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PART I: the “Big Stories” in Family-School-Community Partnerships

PART I: the “Big Stories” in Family-School-Community Partnerships. CESA 4 Oct. 30, 2012. Big Story #1. Wisconsin’s Population is Changing. Why Family Engagement is urgent in Wisconsin. FRL in 2005. FRL 2010. Changing Demographics of Wisconsin School Population.

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PART I: the “Big Stories” in Family-School-Community Partnerships

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  1. PART I:the “Big Stories” in Family-School-Community Partnerships CESA 4 Oct. 30, 2012

  2. Big Story #1 Wisconsin’s Population is Changing

  3. Why Family Engagement is urgent in Wisconsin FRL in 2005 FRL 2010

  4. Changing Demographics of Wisconsin School Population

  5. Beat The Odds: Engage Families! Students whose parents are involved in their education, no matter what their income or background, are more likely to: • Earn higher grades and test scores, and enroll in higher-level programs • Be promoted, pass their classes and earn credits • Attend school regularly • Have better social skills, show improved behavior and adapt well to school • Graduate and go on to post-secondary education.When parents are involved, schools benefit, too -– from higher morale, increased teacher effectiveness, and greater job satisfaction.

  6. Effective PartnershipsBenefit Teachers Teachers in effective partnership schools: • Understand families’ goals, efforts, and strengths • Feel more confident in engaging parents in children’s learning • Recognize the contributions all families make to children’s learning • Enjoy more support from families • Maximize use of community resources

  7. What low-income families v. educator groups want from schools Better facilities in poor neighborhoods Smaller class sizes Clear pathways to college Quality, challenging instruction; better teachers Translation/bilingual services Fairer discipline Extra support for at-risk students Low-income families Educator groups • Professional collaboration • Better student assessments • Help for new teachers • Site-based management • High academic standards • Greater district role in school reform • Academic support and intervention programs • Block scheduling for smaller learning communities

  8. Help Parents Move from Supply to Demand Schools must help marginalized, supply parents find a way to “play the game.” Schools should ask parents to • Know how their children are doing, • Engage in basic activities at home, and • Communicate regularly with the school, not just when their child encounters problems. Family engagement gives families the tools to do this! -- Crew, R., & Dyja, T. (2007) Only connect: The way to save our schools

  9. Starting Principles for engaging parents • School must initiate partnerships with families • Building relationships is the first step to engaging parents in other ways • Assume all parents want children to succeed; identify barriers to making that happen • Treat families like they know a lot; use their “funds of knowledge” • Involve families in planning from the start

  10. Karen Mapp video excerpt The Joining Process http://www.iowaparents.org/engaging-families-in-student-learning See The Joining Process handout

  11. Joining Process Activity • Pretend that you have a family new to the United State and Wisconsin who are coming in for their first Parent-Teacher Conference with their child. • Write down several questions you would ask the parents to get to know a little more about them and their child, their culture. • We’ll share our answers and compare them to an already-compiled list.

  12. Big Story #2 Schools Do Better When Parents Have a Voice in School Decisions

  13. Parent Leadership Models Epstein’s Six Types of Family-School-Community Partnerships: Parenting and Family Skills Communicating Volunteering Learning at Home Decision making Community Collaboration Weiss and Stephen’s Five Roles of Parents: As supporters of learning As effective decision makers As leaders As advocates As partners in shared accountability

  14. Continuum of Parent Empowerment in Children’s Learning School’s goal is to: Examples:

  15. Parent-Teacher Action Research Investigates a question important to school community (p 196 Bake Sale): • Form a team and choose a facilitator • Agree on goals and group rules • Determine parents’ priorities and interests by conducting surveys, interviews • Decide on plan of action for further study • Compile and communicate results • Decide on next steps for school, community Handout: How Can Elementary Teachers Collaborate More Effectively with Parents to Support Literacy Learning? www.hfrp.org

  16. Ideas for Parent-Teacher Action Research • Improving student academic achievement • What are CCSS? What can parents do? • Helping children become literate: an overview of reading instruction • Expectations for homework • Helping families use school data to improve student achievement • Improving student attendance or behavior • Developing self-respect and self-confidence • School safety • School transitions

  17. Parent Group Ideas • Focus Groups • Study Circles • Book Clubs • Learning Communities • Parent Advisory Committee • English Learners Advisory Committee • Community Planning Task Force

  18. Parent Leadership Roles • Mentor for Other Parents • Co-Trainer • Event Organizer • Participant in Focus Groups • Member of Hiring Committees • Participant at Conferences and Working Meetings • Participant in Quality Improvement / Evaluation Activities • Grant reviewer • Contributor to Written and Audiovisual Materials • Advocate for Individuals, Families and / or Programs • Translator of materials or interpreter for families • Task Force, Advisory Board, or Steering Committee Member

