University-Assisted Community Schools Regional Training Centers

From 1994-2004, the Center received funding from foundations and the federal government to promote the replication of the university-assisted community school model. Twenty-three higher educational institutions received funding and another 75 institutions were trained on the model.

Part of the Netter Center endowment is designated to fund regional training centers on university-assisted community schools on three-year cycles. University of Oklahoma-Tulsa served as the site of the first regional training center, beginning in 2008, and Tulsa partners formed the Higher Education Forum of Oklahoma. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was selected as the second regional training center in 2011 and established IUPUI’s Midwest Center for University-Assisted Community Schools to work in a multi-state area that includes Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky. University of Connecticut was selected as the third regional training center in fall 2014 and established the New England University-Assisted Community School Collaborative. UCLA began its work as the fourth regional training center in fall 2017 with establishment of the UCLA Center for Community Schooling, a new campus-wide initiative to advance university-assisted community schools. Binghamton University, part of the State University of New York (SUNY), and Binghamton University Community Schools was selected in fall 2020 as the fifth regional trainer center and is providing technical assistance across New York and New Jersey.

The sixth regional center launched in September 2023. The Southeast Regional Coalition for University-Assisted Community Schools (SRCUACS) is anchored by a coalition of universities: Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and East Carolina University.

The Request For Proposals for the sixth regional center was released on March 7th, 2023 and closed May 1st, 2023.We anticipate the RFP for the seventh regional center will be released in early 2026.