Building Strong Communities through School-Extension Partnerships

1. Building Strong Communities through School-Extension Partnerships DoD/USDA Family Resilience Conference Forging the Partnership, Chicago 2011

2. South Dakota Sustainable Community Project Marilyn Rasmussen, Ph.D., Co-Principle Investigator Tracey Lehrke, Extension Educator and Team Leader Sonia Mack, Extension Educator Carrie Johnson, Extension Educator and Team Leader Tina Dangel, Extension Educator Jessica Kirkham, Prevention Coordinator Ann Michelle Daniels, Ph.D., Co-Principle Investigator

3. School–Community Collaborations Essential Characteristics: • Mutually beneficial relationship • Addresses an identified need • Focus is on common or similar goals -Schools have primarily academic goals -What are the goals of community organizations?

4. Community organizations can provide Learning Supports • Breakfast/lunch programs • Nursing services • Guidance & counseling • Nutrition – health & wellness • Anti-bullying & violence prevention • Afterschool programs • Substance abuse prevention • Family involvement efforts • Mental health services • Social events • Tutoring • Others? The role of Extension?

5. Elementary and Secondary Education ActESEA – Reauthorized every 5 to 10 years Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994 • Goal 7: Parents, businesses, governmental and community organizations to work together with schools to create a safe and secure environment that is free of drugs and crime. Community based teams should be organized to provide student and teachers with needed support.

6. Elementary and Secondary Education ActESEA – Reauthorized every 5 to 10 years No Child Left Behind 2002 (ESEA) . . . . . encourages schools to develop partnerships with community-based organizationsand businesses to help all students learn and achieve in schools. Title I, Section 1118

7. School-Community Partnerships Types Common Types of School-Community Partnerships Potential Outcomes More effective school functioning Well-educated workforce – economic competitiveness Student well-being Building & maintaining community health and development • Businesses • Universities • Prevention • Service Learning • School-linked Service Integration

8. Expectations of K-12 Education What is the role of schools? • To prepare a well-educated workforce as vital to the economic productivity and expansion of our country. Challenges to fulfilling the mission • Mounting responsibilities placed on schools – NCLB (ESEA) • Student population diversity presents challenges to helping students achieve advanced language, technical and communication skills. • Youth in some urban and rural communities lack social capital • Social & emotional needs of children, especially in areas of great poverty or high level of family dysfunction

9. Share Examples of School-Community Partnerships • Community-school partnerships you have participated in or are aware of • Common goal(s) • Partner or partners • Service, program, or support provided by the partnership • Duration, intensity, effectiveness

10. School – Extension Partnerships Contribution of Cooperative Extension • Connection to the land grant university • Access to research and evidence-based programs and practices • State-wide network

11. PROSPER MODEL Community Teams • Led by Extension Educator and school co-leader • Variety of members • Plan and implement evidence-based programs in their community

12. PROSPER MODEL Prevention Coordinator • Serves as a “coach” to the community teams • Provides proactive technical assistance • Liaison between the teams and the State Management Team

13. PROSPER MODEL State Management Team • Faculty-level Extension Specialists • Provide input and technical assistance • Evaluation • Relationship with PROSPER Network

14. Sisseton Middle SchoolSisseton, SD Approach • School • Community • Resources • Benefits

15. Sisseton Middle SchoolSisseton, SD Team Building Strategy • Group Size • Key Members • Group Mission & Vision

16. Sisseton Middle SchoolSisseton, SD • Vision Statement “The community and school will work together in order to provide a safe, positive environment for families to grow and learn.”

17. Sisseton Middle SchoolSisseton, SD • Mission Statement “Youth and families will set goals to reach their full potential, realizing anything is possible.”

18. Sisseton Middle SchoolSisseton, SD Challenges • Time • Money • Promotion & Recruitment • Marketing Successes • Program Completion • Mission & Vision Statements • Priorities

19. Sisseton Middle SchoolSisseton, SD Mrs. Karen Whitney, SMS Principal & program co-leader, holds the Parent Creed concluding the parent session. Strengthening Families Program 10-14 participants with their family tree.

20. Lake Andes Area Schools • Building on existing school partnerships • Gaining access to a school district: Where to start • Differences in working relationships with schools • Maintaining relationships Developing the Partnership

21. Lake Andes Area Schools Community Team Building • Creating community teams • Keeping them engaged • Teen involvement on the team

22. Lake Andes Area Schools Challenges of Small Rural Communities • School Personnel • Facilitators • Sponsors • Volunteers

23. School & Community Partnership EventLake Andes Area Schools

24. Findings of a School-Extension PartnershipDelivery of Project ALERT in the School • Schools were not aware of evidence-based programs (EBP) and/or federal government mandate to use them for grant funded programs • Schools wanted to keep the DARE program partnership in place. • Teachers were unlikely to implement an EBP with fidelity. Not consistent with school/educator view of curriculum delivery • Schools felt that Extension delivery was an advantage over teacher delivery of an EBP

25. Sanders, M.G. (2003). Community involvement in schools: From concept to practice. Education and Urban society, 35(2). • Sanders, M.G., & Sheldon, S.B. (2009). Principals matter: A guide to school, family and community partners. Thousand Oaks CA: Corwin. • St. Pierre, T.L. & Kaltreider, D.L. (2004). Tales of refusal, adoption, and maintenance: Evidence-based substance abuse prevention via school-extension collaborations. American Journal of Evaluation 25(4), 479-491.

26. Examining the PossibilitiesGroup Activity Group activity possibilities • Presenters represent the interest of a school. Meet with a group of 2-3 people and have them suggest a partnership, how they would implement, etc. Scenario – our school is having a lot of trouble with prescription drugs – what can you offer? Our school is having trouble with kids eating school lunch – they throw away a lot of food. • Pair 2 people – hand out index cards of 2 colors – one with a program the school would like to have – the other with the name of an organization and what they could contribute eg., EFNEP – nutrition education • Write down two principles that you could not bend in working with a school on a program. Share.

27. Schools as Learning Communities • A school learning community works with many partners to increase students’ learning opportunities and experiences. Activities to enrich students’ skills and talents may be conducted during lunch, after school, and at other times by school, family, and community partners. Sanders, M., & Harvey, A. (2002). Beyond the school walls: A case study of principal leadership for school-community collaboration. Teachers College Record, 104(7), 1345-1368.