  19. Effective Practices Parent University: Wausau School District WatchDOGs: www.fathers.com/watchdogs Inter-Cambrio Dinners: English/Spanish language exchange with families Midvale Elementary, Madison Latino Parent Association: Washington Elementary Whitewater http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/ppp/2004/pdf/63.pdf “Dust off” School-Parent Compacts (CT): http://schoolparentcompact.org/about/ Welcome Walk-Through: Ohio virtual tour, Connecticut Toolkit http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=528

  20. Parent Voice Activity Survey: • How Well is Your School Sharing Power and Practicing Democracy? http://www.iowaparents.org/files/toolkit/2-3.pdf See handout

  21. Big Story #3 Parents Want to Link to Student Learning

  22. What’s New? Resources for Families! • Agenda 2017 Overview, Fact Sheets, and video: http://dpi.wi.gov/sprntdnt/2017_resources.html • School Report Cards and Parent Guide: http://dpi.wi.gov/oea/acct/accountability.html • Common Core State Standards • DPI Fact Sheet: http://dpi.wi.gov/sprntdnt/pdf/fs-ac_std.pdf • Hunt Institute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IGD9oLofks&lr=1 • National PTA Parent Guides: http://www.pta.org/4446.htm • Engage NY Shifts for Students and Parents: http://engageny.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Shifts-for-Students-and-Parents.pdf

  23. Talking to Families about the School Report Card At Parent-Teacher Conferences: • Share School Report Card goals to identify areas of strength and improvement in school • Know what School Report Card says about learning in your school • Talk about actions school staff is taking to continue improving student learning • Emphasize the important role families play • Talk about your goals to communicate/work with families to help student progress • Encourage parents to talk with you as year progresses

  24. PALS-K Resources • PALS-K Parent Info: http://www.palswisconsin.info/parents.html PALS Tasks: http://www.palswisconsin.info/pals_wi.html • Rhyme Awareness • Beginning Sound Awareness • Alphabet Knowledge • Letter Sounds • Spelling • Concept of Word • Word Recognition in Isolation (Optional) Read Wisconsin website: www.readwisconsin.net

  25. Do Family Engagement Differently Step Up Don’t Step Up • Display student work along with scoring guides to rate levels of performance • Contact families regularly via e-mail, Friday folders, phone • Hold family learning nights • Offer student-led family conferences where students discuss work • Hold college planning workshops for families • Teacher does an “Autumn Colors” bulletin board • Call home only when students are in trouble • Offer parenting classes • Focus on student behavior, shortcomings at P-T conferences • Hang posters about drug abuse/pregnancy prevention

  26. Beyond Fliers Home:Deepen Home-School Communications Now For Higher Expectations • Send home lots of paper, tip sheets, newsletters • Send home the same thing to every family • Use one way to get information out to everyone • Send home specific strategies that match classroom learning • Individualize, explain reports, translate if needed • Vary in many ways: use cover letters, video web tutorial, workshops

  27. Learning with FamiliesFAMILY LEARNING NIGHTS • Ask families to help pick a topic: reading, math, science, student testing, family fitness, family heritage, games, etc. • Explain changes: CCSS, school report cards, higher expectations, safe and respectful schools • Invite family & community members to help plan, carry out, and contribute • Feature activities for families to learn together • Be creative; make it fun! • Get the word out – 7 x 7 ways • Remove a “life burden” for families: food, childcare, transportation

  28. Resources for Family Learning Nights • Promising Practices: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/ppp/2011/index.htm • Family Night Activities: http://www.ehow.com/info_7926635_family-learning-night-activities.html • Family Fitness Night guide: http://www.boxtops4education.com/familyfitnessnight/_files/BTFE_FFN_Guide201011.pdf • Family Reading Night, book by NNPS: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/publications/family-reading-night.htm

  29. Karen Mapp Video Excerpt #2 How? Partners for Learning http://www.iowaparents.org/engaging-families-in-student-learning

  30. Link to Learning Activity • Write down one successful activity that your school conducts to link families to student learning • Describe how it supports your school goals or school improvement plan • With discussion, think of 2-3 more ways you could improve this practice to: • Engage more families • Strengthen connections to learning-at-home • Connect it to other school family engagement efforts

  31. Big Story #4 Parents Want to Know How to Use Student Data

  32. Why Share Data with Families? “Instead of simply listening to a teacher's ideas …. data helps a parent to truly hear what the teacher is saying. When the teacher and parent look at a child's work together, the parent is …… learning, analyzing, and seeing the rationale behind the teacher's instructional decisions.” Sharing Data with Families at Parent-Teacher Conferences http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=490

  33. Sharing Student Data with Families • Explain why sharing data is important and valuable • Explain terms such as differential instruction, benchmark, MAP, Lexile, PALS, etc. • Explain how learning at school is different today • Share benchmarks and goals • Share what reading/math instruction looks like in your classroom • Ask families to share what they do at home • Describe specific activities parents can do to meet classroom goals; share online resources • Advise families how they can access student data

