Community Schools Learning Exchange

What Community Schools Learning Exchange does

Community Schools Learning Exchange (CSLX) is a California-based nonprofit organization founded in 2019 that provides training, technical assistance, and implementation resources to support community school development. The organization serves California school districts, County Offices of Education, Regional Technical Assistance Centers (R-TACs), community school coordinators, and school principals, with a small footprint of 12 employees based in Oakland. CSLX is deeply embedded in California's Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) ecosystem, a $4.1 billion state initiative, and its staff have direct involvement in CCSPP legislative design and policy advocacy.

CSLX's product portfolio is built around professional development and content rather than software. Core offerings include a "Basics" series of free downloadable PDF resource guides (Community School Coordinator, Needs Assessment, Advisory Council, and Principal roles), a paid multi-day Community Schools Implementation Series workshop at $375 per session, single-session virtual workshops on specialized topics (attendance and belonging, sustainability, transformative leadership), and a practitioner blog ("Sticky Notes"). The organization also operates free introductory 30-minute webinars as a top-of-funnel engagement tool. CSLX's proprietary frameworks include the Community Schools Essentials Framework and sustainability planning templates co-developed with the State Transformation Assistance Center (S-TAC).

The organization generates revenue through workshop registration fees and, by inference, grants and partnership funding. Its go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, relying on workshops, webinars, peer learning communities, content marketing, and policy/practitioner word-of-mouth within the California community school field. Strategic partnerships with Brookings Institution, the National Center for Community Schools at Children's Aid, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), the California Labor Management Initiative (CA LMI), and Californians Together extend CSLX's reach into national policy, research, and adjacent verticals such as multilingual learner support and labor-management collaboration.

Name

Community Schools Learning Exchange

Legal name

Community Schools Learning Exchange

Website

https://cslx.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Schools Learning Exchange (CSLX) is a California-based nonprofit that provides training, technical assistance, and resources to school districts, county offices, and community school practitioners implementing California's $4.1 billion CCSPP community schools strategy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education Professional Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Service & Service-Learning Programs (School-Run) (EDAJAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Volunteerism, Service-Learning & Community Service (EDALAHAG)

Keywords

• Community school development
• Education professional development
• School district training
• Community school implementation
• Education technical assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

California

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Workshop and Training Fees: CSLX charges registration fees for multi-day workshop series, such as the Community Schools Implementation Series at $375 per session. Free webinars and introductory workshops are also offered.
2. Public Education Funding: The organization supports California's $4.1 billion CCSPP program through capacity building, technical assistance, and professional development. Funding flows through state education budgets to support community school development statewide.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Community Schools Learning Exchange (CSLX) is a California-based nonprofit that provides professional development, technical assistance, and resource guides to help school districts, principals, and community school coordinators implement the community school strategy, with a focus on California's $4.1 billion CCSPP program. Its offerings include a series of foundational resource guides (The Basics), multi-day virtual workshops (Community Schools Implementation Series), single-session webinars, and a practitioner blog (Sticky Notes). Services are delivered directly to California educational practitioners via virtual workshops, on-site visits, and downloadable resources.

