Resource Topic: School & Community Partnerships

An elevator pitch is a short description of a program or organization designed for a general audience. Use this activity to create and refine an elevator pitch for your program.

This document can help schools and partner organizations to establish communication norms for their work together and establish an annual meeting schedule. Though often difficult to schedule, regular meetings are important to building and maintaining productive relationships.

Strong communication between partners includes giving and receiving feedback. You may incorporate several different practices into your partnership to share feedback about both what you are doing together (e.g. program) and how you are working together (e.g. the way you are communicating with each other). Use this worksheet to assess your current practices and identify how to strengthen your feedback “muscle.”

Space is at a premium in many school buildings, and conflicts and confusion around space are common. Use this tool to maximize space usage in school buildings during non-school hours. This tool is adapted from a document created by Seattle Public Schools.

Out-of-school time programs typically rely on a diverse array of funding sources. Some are direct to programs, while others come through schools (e.g. Title I or the City of Seattle Seattle Families and Education levy) or through subsidies to individuals (e.g. TANF or other childcare subsidies). Use this worksheet to document current and potential sources of funding for your partnership. This resource is adapted from the Road to Sustainability toolkit created by the Afterschool Alliance, and is part of YDEKC’s Partnership Toolkit.

Part of the process of mapping assets might involve an analysis of decision making within your partnership. Use this document to analyze your own relationship to power within the partnership ecosystem you are a part of, and identify your opportunities to access, influence, or use power to strengthen supports for young people.