Kindergarten Registration is OPEN!

Welcome McCaskey Class of 2038! All children who will be 5 years of age on or before September 1, 2025 and reside in Lancaster City or Lancaster Township are eligible to apply for kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year. APPLY NOW!
Together we can

Home / Inspire / Community Schools

Community Schools

What is a Community School?

Community schools combine challenging and culturally relevant learning opportunities with the academic and social supports each and every child needs to reach their potential. These schools, at their core, are about investing in children, through quality teaching, challenging and engaging curricula, wrap around supports, positive school climate, strong ties to family and community in order to make schools stronger and help young people thrive. While Community Schools take different approaches, these schools generally employ whole-child, research-based strategies and elevate innovative and holistic practices in order to achieve results that go beyond test scores that can result in increased school attendance, decreased school suspensions, increased parent engagement, creating healthy and safe communities and improving academic outcomes.

Common Values

Every Community School is different and reflects the strengths and needs of its students, families, and local community. However, the most successful Community Schools are anchored in a set of common values that serve as a foundation: 

  • Strong instruction designed to provide personalized learning opportunities for students.
  • Robust engagement, anchored in positive youth development, ensuring that schools are welcoming and empowering to students, families and community members.
  • Continuous improvement using school and student data to tailor programming and instruction focused on results.

Dave Parry

Resources