Maureen Heintz, Principal (Northwest School District)
Row 1: Lisette Johnson and Stephen Morris (Students). Row 2: Kerri Dugan, Maureen Heintz (Principal), and Paula Heather. Row 3: Judy Neller, Vicki Rohlfer, Kelly Cullum, Rose Fromme (ATP Chair), and Pat Murray.
Colerain High School is demonstrating how and why school, family, and community partnerships continue to be important for students’ success through the high school years. Action Team for Partnerships is one of the schools’ committees within the High Schools That Works program.
Among the activities conducted in 2000-2001 were weekly Cardinal Parent Connection meetings and Parents’ Night Out on important topics for parents; Open House meetings; articles on partnerships in the neighborhood press and city papers; an organized volunteer program; strong links to the PTA; and parent and student feedback on the school programs and activities. The high school participates in the State of Ohio’s Family-School Connections Survey Study. The team discovered that parents were more positive about the school than were the teachers. The Action Team takes that as a challenge to involve more teachers next year in the school’s partnership program and community life.
The assistant principal explained: “Parents had begun to feel less connected, and less welcome in the building. . . . Our Family/School Involvement team. . . has done an outstanding job of bridging the gap . . . with many welcoming activities and important information for parents. But the work is far from over. (Our team) has great plans to continue to improve communication between home and school, and we will work to increase support from our community for our students.”
Over the past four years, the school reports more parental attendance at school meetings and at parent-teacher conferences, and fewer student failures, fewer fights, suspensions, and expulsions, increased attendance, more effective recruitment of students from local parochial and public schools, and more successful student transitions into high school as a result of their multi-faceted efforts and the involvement of families.
Colerain’s Action Team Chairperson will be the school’s new Principal. She reports that she will continue to be an active member of the Action Team and will strongly support school, family, and community partnerships.
The National Network of Partnership Schools helps you every step of the way. They keep in close contact. (We do) UPDATE (an end of year evaluation) and contribute to Promising Partnership Practices to keep (our) program a priority. We expect that parents are setting an example for their children, who will then be stronger partners in their own children’s education
--Maureen Heintz, Colerain High School