Training Formula B Readiness for Partnerships/ Building Awareness for Family Engagement

Community Organizing: A powerful strategy to improve schools Organizing Successes: Education funding Equitable distribution of resources Access to college preparatory courses Teacher recruitment and retention in hard-to-staff schools (Mediratta, Shah, and Mc Alister, 2009) 2

Community Organizing (2) Community organizing for education reform focuses on working “with”—not on behalf of—low-income communities of color to increase the power of residents to speak and act for themselves. The Strengths and Challenges of Community organizing as an education reform, Annenburg Institute for School Reform 3

Broadcasting the Basics Title 1/SIG requires communication with families / communities. First steps: Who – are the schools receiving the SIG? What –is the SIG? Where – will services be provided? When – is the time frame of the SIG? Why – was our school selected? (School achievement data, etc.) How – will we succeed/ How will families/ communities partner to help the school improve? 4

Social Marketing Uses commercial marketing technologies. Influence rather than force change. Results in voluntary behavior change. Targets specific audiences. 5

Definition Family and community engagement means strategies to increase the involvement and contributions, in both school-based and home based settings, of parents and community partners that are designed to support classroom instruction and increase student achievement. (School Improvement Grant (SIG) Legislation ) 6

Keys to Powerful Partnerships Building Relationships: A steady focus on developing trust and respect among all members of the school community is linked to higher performance. Linking to Learning: When parent and community involvement is focused on student learning it has a greater effect on achievement. 7

Reaching Out to Families from Diverse Cultures Meet with families in their communities. Plan informal opportunities for contact and building trust. Identify a liaison person. Ask parents about their needs, interests, and priorities. Base programs on parent and educator priorities and needs. 14

Reaching Out to Families from Diverse Cultures (2) Develop clear guidelines about how parents can support their child‘s learning. Offer options for parent education and support. Develop theme-based curriculum units that draw upon cultures about which you are learning more. Collaborate with colleagues. Explore your own cultural values and assumptions. 9

Current efforts to engage families Data workshops to help families/community members understand how data is used to improve achievement; Data provided in plain language and connected to concepts in daily life; Workshops conducted that help families understand what’s going on in the classroom; 10 Adapted from A New Wave of Evidence (Henderson and Mapp, 2002)

Current efforts to engage families (2) Student work displayed in prominent places throughout the school and families provided information on what high quality work looks like; Family learning activities added to newsletters, organized family literacy /math nights; Student achievement data used to develop programs for families; strengthened family-school compacts to focus on grade level academic goals; 11 Adapted from A New Wave of Evidence (Henderson and Mapp, 2002)

Current efforts to engage families (3) Families included on school improvement teams and provided in-put into the planning process and welcomed in grade level planning meetings; Assisted families in understanding requirements for high school/advanced placement courses/job requirements/career/college planning; Implement family/community reforms to improve schools. 12 Adapted from A New Wave of Evidence (Henderson and Mapp, 2002)

Pulling it all Together Essential ingredients for planning include: Basic level of trust Participant input Recognition of importance of all participants NEA Urban Initiatives-Family School Community Partnerships 13

Pulling it all Together (2) Climate setting Acceptance of partnership concept Willingness to change NEA Urban Initiatives-Family School Community Partnerships 14

Stages of Action Planning Stage 1 - Collect data Stage 2 - Analyze data Stage 3 - Set a goal Stage 4 - Make a plan Stage 5 - Implement plan Stage 6 - Evaluate Stage 7 - Celebrate Success 15 NEA Urban Initiatives-Family School Community Partnerships