Product overview

Community Schools Learning Exchange (CSLX) is an education support organization offering a unified portfolio of professional development services for community school practitioners. The core offerings consist of foundational resource guides (The Basics series covering Community School Coordinator, Needs Assessment, Advisory Council, and Principal roles), multi-day virtual workshop series (Community Schools Implementation Series, Community School Leaders series), single-session virtual workshops (Community School Essentials, Beyond Attendance, From Vision to Action), and a blog platform (Sticky Notes) featuring practitioner commentary. These products are interconnected: the The Basics guides provide foundational reference materials that complement the hands-on workshop training, while the blog offers ongoing insights and policy updates. CSLX does not operate a software platform or technology product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Basics: Community School Coordinator (Resource Guide) A foundational downloadable resource guide covering the essential roles, responsibilities, and best practices for Community School Coordinators, including staffing structures, hiring guidance, and professional development frameworks. Audience: site-level coordinators and district leaders implementing community schools.
• The Basics: Designing your Needs Assessment (Resource Guide) A foundational downloadable resource guide explaining how to systematically collect information about student, family, and community priorities and challenges to guide community school development. Audience: community school coordinators and site leadership teams.
• The Basics: Building Your Advisory Council (Resource Guide) A foundational downloadable resource guide on assembling an advisory council that brings together diverse school and community voices to guide community school development. Audience: coordinators and principals building shared governance structures.
• The Basics: The Role of the Principal (Resource Guide) A foundational downloadable resource guide examining the skills community school principals need, how they work with community school coordinators, and what effective community school leadership looks like. Audience: school principals and district leaders.
• Community Schools Implementation Series (Workshop) A multi-day virtual workshop series providing foundational understanding of community school development, implementation skills, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability planning for practitioners at all experience levels. Priced at $375 per workshop session. Audience: California community school practitioners, coordinators, principals, and district leaders.
• Community School Essentials (Virtual Workshop) A free 30-minute introductory webinar offering practical grounding in foundational concepts, principles, and practices of community schools. Audience: prospective practitioners and district stakeholders seeking an entry-level overview.
• Community School Leaders: Transformative Principals and CS Coordinators (Virtual Workshop) A virtual workshop series for principals, Community School Coordinators, district leaders, and practitioners providing practical tools, reflective learning, and peer connection opportunities for creating equitable, relationship-centered schools. Audience: school and district leadership teams.
• Beyond Attendance: Building Cultures of Belonging (Virtual Workshop) An interactive virtual workshop exploring the connection between belonging and attendance through the Community Schools Essentials Framework. Audience: community school practitioners, coordinators, and attendance/engagement staff.
• From Vision to Action: Building Community Schools That Last (Virtual Workshop) A virtual workshop focused on strengthening enabling conditions for transformational change, moving from isolated efforts to aligned systems, shared ownership, and sustainable practices. Audience: district and site leaders responsible for sustainability planning.
• Blog (Sticky Notes) An educational content platform featuring articles on community school implementation, sustainability planning, family engagement, youth voice, data practices, and policy updates authored by CSLX staff and guest contributors. Audience: California community school practitioners and policy stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Psychological holds dropped by nearly 90% through coordinated services approach
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Center for Community Schools at Children's AidcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2023Co-authorship of commentary on community-connected learning published via Brookings Institution. Stacey Campo, Community Schools Consultant with NCCS, co-authored the piece with CSLX's Hayin Kimner. NCCS hosts annual Community Schools Fundamentals conference.
• Community Schools Forward Task ForcecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 January 2023National collaboration of community school practitioners, leaders, researchers, and advocates working to align, scale, and build community schools. CSLX Managing Director Hayin Kimner serves as a nonresident Fellow at Brookings Institution supporting this task force. The task force introduced a national consensus framework for community schools.
• Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSLX Managing Director Hayin Kimner serves as a Senior Policy and Research Fellow for PACE, conducting policy analysis on community schools and whole-child approaches in California education.
• Brookings InstitutioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHayin Kimner is a nonresident Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. CSLX contributes to Brookings community schools collection and initiatives.
• Californians TogetherminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to help practitioners bring California's English Learner Roadmap to life. Collaborative work on multilingual learner support within community schools.
• California Labor Management Initiative (CA LMI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSLX collaborates with CA LMI on building trusting relationships between labor and management in schools. CA LMI Director Gustavo Morales co-authored blog post with CSLX on labor-management partnerships. CA LMI specializes in fostering collaboration across school district labor and management teams.
• State Transformation Assistance Center (S-TAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerS-TAC is a statewide system of support for CCSPP grantees, consisting of Sacramento County Office of Education (ACOE), UCLA Center for Community Schooling, Californians for Justice (CFJ), and NEA. CSLX references S-TAC's Sustainability Plan Template and collaborates on sustainability planning resources.
• Regional Technical Assistance Centers (R-TACs)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPart of California's CCSPP statewide system of support, R-TACs provide regional technical assistance to community school grantees. CSLX supports and coordinates with these centers.
• California County Offices of EducationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCSLX supports County Offices of Education in their role as brokers of resources and capacity for community school development across California districts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• WestEd: Large nonprofit education research and TA organization providing school improvement services across California and the U.S. Adjacent peer because it delivers practitioner PD and district TA in overlapping topic areas like LCAP support, MTSS, and family engagement.
• Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) S-TAC: Statewide lead for the CCSPP system of support (S-TAC), providing technical assistance to grantees largely free of charge. Functions as both a complement (resource references) and a substitute for CSLX's paid services.

Emerging players

• Attendance Works: National nonprofit advancing attendance and chronic absence strategies that intersect with community schools' belonging and engagement work. Partial product overlap with CSLX's 'Beyond Attendance' workshop and engagement frameworks.
• Community Schools Forward Task Force: Brookings-hosted national consensus initiative for community schools where CSLX's Managing Director is a nonresident fellow. Comparable as a policy and field-building effort that overlaps CSLX's thought-leadership footprint.

Direct peers

• National Center for Community Schools at Children's Aid: Direct peer providing professional development, convenings (Community Schools Fundamentals), and resources for community school practitioners nationally. CSLX co-authors commentary with NCCS staff via Brookings, indicating comparable positioning in the same content and PD niche.
• Coalition for Community Schools at the Institute for Educational Leadership: National coalition housed at IEL that advocates for and supports the community school strategy through research, policy, and practitioner resources. Comparable as a back-office convener and policy partner rather than a regional PD provider.
• Federation for Community Schools: Illinois-based capacity-building and policy organization previously led by CSLX Director Melissa Mitchell. Operates as a state-level community schools intermediary offering coaching, TA, and legislative advocacy — closely comparable model in a different state.
• UCLA Center for Community Schooling: UCLA-based research and PD center operating inside the CCSPP S-TAC network alongside CSLX. Direct peer because it delivers overlapping technical assistance, research translation, and practitioner resources to the same California grantees.

Others

• Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE): UC/CSU-affiliated policy research organization publishing analysis on California education. CSLX Managing Director is a Senior Policy and Research Fellow there, making PACE a research and policy peer that elevates CSLX's voice.
• Californians Together: California advocacy and capacity-building nonprofit advancing the English Learner Roadmap. Direct program partner with CSLX; comparable as a state-level education intermediary serving overlapping district and County Office audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-schools-learning-exchange

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Schools Learning Exchange