This book takes a comprehensive look at community engagement strategies in education to demonstrate the diverse nature of school-community relations and their value to promote their effective development. The author brings twenty years of experience in various educational settings in Ontario and California to examining community involvement policies and their interpretation, as well as school-community collaboration in practice. Chapters include recent research on school-community collaboration from the perspective of teachers, school district leaders, administrators, and support staff within two school districts in a low-income and culturally diverse urban community. The book also includes perspectives from community members involved in organizations across the city with a mandate to work with youth. In a time where students academic, social, and emotional support needs are on the rise, this book offers a valuable resource for strengthening school-community relations and demonstrating the power of collaboration.

Catherine M. Hands is Associate Professor of Education Administration and Leadership at Brock University, Canada. She has worked with Canadian and American school districts, teachers' unions, and the Ontario Ministry of Education as a researcher and consultant. Her research interests include school-community relations, family involvement in schooling, educational leadership, values and ethics in education, social justice, professional learning communities, and education reform.