Teachers’ academic optimism and professional practice in an urban full-service community high school

The full-service community school (FSCS) strategy, an education reform implemented in the United States and internationally, seeks to improve learning by responding holistically to students’ needs. While the literature on FSCSs has grown significantly, research on the role of teachers remains limited. This study expands the current knowledge base through an in-depth analysis of teachers in an award winning urban FSC high school in the northeastern United States. Specifically, using a mixed methods case study design, we examine the associations between teachers’ academic optimism and features of their professional practice (i.e., beliefs about FSCSs, student-centered instruction, and outreach to families) that are aligned with FSCSs. Results indicate that teachers shared positive overall levels of academic optimism, but exhibited its defining dimensions at varying degrees. Teachers’ trust in students and especially parents as educational partners was the lowest dimension of academic optimism at Promise High. While teachers reported high levels of some features of professional practice (e.g., student-centered instruction) aligned with the FSCS strategy, they reported low levels of others (e.g., family outreach and engagement), which may diminish the transformative potential of FSCSs. Finally, the study found a positive association between teacher academic optimism and the focal features of professional practice. Although exploratory, these findings have important implications for the effective implementation of FSCSs.