The Partnership ProcessResources for Title III

CoordinatorsDecember 6, 2011

Family-School-Community Partnerships Staff

• Betsy PrueterVISTA Project Manager

• Ruth Anne Landsverk Partnerships Coordinator

What do we know about Partnerships?

When families are involved at home and at school

Children do better in school, and the schools get better

We Also KnowPartnerships can help schools

and districts achieve goals for• Student learning• Student behavior & attendance• Strengthening family

involvement: which families are involved how

What do we know about ELL families?

• #s have increased in all states over the last 20 yrs

• Parents of ELLs face barriers that limit their communication and school participation including:– the inability to understand English– unfamiliarity with the school system– differences in cultural norms and cultural

capital– education levels and literacy rates

• The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collected survey data from approximately 24,000 parents for the National Education Longitudinal Study.

• RESULTS: All parents, regardless of race, economic status, or culture, held high expectations for their children.

Attitudes are Important

• Using a random sample of 81 Latino children’s family members, researchers (2001) interviewed, used home visits, and conducted 12 additional informal home interviews with an adult family member for each child.

• RESULTS: these Latino immigrant parents

held high aspirations for their children continuing their education past high school.

• In a study of low-performing students and their Puerto Rican parents, Lopez and Cole (1999) investigated whether the parents had the ability to implement an at-home strategy to address their children’s academic readiness needs.

• RESULTS: each parent was willing and able to support student learning in the home environment effectively regardless of their personal educational experience or skills.

What Can Schools Do?

• Support the implementation of parent involvement programs that are culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate

• Fund the implementation of parental involvement programs that reflect a reciprocal involvement in the school/parent community

What Can Schools Do?

• Support the professional preparation of teachers who can identify community funds of knowledge for curricular development and school outreach

• Support community-based education programs that inform parents about school values and expectations and work with parents to help them become advocates for their children

Key Components of Framework by Joyce Epstein

• The Six Types of Partnerships• The Partnership Action Team• One-Year Action Plan for

Partnerships (linked to school goals)

• Evaluation

What Do We know about How Schools Use The Six

Types?• Communicating and Volunteering

popular• Learning at Home and Decision Making

most difficult• Learning at Home most closely tied to

improved student learning• Parents are hungry for knowledge

about Parenting (don’t call it that!) • Community collaboration yields big

results

The 6 Types and ELL Families

• Type 1: Emphasis should be on reciprocal relationships• Type 2: Should situate cultural strengths of family in

curriculum• Type 3: Need to provide parent education that includes

family literacy and understanding/navigating school• Type 4: Important to inform and teach parents how to

advocate for their children• Type 5: Empower parents by nurturing parent-initiated

efforts at the school and community level• Type 6: Be sure to implement culturally and

linguistically appropriate practices in all aspects of communication regarding community resources

We also know thatThe Action Team Works!

When it has• Equal numbers of parents and teachers• Support from and participation by the

principal• Meets monthly• Links to school goals and the school

improvement team• A One-Year Action Plan

16

Action Team for Partnerships

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAM

ACTION TEAM for SCHOOL, FAMILY, and COMMUNITY

PARTNERSHIPS

Reading Goal

Family-commu- nity involvement activities linked to

school goals.

PartnershipGoal 1. Welcome 2. Honor3. Connect families

Non-AcademicGoal 1. attendance2. anti-bullying3.service learning4.transitions

Math Goal Draw from the

six types ofinvolvement tomeet all goals.

Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

School Improvement Goals for a One-Year Action Plan for

PartnershipsImprove STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT in reading

• Family Reading Night• Weekly interactive homework in reading and writing• Volunteer book buddies and book talks

Improve STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT in math• Family Math Night• After-school tutoring program in math• PTA fundraiser for computer software

Increase STUDENT ATTENDANCE• Attendance team with family volunteers• Attendance and lateness policies in the school

newsletter• Family dinner with principal for improved attendance

Strengthen the CLIMATE of partnerships• Reformat the newsletter to be more family-friendly• Welcome walks through the neighborhoods• Family-School picnic before school starts in the fall

Challenges to Partnerships

How do schools• Connect to families of all students?• Get ideas and input from all families?• Create partnerships in a culturally

competent and relevant way?• Get buy-in of staff members, including the

principal?• Involve families in addressing student

concerns and learning at home?• Be a resource to the community and link

families to community resources ?

Barriers for ELL Families• School based barriers

– deficit perspective– a unidirectional approach to parental

involvement, and – negative school climate

• lack of English language proficiency• parental educational level• disconnect between school culture and

home culture • logistical issues

Addressing Barriers: Communication

• Provide home-school coordinator or liaison

• Initiate home visits by teachers • Send out bilingual newsletters • Provide a multilingual telephone

homework line • Schedule monthly meetings at a local

community center

Addressing Barriers: School/Parental Perceptions

• Acknowledge parents’ cultural values • Incorporate community into

curriculum • Invite extended family members to

school activities

Addressing Barriers: Logistics

• Modify meetings to accommodate parents work schedule

• Provide child care to facilitate parental attendance at school functions

• Arrange transportation to facilitate student involvement in school activities

Promising Practices• Filipino Culture and Language Class

– Virginia Beach, VA

• Multicultural Outreach– Layton, UT

• Family Leadership Hopes and Dreams– Springfield, VA

• International Family Nights– Baltimore, MD

• Language Star Family Night– San Luis, AZ

Promising Practices from Wisconsin VISTAs

• Simultaneous Translation at Parent Meetings– GEAR UP program, Madison

• Parent Focus Groups and Memory Mapping– Alexander Mitchell School, Milwaukee

• Intercambio Language Classes– Madison School District

• Cultural Night– Wausau School District

Key Ways Schools Engage Families

• Build trust and collaborative relationships with families

• Recognize, respect, and address families’ needs

• Share power and responsibility with parents

Partnership Resources• DPI’s Community Learning and Partnerships Team• http://dpi.wi.gov/fscp/index.html

• DPI’s Partnership Action Team Online Toolkit• http://dpi.wi.gov/fscp/action-team.html

• Parents Plus (PIRC) http://www.parentspluswi.org

• National PTA http://www.pta.org

• Harvard’s FINE Network• http://www.hfrp.org/family-involvement

• SEDL http://www.sedl.org/

• Promoting ELL Parent Involvement• http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Policy_Briefs/Arias_ELL.pdf

More Ideas for Partnership Practices

• DPI VISTA Promising Practices: http://www.dpi.wi.gov/fscp/vsitproj.html

• NNPS Promising Practices (look for Multicultural Awareness): http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/ppp/index.htm

• PTA Great Idea Bank: http://www.ptagreatideabank.org/forum/topics/engaging-parent-volunteers

• Spark Action Success Stories: http://sparkaction.org/features/success-stories

28

Member Benefits

NATIONAL NETWORK OF PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLSThe Network will do the following for each school, district, state,

and organization/university member:

• Provide a comprehensive Handbook on partnership program development

• Issue a Certificate of Membership and six “keys” poster

• Invite members to attend leadership development workshops

• Distribute the Network’s semi-annual newsletter, Type 2

• Disseminate annual collection, Promising Partnership Practices

• Offer optional research and evaluation opportunities

• Provide technical assistance by phone, email, and website

Web Site: www.partnershipschools.org