West Hertel Academy #94
Buffalo, New York
Classrooms filled up quickly on “Bring Your Parent to School Day” at West Hertel Academy, and teachers suddenly found themselves with a much older group in their classrooms—the parents. The Parent Involvement Action Team planned the day to acquaint families with their children’s school, routines, and curriculum. More...
Mary Fleming, ATP Chair
716-816-4150
Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Highland View and College Park Elementary Schools
Greendale, Wisconsin
For their joint Time 4 Learning Charter School kindergarten program, Highland View and College Park elementary schools designed a calendar with parenting tips, resources, and activities to ensure early school success, as well as social and behavioral development. This calendar helped parents of pre-kindergarten students get involved with their children’s education from the beginning. More...
Theresa West, Principal
414-423-2750
Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Kent County High School
Worton, Maryland
Kent County High School has been hosting a Curriculum Showcase for the past few years. Staff, students, parents, local businesses, college recruiters, and community organizations display their work and share information during the spring semester. This event generates and maintains positive relationships between the school and the local community, and it gives participants an opportunity to obtain and showcase information about a variety of programs and curricula. More...
Joseph Wheeler, School Improvement Team Chair
410-778-4540 jwheeler@kent.k12.md.us
Type 6 | High School | Climate of Partnership
Parents Plus
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
With the help of Parents Plus, a federally funded Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC) in Wisconsin, John Muir Middle School put together an event that drew dads to school and left a good taste in their mouths. More...
Kelly Ranzen, VISTA
414-449-4767 kellyranzen@yahoo.com
Type 1 | Organization | Climate of Partnership
PS 295—The Studio School of Arts and Culture
Brooklyn, New York
PS 295 and MS 443 are separate, ethnically diverse performing arts schools housed in the same building. Many of the students’ recently arrived immigrant families speak languages other than English at home. To help increase parent involvement at the school, PS 295 collaborated with MS 443 to offer a free conversational English class to its parents. The class meets for one hour-long session each week in the shared library. More...
Shari Pulido, Parent Coordinator
718-965-0390 spulido@nycboe.net
Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Whittier Elementary School
Pasco, Washington
Proving that Every Minute Counts at Whittier Elementary School, the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) sponsored a parent involvement activity that counted every minute—25,534 of them—spent by parents in the school in just 17 days in January. More...
Christy McEachen, ATP Chair, 4th Grade Teacher
509-543-6750 cmceachen@psd1.org
Type 3 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Jefferson Junior High School
Naperville, Illinois
The Family Connection Program at Jefferson Junior High School is tackling an old problem with a new strategy. The problem is families who need financial help for school expenses. The families and staff of Jefferson have been helping their friends and neighbors who may have lost a job or encountered other financial problems. Family Connection is a group of Jefferson students, families, staff members, and business partners working together to lend a helping hand to families facing difficult circumstances. More...
Katie O'Shea,
katOsh6@aol.com
Type 3 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership
Southside Elementary School #93
Buffalo, New York
At the close of each academic year, Southside Elementary students gather in the parking lot with their families—and throw pies at the principal! That and the faculty dunking booth are undoubtedly the most fun at Family Fun Night, a chance to celebrate students’ accomplishments and let them unwind with food, games, and raffles. More...
Marilynne Kreibel,
716-816-4818
Type 3 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Chappell Elementary School
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Chappell Elementary School offers free family activities every month. The array of events is enticing: movie nights, chili bingo, holiday dinners, family photo nights, Mardi Gras dances, costume balls, roller skating, and art fairs. These events get families involved in the school, help them get acquainted with teachers and staff, and provide activities families can do together. Each evening includes a family dinner along with a free gift, such as a book or family photo. More...
Jennifer Kutska, AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer
920-405-2630 jkutska@greenbay.k12.wi.us
Type 3 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Parents Plus
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
With an armload of free tickets to a popular ice-skating show, Parents Plus helped a small Milwaukee elementary school launch its Action Team for Partnerships (ATP). Parents who completed a survey on school needs and volunteer potential received a free ticket and transportation for every family member to the touring ice show. In return, the school got almost a 100 percent response to its surveys, giving it a strong foundation for its parent involvement program. More...
