic content and supports students’ mastery of 21st century skills and competencies. At CCT, we believe in helping children in the valley thrive in their academic, mental, physical and social skills. We see community schools as a way to pursue equity and access so that all students and families will have access to resources, opportunities and supports to academic, social and emotional development and well-being.
Listening Tours
We partner with local schools in Fresno Unified School District to provide asset and need assessments, through a qualitative lens, focused on focus groups and 1-on-1s with students, parents, site staff and community benefit organizations. In partnership with school administration and community schools coordinators, we support the development of community school advisory council, strengthening community-driven leadership within the school.
Our Partner schools:
2023 Cohort:
Birney Elementary
Fort Miller Middle School
Holland Elementary
Norseman Elementary
Thomas Elementary
2024 Cohort
Addams Elementary
Ayer Elementary
Calwa Elementary
Columbia Elementary
Gaston Middle School
Heaton Elementary
Jackson Elementary
Jefferson Elementary
King Elementary
Kirk Elementary
Lincoln Elementary
Robinson Elementary
Tehipite Middle School
Tioga Middle School
2025 Cohort
Anthony Elementary
Greenberg Elementary
Hamilton K-8
Hidalgo Elementary
Kings Canyon Middle School
Lane Elementary
Pyle Elementary
Rowell Elementary
Sequioa Elementary
Slate Elementary
Williams Elementary
Community engagement Bootcamps
We offer multi-day professional development in partnership with Central Valley RTAC, to 11 counties between Kern to Amador, centered at Kern County Office of Education, Fresno County Office of Education and Stanislaus County of Education. These bootcamps offer best practice strategies for community engagement as schools move to engaging their communities in deeper ways.
In 2023-2024, we served more than 50 school districts through our 3 partner sites in Stanislaus, Fresno, and Kern counties.
This year, we will be offering trainings again in Stanislaus, Fresno and Kern counties.
Youth Entrepreneurship
As we look to pursue equity in the valley, we find that our marginalized communities often lack opportunities and access to the right resources. This is even more true in our rural communities. This is why we are investing deeper in our rural communities now more than ever. We our taking our 12+ years of experience in raising capital for start-up ideas in the valley and offering this to youth entrepreneurs and creating a platform to share and receive investment to hire themselves and others in good-paying jobs. We offer a series of business plan workshops, feasibility planning, a pitch competition and a 7-week entrepreneurship cohort that will take these youth entrepreneurs from idea to launch. Ask us about our rural pitch competitions in:
- Reedley
- Dinuba
- Tulare
bring a pitch competion to your city/town
Contact Bryan Feil at bryan.feil@fresno.edu.
Youth entrepreneurship Clubs
We offer 7-week on-campus clubs that teach the basics of starting a business, with an eighth week featuring a demo day to showcase the ideas of the youth in the club.
Youth Financial Literacy
Coming soon in Spring of 2025, is our Youth Financial Literacy program. With two tracks, one for basic financial education and a second about long-term financial health and well-being.