  34. Parent-Teacher Academic Teams Data-focused, teacher-directed parent effort: • Three group meetings with classroom teacher • Parents receive a folder with their child’s data • Together, parents set learning goals for the classroom and their child • Parents learn at-home strategies to improve their child’s achievement • One-on-one meeting with teacher to monitor child’s progress; agree on next steps

  35. Video: Parent-Teacher Action Teams • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7UPA_F-AWU

  36. Part II: The Partnership Action Team and Framework

  37. Primary Components of the NNPS Model • Framework of Six Types of Involvement • Action Team for Partnerships • One-Year Action Plan for Partnerships NNPS = National Network of Partnership Schools www.partnershipschools.org

  38. Six Ways Schools Should Reach Out to Families: • Parenting: Help families build on their strengths and parenting skills. Identify resources and support to help families nurture children. • Communicating: Plan and conduct workable methods of two-way communication focused on child’s learning. • Learning at Home: Provide ways for families and school staff to develop learning goals and continue children’s learning at home and in the community to meet the goals* * most closely aligned with student achievement and academic success

  39. Six Ways, cont’d • Volunteering: Recruit and organize volunteer help from families and the community. • Decision making: Include parents in school decisions to develop leaders and represent all families in the school. • Collaborating with the Community: Identify and connect community resources to strengthen families, school programs, and student learning

  40. What is an Action Team for Partnerships? What does an ATP do? Members of an ATP work together to: Review school goals. Select, plan, and implement family and community involvement activities linked to school goals. Evaluate and continually improve partnership practices.

  41. Goal-Oriented Partnership Program SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL (SGC) writes or approves School Improvement Plan with Specific Goals Action Team for Partnerships Goal 1 Academic Goal 3 Attendance Goal 2 Academic Goal 4 Partnership Climate Family & Community Involvement Activities 1. 2. 3. 4. Family & Community Involvement Activities 1. 2. 3. 4. Family & Community Involvement Activities 1. 2. 3. 4. Family & Community Involvement Activities 1. 2. 3. 4.

  42. Who are the members of the Action Team for Partnerships? • 2-3 teachers or more • 2-3 parents/family members or more • Principal (or Assistant Principal) • Other members (nurse, counselor, community partners) • 1-2 students (on high school ATPs) Who else may serve on an ATP?

  43. HOW WILL YOUR SCHOOL ORGANIZE ANACTION TEAM FOR PARTNERSHIPS (ATP)? • WHO will be leaders (Chair/Co-Chairs) of the school’s ATP? • WHEN will the whole Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) meet? • WHICH GROUPSat your school need to hear from the ATP about its plans and progress on family and community involvement? How often? Be sure to visit the DPI Action Team Toolkit http://dpi.wi.gov/fscp/action-team.html

  44. Join the National Network of Partnership Schools! • ComprehensiveHandbook, semi-annual newsletters, annual collection of Promising Partnership Practices • Monthly e-briefs, on-call technical assistance by phone, e-mail, and website • Research-based information and resources. On-going studies to keep improving policies, programs, and practices • Coordinated planning and evaluation tools to help meet NCLB requirements for family involvement (Section 1118) • Networking opportunities to sharebest practices with other schools, districts, states, and organizations

  45. NCLB Section 1118 and NNPS NNPS helps districts and schools meet and exceed NCLB requirements for family involvement! NCLB Requirements Use NNPS Tools Write a POLICY Have parent input to policy Use NNPS Handbook. See sample policies on website. Parents on ATP. Activities for input from all families. Plan a PROGRAM “School-parent compact” AS A PLAN for school and family responsibilities Use NNPS One-Year Action Plan For Partnerships (4 pages/detailed schedule of activities) “School-parent compact” AS AN AGREEMENT Explore NNPS Pledges For Parents, Teachers, Students, Administrators CONVENE ANNUAL MEETING Inform parents of school plans for parent involvement Share the One-Year Action Plan at an Open House Meeting, in school newsletter, and on school website EVALUATE EFFECTIVENESS of parent involvement programs Use NNPS Evaluation Tools (e.g., End-of-Year Evaluations, UPDATE Surveys, other measures)

  46. Resources on Family Involvement • DPI Family-School-Community Partnerships: http://dpi.wi.gov/fscp/fscphome.html • Promising Partnership Practices, National Network of Partnership Schools: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/ppp/index.htm • Harvard Family Research Project: http://www.hfrp.org/family-involvement • SEDL (National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools): www.sedl.org/connections • Wisconsin/National PTA: www.pta.org

  47. Recommended Books • Serving on Groups That Make Decisions: A Guide for Families http://wispdg.org/pl/groups.html • Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships by Anne Henderson, Karen Mapp, et al • School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action by Joyce Epstein and Associates Ruth Anne Landsverk, Family-School-Community Partnerships DPI Title I Team, ruthanne.landsverk@dpi.wi.gov, 608-266-9757

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