Kristin Danielson, VISTA Volunteer
414-449-4767 k.danielson@parentspluswi.org
Type 5 | Organization | Climate of Partnership
Rhode Island Parent Information and Resource Center
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
How friendly is your school? Do parents feel welcome? Can visitors find their way to the office? The restrooms? Are letters to families concise and well written? Is the school’s website up to date and easy to access? More...
Kathleen Kenney, Project Coordinator
401-727-4144 ext. 124 kenney@ripin.org
Type 5 | Organization | Climate of Partnership
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Each May, the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf honors its students’ mothers with a Mother’s Day Tea Party. This event recognizes the mothers’ contributions, provides an opportunity for the mothers to visit their children at school, and sets an example for the students so they can appreciate what their mothers do for them. The initiative ties in with the School Improvement Plan (SIP) goal of increasing family and community participation. More...
Tina Pakis, Family Involvement Coordinator
215-951-4765 tpakis@psd.org
Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Sherman Elementary School
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Families are invited to a night out at Sherman Elementary School three times a year. The evening starts with dinner in the cafeteria, and then comes the serious part—for parents, at least. They go to the library for workshops. The children go to the gym for fun and games. More...
Kimberley Winkelmann, Partnership Coordinator
715-852-4807 kwinkelmann@ecasd.k12.wi.us
Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Carstens Elementary School
Detroit, Michigan
Carstens Elementary School’s Parent Involvement Planning Team established a Parent University, where the parents of at-risk children could brush up on or acquire the skills they need to be effective partners in their children’s education. The Parent University offered 16 weeks of classes on relevant parenting topics. The program also familiarized parents with local school policies and procedures, giving them an opportunity to be more actively involved in school governance through the PTA and School Improvement Team. More...
Abby A. Phelps, Parent-Community Service Coordinator
313-852-8072 abby.phelps@detroitk12.org
Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Steeple Run Elementary School
Naperville, Illinois
Parents and administrators at Steeple Run Elementary School took a hint from other schools in their district on how to improve communication. When they heard about Parent-Principal Coffees at a district celebration of best practices, they decided such get-togethers might work for them. More...
Michael Scorzo,
630-420-6385
Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Roosevelt ECC #65
Buffalo, New York
Just as the school’s namesake, President Theodore Roosevelt, guided America into the 20th Century, the Roosevelt Early Childhood Center is helping its families adapt to the 21st Century with a technology initiative. Teddy in the 21st Century is an attempt to improve communications between the school and its families, spearheaded by Roosevelt’s Parent Involvement Action Team. More...
Jan Kramer, ATP Chair and Building Reading Chair
716-816-3430
Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Roger Wolcott Early Childhood Center
Windsor, Connecticut
The stars shone brightly at Roger Wolcott Early Childhood Center during a fashion and variety show featuring the kindergarten students who attend the center’s before- and after-school program. The youngsters from the after-school Tree House program were the stars on stage, of course. They modeled clothing and performed a song in sign language. More...
Betsey Lepak, Family Resource Center Leader
860-246-9032 elepak@windsorct.org
Type 6 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
John Tyler Elementary School
Hampton, Virginia
The Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at Tyler Elementary is always looking for projects that will meet the needs of its students and their families. Hurricane Katrina gave them the opportunity to repeat a highly successful activity: the Tiger Closet Coat and Clothes Exchange, named after the school’s feline mascot. More...
Helema Vandivier, Parent Involvement Facilitator
757-727-0995 hvandivier@sbo.hampton.k12.va.us
Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Abrams Elementary School
Abrams, Wisconsin
Abrams Elementary turned two trophy cases in its main lobby into outreach opportunities, presenting changing displays that are bringing its families closer together and the community into the school. To help its families, who come from a wide area, get to know each other better, the school created a Family of the Week display. In the second trophy case, it hosts the Community Artist of the Month. More...
George Georgia, Principal
920-826-5819 geogeorg@mail.ocontofalls.k12.wi.us
Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Whittier Elementary School
Waukesha, Wisconsin
To get more parents involved at Whittier Elementary, the school sent out a volunteer survey, asking families what type of activities they might be willing to volunteer for — field trips, health services, classroom projects, school decision making, or special events. The survey also asked what time of the day and year is most convenient for parents to volunteer. More...
Lisa Fusco, VISTA
Type 3 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership
Longfellow Elementary School
Pasco, Washington
Going back to school at the end of summer vacation is no picnic—unless you go to Longfellow Elementary. Then, your year gets off to a friendly start with an evening of food and fun on the school playground. More...