Forming Community-Based Organizations/ School Partnerships

1. NABE 2003 January 31 2003 Forming Community-Based Organizations/ School Partnerships Parent and Community Involvement Institute New Orleans, LA Osterling NABE 2003

2. Strengthening Latino Parental Involvement by Forming Community-Based Organizations/ School Partnerships Jorge P. Osterling, Ph.D. George Mason University Fairfax, VA Osterling NABE 2003

3. Session Objectives • Participants will engage in a Freirean participatory dialogue about the alternative ways bilingual educators can develop partnerships between community-based organizations and schools in order to strengthen parental involvement. Osterling NABE 2003

4. Participatory Dialogue Problem-Posing and Critical Thinking Osterling NABE 2003

5. Our Tool for Today’s Dialogue: Freire’s Educational Model Three stages of educational process Listening Participatory Dialogue Praxis/action Osterling NABE 2003

6. OverviewChanging Times – New Challenges • Empowering Parents: Expanding Beyond Traditional Parental Involvement Activities • School Culture: Barrier for Change or Bridge for Improvement. • Broadening American school’s community partnerships: Engaging people from all cultures and walks of life. Osterling NABE 2003

7. OverviewChanging Times – New Challenges • Involving parents and members of the larger community in the school's decision-making processes. • The Latino Population in the United States. • How do you form community-based organizations and school partnerships which strengthen Latino parental involvement? Osterling NABE 2003

8. School CultureBarrier or Bridge? • When schools seek to improve while adapting to the new demographics, it is necessary to focus on the values, beliefs, and norms of both the school and the community. (Sarason, 1982; Deal and Peterson, 1990). Osterling NABE 2003

9. School CultureBarrier or Bridge?(Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1992). • The culture of the school can be described as the existence of an interplay between three factors: • The attitudes and beliefs of persons both inside the school and in the external environment, • The cultural norms of the school, and • The relationships between persons in the school. • Each of these factors may present barriers to change or serve as a bridge to long-lasting implementation of school improvement. Osterling NABE 2003

10. Community-based OrganizationsCBOs • CBOs represent a natural, yet largely untapped, source of leadership for community-based efforts to: • Support English Language Learners. • Strengthen Latino parental involvement. Cf. Carolyn Temple Adger (2000). School/ Community Partnerships to Support Language Minority Students. CREDE Osterling NABE 2003

11. Building Bridges with CBOs Osterling NABE 2003

12. Changing Times New Challenges • During the latter part of the 20th Century major demographic changes have taken place throughout the United States. • As a result, traditional parent associations have been less able to play their traditional role. • Need to engage more members of the larger community in the school's decision-making processes. Osterling NABE 2003

13. Changing Times New Challenges • Minority parents often find it difficult to guide their children through the American educational process: • Many parents do not understand the process; • Communication problems with teachers and administrators due to cultural, linguistic barriers. • Many schools lack parental outreach programs to combat these difficulties. Osterling NABE 2003

14. CBO – School Partnerships CBOs already have a variety of relationships with the children and parents in their neighborhoods (i.e., the core constituency of public schools). Many already collaborate with local schools in after-school activities. Osterling NABE 2003

15. CBO -- School Partnerships • CBOs’ neighborhood focus enables them to relate to, know, and thus be more responsive to the needs of local or special populations than mainstream institutions. Osterling NABE 2003

16. Latino CBOSchool Partnerships Existing Latino CBOs can be invited into partnerships with local schools. When schools partner with these local organizations, it can be a catalyst to developing parental involvement. Osterling NABE 2003

17. Latino CBOs • In our communities there are Latino CBOs and community leaders who with very limited resources play a pivotal role in meeting unmet needs and pushing for quality services. • Many are not yet involved with our schools. Osterling NABE 2003

18. Latino CBOs • There are also groups that no one considers at all (on either school or Latino parent side) that are NOT pushing for quality services and that do not see themselves as resources. Many of them may be informal. • A men’s soccer group, a women’s quilting group, a group that teaches national dances to kids … all of these operating in the REAL Latino world) Osterling NABE 2003

19. Latino CBOs • It is just as essential to find them and help them see how they can be resources Osterling NABE 2003

20. Empowerment • An intentional, ongoing process centered in the local community, involving mutual respect, critical reflection, caring, and group participation, through which people lacking an equal share of resources gain greater access to and control over thoseresources. cited in D.D. Perkings & Zimmerman, 1995, p. 570, and by Rappaport, 1999). Osterling NABE 2003

21. Expanding Beyond Traditional Parental Involvement Activities • Schools must give all parents –including those from culturally andlinguistically diverse groups-- the power to become involved in the schools their children attend. Osterling NABE 2003

22. Latino Population The United States Latinos now number 37 million (Census, 2003) During the 1995 – 2050 period, the percentage of Latino residents age 5-24 is projected to increase by 222 percent. Osterling NABE 2003

23. A Word of Caution • Latinos are: • An unusually diverse community; • Share a common language, • But, there are many differences: • Socioeconomic and academic backgrounds; • Culture and ethnicity; • Nationality Osterling NABE 2003

