Partnership Standard 1: Fostering Communication

1. Partnership Standard 1: Fostering Communication School and families engage in an open exchange of information. NY City Parent Academy

2. Excerpts from Chancellor Walcott’s Policy Speech: Partnering with Parents • “...I feel so passionately about education: it has the power to change lives. With a great teacher, a strong principal, and a supportive school environment, any child has the opportunity to succeed. A great education can trump other obstacles.” • “Perhaps more than ever, we need to articulate a set of values and expectations for our families and enlist their support.” NY City Parent Academy

3. The goals of this workshop • To examine how the NYC DOE resources can be used to foster communication. • Develop strategies to create an open exchange of information regarding: • student progress • school wide goals • support activities Parents Communicating + Teachers Communicating Better Student Outcomes NY City Parent Academy

4. “Parents and families are the essential partners….that path must be the daily work of not just principals and teachers, but of students themselves and those who take care of them.” http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D5BAC689-AC06-49B1-9FF0-BA65E27301EF/0/RaisingBar_English.pdf NY City Parent Academy

5. How can we, as members of the school community become better communicators? • Become active listeners. • Provide parents with access to multiple forms of information. • Educate parents on the use of information to understand and improve their children’s educational experience. NY City Parent Academy

6. Active Listening NY City Parent Academy

7. Active listening creates trust. “I give you my ears, my eyes, my undivided attention and my heart.” -Anonymous Active listening produces active engagement. NY City Parent Academy

8. Multiple ways to Access to Multiple Pieces of Information • Multiple ways to access: • Multilingual • Print • Electronic • Text to speech • Multiple pieces of information: NYC DOE has a comprehensive website, for its stakeholders; parents and families, students, employees and community partners linking stakeholders to: • student progress • school wide goals • support activities to help improve student outcomes. • http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm NY City Parent Academy

9. Links to Performance and Accountibity Reports: • Progress Report: Grades schools based on student performance, progress, and school environment http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/tools/report/FindAProgressReport/default.htm • School Survey Report: Provides feedback from parents, teachers, and students on school environment. http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/tools/report/FindAProgressReport/default.htm • Quality Review Report: This document provides the school community with evidence-based information about the school's development and serves as a source of feedback for the school leadership to improve the school's support for student performance. http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/tools/review/find.htm NY City Parent Academy

10. Links for effective communication with families: • Aris Parent Link: access personalized information about your child. https://arisparentlink.org/parentlink • Division of Family and Community Engagement (FACE): strives to build school-family partnerships through parent leadership training and support of parent coordinators. http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/FACE/default.htm NY City Parent Academy

11. Links for Academic Support Services Support Services: lists the range of services available to assist students in and out of the classroom. • Academic Intervention Services • Special Programs • Library Services • Instructional Technology • Tutoring • Guidance and Counseling http://schools.nyc.gov/StudentSupport/default.htm NY City Parent Academy

12. Links for Non-Academic Support Services • School Food • Health • Child Abuse • Students in Temporary Housing • Gang Prevention and Intervention Unit http://schools.nyc.gov/StudentSupport/NonAcademicSupport/default.htm NY City Parent Academy

13. Special Education and English Languages Learners: http://schools.nyc.gov/academics/specialeducation/default.htm • Citywide Educational Programs: District 75 http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/District75/default.htm • Alternative Education: District 79 http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/District79/default.htm • Office of Safety and Youth Development: http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/OSYD/default.htm NY City Parent Academy

14. Parent Leaders and Parent Coordinators: • Parent Leaders: encourage parents to take supportive roles in their schools. http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/FACE/BecomingaParentLeader/default.htm • Parent Coordinators: work with school principals to directly support families. http://schools.nyc.gov/Employees/ParentCoordinators/default.htm NY City Parent Academy

15. Educate parents on how to use information to understand and improve their children’s educational experience. 1. What is it? 2. How can I access it? 3. What does it tell me about my child’s school? 4. How can I use the information to help my child and his/her school? NY City Parent Academy

16. Improve access to communication for parents. • “When schools have been unsuccessful they often draw the conclusion that parents don’t care” (Mapp, 2010). NY City Parent Academy

17. “I have found many parents do care, but they don’t know how to be engaged in their children’s education. So schools say to parents, “You’re not doing your part” and parents say to schools “I don’t feel welcome” (Mapp, 2010). NY City Parent Academy

18. “What we need is a shared responsibility paradigm designed to build capacity among parents and practitioners, so both sides will gain from the relationship.” (Mapp, 2010). NY City Parent Academy

19. Chancellor Walcott’s Policy Speech: “Partnering With Parents,” October 2011. http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/mediarelations/NewsandSpeeches/2011-2012/ partneringwithparentsspeech102611.htm • Four Questions for Karen Mapp, December 2010.//www.teachingmatters.org/blog/four-questions-karen-mapp NY City Parent Academy