Dan N. Johnson, Principal
Michael Monson, Eileen Clarke (ATP Co-Chair), Nancy Weimer, Marilyn Janes, Cara Allen, Jean Ehrhart, Susanne Paulsen, Maggi Straley, Lynette Riggs, Natalea Geddes, Tracy Hunsaker, Christine Higham, Rick Maughan, Susan Stephens, Elsa Akina, and Dan Johnson (Principal, ATP Chair). Not Pictured: Gayle Buxton, Teri Painter, Marian Pittman, Janet Voldness, and Sherilee Guest.
Mount Logan Middle School, a large school with 1300 students, was one of the first schools to work with the Utah State Department’s Center for Families in Education in the early 1990s to help researchers at Johns Hopkins understand the connections of state leadership and successful school programs of partnership. This work contributed to the development of the National Network of Partnership Schools. Since then, the school has “institutionalized” its work on school, family, and community partnerships, making it an inherent part of the school organization.
The school’s principal is heavily involved in coordinating its Action Team for Partnerships and overseeing the partnership program. The team is organized through the school’s Community Council, meets monthly, with ad hoc meetings as needed, and has direct links to the PTSA. Specific committees attend to the plans and implementations of activities for the various types of involvement. Tasks are delegated and no one is overburdened. The principal stated: “We feel that (the linked structures of Council, Action Team, and PTSA) is a powerful connection because of the improved communication which comes through our school-wide, site-based management model.”
Activities include literacy action plans; a focus on getting state “Trust Land Funds” back to the schools (resulting in $13,000 for this school); an open and friendly central office with Spanish spoken to help all parents feel welcome; many volunteers; a parent library; a school web site; newsletters; ParentLink phone system to send all parents information and notices of upcoming events; and special activities for Halloween and Cinco de Mayo.
This school piloted and continues to conduct SEOPs – Student Education Occupational Plans. These are three parent-teacher-student conferences each year, which involve parents in helping students and guidance counselors think about the students' work, goals, and futures. The SEPs (elementary grades) and SEOPs (middle and high schools) have become state requirements in Utah.
The school wrote a grant to US West for a MLMS Cyber Library to keep the media center open at night in order to invite families for training on the Internet, and to serve families who do not have a computer at home.
In our most recent study [annual assessment of students, parents, and teachers conducted to study the effectiveness school is making on its Action plans], parents indicated with a mean score of 4.7, on a scale of 1 to 5, that 'Mount Logan actively supports and promotes parent/teacher communication.
--Dan N. Johnson, Mount Logan Middle School.