Welcome to the Parent Involvement Resources for Illinois Families and Schools webinar Presented by: Joseph Banks, Illinois State Board of Education Gail Buoy, Illinois State Board of Education Marci Johnson, Illinois State Board of Education Reatha Owen, Academic Development Institute

Parent Involvement Resources for Illinois Families and Schools The second Webinar in a Parent Involvement Webinar Series Provided by the Illinois State Board of Education in partnership with the Academic Development Institute

Our Agenda Parent Involvement Resources Why Bother? Plan Your Work Work Your Plan Putting it all Together

Why Bother?

Why Parent Involvement Resources are Important? They provide parent involvement tools that relate to the school’s purpose of: 1.Providing a quality education to all children Encourage and activate parents to assume their roles Equip and support families so they can fulfill their roles effectively 2.Launching well equipped young citizens into their communities Engage students and families in activities that model responsible citizenship Equip and support families through school- community building opportunities

They provide parent involvement tools that relate to the school’s goals of: 1.Elevating student’s academic skills and assessment scores Educating families on how to help their student develop good study habits and better reading skills Enlisting parents to extend learning beyond classroom hours through quality family activities Why Parent Involvement Resources are Important?

They provide parent involvement tools that relate to the school’s goals of: (cont’d) 2. Creating a environment where families feel welcome and supported Opening doors for communication that leads to a team approach that supports learning Providing an environment where families feel supported and welcome 3. Supporting students’ social and emotional growth Why Parent Involvement Resources are Important?

They provide parent involvement tools that relate to the school’s goals of: (cont’d) 4. Cultivating professional development for staff Training and workshops that enhance the school’s work with parents 5.Enriching the school through a pool of volunteers Classroom helpers and tutors Career mentors Office assistants Campus assistance Why Parent Involvement Resources are Important?

They help to link activities to processes that are part of a larger plan – Aligning an activity’s purpose with an objective in your School Improvement Plan – Thereby avoiding all RAPIs (Random Acts of Parent Involvement)

Plan Your Work

What is the Process for Linking Parent Involvement Strategies to Learning? Do the Analysis – Here’s what you need to know: – Where you are now – Where you need to go – How you will get there Develop a working plan – That supports your school’s purpose – That supports your school’s goals

What is the Process for Linking Parent Involvement Strategies to Learning? 1.Develop a working plan – That addresses areas needing improvement – That meets the unique needs of your school – That can be realistically implemented 2.Assign responsibilities – Divide tasks among team members – Assign due dates for task completion – Hold team members accountable for the success of the team

What is the Process for Linking Parent Involvement Strategies to Learning? 3. Evaluate results – “What gets measured gets done” – Margaret Spellings, former U.S. Secretary of Education – Develop an evaluation process 4. Tweak your plan – Intelligent revisions are not possible without an evaluation process – Repeating the same actions and expecting different results…is just crazy

What is a Process for Linking Parent Involvement Strategies to Learning? Resources for Linking parent Involvement Strategies to Learning: Parent Involvement Analysis

What is the Process for Linking Parent Involvement Strategies to Learning? Repeat as often as necessary Make continuous improvement a goal in itself! Plan Do Evaluate Revise

Work Your Plan

How to Bring Your Plan to Life Examine your plan – Think about the purpose of each objective – Connect the objective to a purpose – Align actions to meet the purpose – Remember to avoid RIPIs

How to Bring Your Plan to Life Focus areas of Parent Involvement for the School Improvement Plan – Policies and Practices – Shared Leadership – Education – Communication – Connection

Policies and Practices – Policies reveal our priorities and values School Compact School Parent Involvement Policy School Visit Policy – Practices communicate them Performance of roles and responsibilities under the provisions of the compact Giving families a voice in the education of their children Creating Opportunities for families to participate How to Bring Your Plan to Life

Resource for developing sound School Parent Involvement Policy: Parent Involvement Analysis Resources Two Resources to view: 1. A Parent Involvement Rubric Analysis from the PIA online tool 2. Tips for Developing a Family Involvement Policy From Beyond the Bake Sale

Shared Leadership – School Improvement Team and School Improvement Planning – Parent Organizations – Committees or advisory groups How to Bring Your Plan to Life

Resource in Educating Staff and families CASEL IllinoisParents.org Parent Involvement Analysis

Communication – Make it two-way Requires active listening Requires a fitting response – Make it purposeful Well-timed and relative to student progress Offering support or assistance Acknowledging successes – Keep it friendly How to Bring Your Plan to Life

Resource for purposeful communication Illinois Statewide PIRC Two Resources to View: 1.Learning to Effectively Communicate with Parents – to build strong, trusting relationships 2. Communicating to parents their role in making higher education a reality for their children

Connection – Seek out and cultivate opportunities to improve existing relationships Families with families Families with school Families with students Students with teachers – Work to strengthen the learning support network How to Bring Your Plan to Life

Resource for making fruitful connections Illinois Statewide PIRC IllinoisParents.org Working With Other Parents - building relationships with other families in your school Breakthrough schools: Giano Intermediate school – The Parent Factor (p. 24)

Putting it all Together

Use Resources to: – Assess your needs – Create a plan that addresses your needs and supports your goals – Link your actions to a purpose in the pursuit of goals Putting it all Together

Use resources to help achieve your goals and soar!

Please Join Us for Our Next Webinar January 27, 2010 from 3:30 – 5:00 School - Home Communication Visit IllinoisParents.org Webinar registration information To download and view webinar sessions

Today’s Presenters Illinois State Board of Education Marci Johnson, ISBE Division Supervisor Joseph Banks, ISBE Chicago Gail Bouy, ISBE Springfield Academic Development Institute Reatha Owen, Director of Families and Schools

References Beyond the Bake Sale Anne T. Henderson, Karen L. Mapp, Vivian R. Johnson, and Don Davies CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) IllinoisParents.org (provided by the Illinois State Board of Education) Illinois PIRC National PTA PTO Today Solid Foundation Resource Manual The Academic Development Institute