Jane Wernette, Action Team Chair; Susan Stuckey, Principal (Naperville Community Unit School District 203)
Row 1: Christine Johnson, Kathy Burns, Susan Stuckey (Principal), Debby Obreicht, Maria Vasich, Julie Stern, and Jim Polites. Row 2: Jane Wernette (ATP Co-Chair), Lisa Trychta, Kathleen Jackson, Amy Vander Veen, Liz Loy, and Firoza Mohideen (ATP Co-Chair). Row 3: Jessica Jozwiak, Mary Kay Henry, Nancy Oij, Lynn Weiss, Sue Sheehan, Nancy Malesky, Robin Moss, Jeanne Coyne, Becky Fox, Jeanne Schimeck, and Debbie Whang.
A large team of over twenty teachers and parents representing each grade level, administrators, and others work together on the school’s program of partnership. Their goal is to ensure excellent and exciting education for all students at Highlands. Three co-chairs conduct meetings, oversee plans, identify new members, and help the team evaluate their activities. Committees focus on each of the six types of involvement. The team comes together for a brainstorming and planning session at the start of the year to review the action plan, add ideas, delegate responsibilities, and finalize the schedule for the year. Their detailed plan explains every major activity for the year, who is responsible, when it will be conducted, and its goal. All work on partnerships is linked to the Building Leadership Team and to the school improvement plan. A new principal at the school was easily integrated onto the Action Team and is a strong supporter of the team and its activities.
Many activities are conducted throughout the year. All parents receive a two-sided flyer that gives the year’s partnership activities, names and contact information for the Action Team leaders, and how to become involved. Information also is given to all parents on the curriculum, policies, practices, and how to connect with others at each grade level.
A business partner helped set up a bank at the school. Students work with a senior citizens’ residence on many projects that link achievement to the interests of seniors. The team conducts family education nights, math nights, literacy programs, technology nights, games around the world, and other activities that increase information, student achievement, and school spirit.
The school’s Action Team for Partnerships is assisted by the District’s Core Team for Partnerships, which helps schools strengthen partnership activities and evaluate their work.
The Network provides valuable resources on how to organize an effective school, family, and community partnerships team, as well as lots of great ideas for programs and activities. . . . (Our) team brings families and the community into the school to work directly with teachers to develop programs and activities that will benefit students; learning and development. This process . . . helps each group become sensitive to the needs and responsibilities of the other two. We have found that SFCP team meetings provide a great forum to obtain parent, community, and teacher input into school decisions and to allow “issues” to be raised in a constructive and “solution-driven” environment.
--Jane Wernette and Susan Stuckey, Highlands Elementary School