Community Schools are a powerful and proven strategy for achieving the goal of educational equity. Using schools as hubs, Community Schools bring educators, families, policymakers, and community partners together to increase the resources, supports, and services available to children, families, and communities. They are schools designed to ensure that all students, regardless of their ZIP code, can receive an excellent education that cultivates and inspires their hope, skills, and sense of self-efficacy.   Operating year-round from morning to evening and serving both children and adults, Community Schools help to close educational opportunity gaps.  When children arrive at school hungry, when they lack access to needed medical, mental, or dental healthcare, when they live with social, environmental, or physical violence and trauma, even the highest-quality curriculum cannot assure them of the best educational experience. Yet, every community has tremendous assets that can be drawn upon and leveraged to support student learning and student success. The truth is: schools and educators alone cannot balance the scales of opportunity for children and their communities. Nor can schools alone deliver all of the support that every child deserves. Schools need partners who understand and embrace the need for systemic change, dismantling policies and practices that preclude some children from having a fully welcoming, supportive, and positive educational experience. There is an urgent need to increase educational equity and opportunity, eradicating the pronounced racial and economic disparities characterizing children’s educational experiences today.