24. Latino High School Completion Rate • In 2000, the Latino high school completion rate was 64.1 % [1972, was 56.2%]. • Trend has been fairly similar over the past three decades. Osterling NABE 2003

25. Angela Valenzuela’sSubtractive Schooling • Subtractive schooling is a process by which schools "subtract resources" from U.S.-Mexican youth. • Mexican-born students academically outperform students from families with a longer history in this country. • Valenzuela, Angela.(1999). Subtractive schooling: U.S./Mexican youth and the politics of caring. Albany: State University of New York Press. Osterling NABE 2003

26. Angela Valenzuela’sSubtractive Schooling • The decline in the academic achievement of Mexican-descent students across the generations is a perplexing phenomena that contradicts the pattern of upward academic mobility thought to be characteristic of other student groups in the United States. Osterling NABE 2003

27. Many Latinos Excel Academically • Many Latino students are doing very well in school, and go on to complete college. Osterling NABE 2003

28. Is it possible to reverse the trend of Latino failure? Sí, se puede! UFW Slogan, 1960s Osterling NABE 2003

29. How can American Schools Successfully meet the needs its Latino students? There is No Silver Bullet!!! Schools Need a High Level of Community, Family, and Parental Involvement Osterling NABE 2003

30. Building Bridges with CBOs Osterling NABE 2003

31. Parent Involvement School - Families • People have different views of what parent involvement is. • There are also differences in the perceived roles of teachers and parents. Osterling NABE 2003

32. Parental InvolvementDifferent Views & Goals Parents participating in formal school activities/ events; Parents serving as classroom aides or working on fund-raising projects. Parents also participate in decision-making bodies, in school governance, in creating programs to help teachers and administrators meet needs. Parents being involved at home in informal activities: Creating a learning environment; Reading and listening to children read; Instilling cultural values; Sending them to school well fed, clean, and rested. Cf. Sribner, Young, and Pedroza (1999). Osterling NABE 2003

33. Exploring Cultural ExperiencesDiverse Schools and Classrooms • Educators should explore their own cultural experiences, values, and attitudes as they relate to child rearing practices in school. • Educators should learn as much as possible from parents about their cultural experiences, values, and attitudes (i.e., image of authority figures, views about schools, etc.). Osterling NABE 2003

34. Is this a Cultural Issue? • Latino parents tend to separate the school system and home and treat them as different domains: • The role of schools is to instill knowledge and teach their children. • The role of parents is to provide nurturance, and teach morals, respect and good behavior, Osterling NABE 2003

35. Empowerment in CarpinteriaConcha Delgado-Gaitan’sCenter for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Children • Schools, knowingly or unknowingly, often assume that Latino parents know how to interact with school personnel. • However, because they come from very different educational traditions, most of these parents do not. As a result, they feel powerless to participate in the school. Osterling NABE 2003

36. Empowerment in CarpinteriaConcha Delgado-Gaitan’sCenter for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Children When Latino parents are "empowered" with the knowledge of how to work cooperatively with school personnel to resolve issues pertaining to their children, they become more active in the school. Osterling NABE 2003

37. 21st Century Challenge Giving Meaningful Voices to All Parents Osterling NABE 2003

38. Partnering with CBOs An Option or an Alternative? • Traditional, bureaucratic, parent involvement mechanisms established by school systems. • Latino CBOs. Osterling NABE 2003

39. Successful PartnershipsIssues Osterling NABE 2003

40. Best Practices • Establishing community networks and partnerships with other CBOs and agencies already serving Latino families. • Building trust and personal relationships; • When publications are translated, making sure they are culturally acceptable. Attention to literacy is important. Osterling NABE 2003

41. Participatory Dialogue Brainstorming Strengthening Latino Parent Leadership Through Partnerships Osterling NABE 2003

42. Theme One: Community Involvement • How can community leaders and faith-based organizations: • Inform and educate parents about the educational opportunities available for every child? • Encourage their local officials to take advantage of all federal, state, and local educational opportunities? Osterling NABE 2003

43. Theme Two: Developing Partnerships Community • Where can schools look for CBOs and informal groups? • How can they engage them? • How what the CBO is already doing can be of benefit to the school and children? Osterling NABE 2003

44. Theme Three: Developing Policies • How can State Educational Agencies (SEAs) develop policies that encourage and enable their school districts (LEAs) and schools to promote successful school-community partnerships that are responsive to the diverse populations they serve? Osterling NABE 2003

45. Theme Four: Reciprocal Partnerships • How can SEAs and LEAs establish true partnerships in which boththe leadership of CBOsand school personnel learn from each other and find ways in which they can mutually support their efforts of educating all children? Osterling NABE 2003

46. Thank you! Thank you for this rich opportunity to explore new ways to strengthen Latino parent leadership through the development of community-based/ school partnerships. Jorge P. Osterling <josterli@gmu.edu> Osterling NABE 2003