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| Row 1: Sarah Hanke, Marion Vehlow, Christine Smith, and Jane Hamburg. Row 2: Teri Hess, Rick Hall, Amanda Kressel, Patti Seamon, and Wendy Hazuga. Not Pictured: Terry O'Connell (Principal/NNPS Key Contact). |
Grant Elementary School's Site Council took responsibility for being the Action Team for Partnerships. Their work did not slow parent involvement activities. Rather, it emphasized the need to evaluate the program to meet the needs of students, parents, and teachers. The team started the year by sharing the school's mission statement and plans for partnership. Copies were provided to the school staff and published in the school newsletter for feedback from teachers and parents.
Before each team meeting, the principal sends out a tentative agenda and notes from the previous meeting. Members prepare ideas, reactions, and suggestions. During these meetings, Site Council-Action Team members plan events, volunteer as leaders, review activities that were conducted, and set the agenda for meetings to follow. To unify the school's involvement efforts, the Site Council-Action Team conducted its first meeting of the year as a potluck dinner with the school's PTO.
In 2005, school improvement goals included improving students' social skills, fostering a positive sense of community, developing strong student citizens, and helping students plan for the future. Several team members attended a Business/Education Leadership Summit on the changing needs of the workplace and how schools can meet them. The Site Council-Action Team drafted a “Leadership in Action” plan and wrote a proposal for “Banking on the Future.” A local bank (where a parent on the team worked) provided $800 and specific curricular activities to help fourth- and fifth-grade students learn to reason, communicate, problem-solve, and work collaboratively. Students developed important habits such as eye contact, polite conversation, and using good manners that, despite their importance for success in life, are not always reinforced in school.
The Site Council-Action Team also conducted involvement activities to aid academics, notably its popular Families and Children Together (FACT) Nights. At the monthly activities on reading, writing, spelling, or math, families shared a meal and participated in an assortment of activities (e.g., math explorations) that required parents and students to work together. Attendance increased because the team sent second invitations to parents before each event. At the final FACT night, a survey asked for reactions. Parents were overwhelmingly positive (98%) about FACT. They suggested that childcare should be provided during the Educational Information segment for parents. This is planned for the next school year.
Another successful activity featured school-wide themes in language arts. Each month, all students took home a common activity to discuss with a family member. For example, in the spring a paper flower prompted students to talk with a parent and write a spring poem. Students' work was displayed at school and books of poems and artwork were compiled and shared with all classrooms. The school tries to balance activities to involve families with students at school and at home.
At the end of the year, the Site Council-Action Team evaluated the progress of its program. In addition to thanking outgoing members for their hard work and dedication, the team looked over activities that were conducted to decide whether to continue them and how to improve them to further increase student success in the next school year.