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A community school is a place where students and families know they are supported, valued, and connected.

A school should not try to separate student learning from everything students carry with them each day.

Families open up when they know the school truly cares about their child.

Principal Rafael Santiago is retiring. To anyone attending, working at, or residing anywhere near Dale Junior High School in Anaheim, California, this is heartbreaking news. Because Santiago hasn't only focused on students' academics at Dale, his leadership and team have leveraged hope and connection to transform Dale's students and their community.

I had the good fortune of working under Santiago decades ago when I was a junior high school English teacher, and I have wanted to interview him for you readers for as long as I have been writing for Psychology Today. Deciding which topic to interview Santiago about, however, has always been a challenge, because Dale is one of those schools involved in many tradition-transcending endeavors. With the countdown clock ticking on Santiago's retirement, we picked one of the most novel and powerful: Dale's function as a "community school." Santiago's answers follow each interview question below.

Jenny Rankin (JR): What exactly is a “community school,” and what does it look like at Dale Junior High School?

Rafael Santiago (RS): To me, a community school is really about this simple idea—students don’t leave life at the front gate when they walk onto campus.

They come to us carrying all kinds of experiences… challenges… responsibilities… emotions. And if we want them to succeed academically, we have to care about all of that—not just what happens in the classroom.

At Dale, our vision has always been to maximize our unlimited........

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