After winning a national award for its success in Tukwila, the Community Schools Collaboration is expanding into SeaTac and North Highline.

The group held an open house Feb. 22 for its new administrative offices at 16256 Military Road South in SeaTac.

This program provides after school classes and extra support to needy school children and their families.

The non-profit group takes a three-pronged approach with out of school enrichment courses, health services and parent engagement, according to development director Amy Berg.

The classes before or after school were set up because of a "growing realization of what's not working," Berg said.

The federal "No Child Left Behind" legislation mandated some positive accountability results but has led to a narrower curriculum that doesn't give principals flexibility.

"By connecting our classes to the real world, young people are able to learn and practice hands on," Berg added.

While the courses are very academic, they can also involve areas de-emphasized in school curriculum such as art, music and gym.

She noted the group's work in parent outreach and engagement is "really dynamic" by getting immigrant and refugee families to feel welcome in the schools and teaching them how to navigate the schools and community services.

"We are empowering parents," Berg said.

Parents in the program recruit others through their connections to ethnic and religious organizations.

Health services also bring medical attention to underserved populations.

The organization partners with other groups doing similar work in the schools and community.

Berg points to Thrive by Five, a public private coalition, which along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced last week a $12 million contribution to the White Center area for early learning education.

Funds will be used to build the $9 million Greenbridge Early Learning center across from White Center Heights Elementary School.

Lutheran Social Services, which recently opened a community center at South 188th Street and 42nd Avenue South in SeaTac, is another possible partner.

The Highline School District requested the organization expand into SeaTac and White Center where Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) scores have remained low.

Chinook Middle in SeaTac is the only Western Washington school that has reached Step Five of No Child Left Behind" sanctions.

The sanctions require the district to offer transfers and private tutoring as well as develop plans to improve scores.

A new principal was assigned to the school in September.

Berg said the group's success in Tukwila lured her from a policy position at the group's national headquarters in Washington, D.C., to the development job in SeaTac.

The national group named Tukwila as the community award winner in 2007.

In publicizing the award Berg wrote, "All the principals at Tukwila's schools noted that the partnership with TCSC (Tukwila Community Schools Coalition) was one of the primary reasons for meeting their annual yearly progress goals.

"The result has been a cultural change within the District that brings the community into the schools and the schools out to the community."

Berg pointed to decreased absentee and drop-out rates as well as better WASL scores compared to neighboring districts.

Elementary teachers also reported that the group's extra classes had improved students' homework completion, in-class behavior and participation.

For districts such as Tukwila and Highline, which have a lot of multi-family rental housing, students moving in and out during the school year has been a major challenge.

However, Berg reports that for families who participated in the Tukwila programs, the mobility rate is 5 percent as compared with the district average of 23 percent.

"Because the families feel connected to the schools, they want the younger siblings to go to the same schools," Berg concluded.