Registration Open: UACS National Network Conference | October 26 – 27, 2026
University-Assisted
Community Schools National Network

Conferences and Convenings

Explore materials and resources from past UACS National Network conferences and convenings below, including presentation slides, photos, and workshop materials.

UACS National Network Hosted Convenings

On January 20th, 2026, the Netter Center’s University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) National Network hosted a small in-person convening at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The convening was focused on mobilizing colleges and universities to support and sustain community schools and University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS).

This particular convening was designed for those who are in the early stages of developing UACS partnerships or had established collaborations with one or a few departments or schools within their college/university and were seeking to expand their partnerships, particularly academic partnerships, across the institution to more deeply support UACS implementation.

Community schools and UACS have demonstrated success in advancing both student learning and community well-being. However, they require more resources than traditional schools, and colleges and universities can serve as long-term partners providing substantial support. The UACS approach is designed to be mutually beneficial and mutually transformational–enhancing the quality of research, teaching, and learning at the university and in the schools, while improving the quality of life in the community.

Key Topics

  • Establishing partnerships between colleges/universities and community schools
  • Community Engaged Scholarship (CES), including Academically-Based Community Service (ABCS) courses where students K-16+ work together to develop and implement UACS programs, helping our students become deliverers and not just recipients of service and helping develop active, engaged democratic citizens
  • College and university student engagement (internships, federal work-study, and volunteering)
  • Partnerships with clinical education placements and practicums (education, social work, nursing, city planning)
  • UACS programming that necessarily engages partners from multiple departments and schools in areas such as:
    • Mental health (medicine, social work, education, communication)
    • College and career pathways (business, education)
    • STEM education (arts and sciences, engineering, medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing)
    • Nutrition education and food access (arts and sciences, medicine)
    • Sports, fitness, and health (arts and sciences, nursing, medicine, business, communication)

Resources from the Convening

Plenary Presentations

Building Momentum: How to further mobilize colleges and universities to support University-Assisted Community Schools

On November 11th and 12th, 2024, the University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) National Network and the Coalition for Community Schools at the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) hosted the free, in-person national conference, “Community Schools and University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS): Partnerships that Change Schools, Communities, and Universities for the Better” at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.

Over the two days, community school partners – school, union, university, non-profit, neighborhood, and government – discussed:

  • Creating and sustaining university-assisted community schools that advance research, teaching and learning at both the university and in the schools
  • Partnerships that support community-based learning K-16+ and increase student engagement
  • Partnerships around environmental health, mental health, physical health, college access, nutrition, STEM education, literacy, and more that simultaneously improve student learning and community wellbeing

Agenda and Resources

A Deep Dive on the Role of Universities in University-Assisted Community Schools

Exploring the Transformative Power of Partnerships Between Law Schools and University-Assisted Community Schools

Research, Evaluation & Partnership Models

Selected UACS Highlights from other conferences

Resources not yet available check later.