Whether the term you use is full service schools, integrated services, or one-stop shopping, the idea of locating all needed community services in one place is generating more and more interest among groups from community members to researchers. The idea makes sense from a variety of standpoints, and using schools as a location makes sense as well. In general, schools are in full use for nine months a year for six hours a day. They are already a big part of community life, and a place with which many community members are familiar. Making fuller use of the facilities would make a variety of community services easily available and could save communities money from tight budgets.
Schools have the potential to become centers of community resources and activities.
This article by Joy Dryfoos describes one vision of how a full service schools might work and offers examples of successful programs already in operation. Through partnerships with community organizations, full-service schools address the mental and physical needs of students and the community. School buildings, which contain valuable resources, such as libraries, computer labs, gymnasiums, and swimming pools, typically sit empty for many hours a day, during the school year and during the summer. Extended-service schools bring these facilities to life by providing an array of positive activities and opportunities for young people and their families during the hours school is not in session. Their aim is to transform public schools into full-service youth and community centers that stay open year round.