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The term community school refers to a type of school in the United States that serves as both an educational institution and a center of community life. According to the Coalition for Community Schools, a branch of the Institute for Educational Leadership, a community school is "both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources" and has an integrated focus on extended learning opportunities, health and social services, collaborative leadership, and community engagement. Also known as Full-Service Community Schools, community schools are generally traditional tax-payer funded public schools, though some private and charter schools have also adopted the model. Serving as community hubs, community schools bring together diverse partners to offer a range of supports and opportunities to children, youth, families and communities—before, during, and after school, and on weekends.

One of the difficulties the movement has encountered is the sheer diversiity of institutions claiming to be community schools. This, coupled with the decentralized structure of American education, has hampered efforts to quantify the number of community schools nationally extant.

The movement gained momentum in the Chicago area, where the Federation for Community Schools is working to disseminate the model throughout the public-school infrastructure. With the appointment of Arne Duncan, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, to the post of Secretary of Education, by President Obama, the concept of "schools as centers of community life" became a part of the national education agenda during Obama's tenure. Currently, many local, state, and national organizations seek the establishment of community schools throughout the country. Of these the most prominent non-profits are the Coalition for Community Schools, Communities In Schools, Schools of the 21st Century (an initiative of Yale University), the National Community Education Association (NCEA), and the Children's Aid Society. The United States government (through the 21st Century Community Learning Center) and various state governments also provide funding and policy support for community school initiatives.