How much do programs of school, family, and community partnerships cost, and what are the results of the investments? Using 1998 UPDATE data from 439 schools, 53 districts, and 8 state departments of education in the National Network of Partnership Schools, the following summarizes how programs of partnership are funded.
Levels and sources of funds. Schools, districts, and states draw from a variety of sources including federal, state, local, and other funds to support their partnership programs and staff, including Title I, Goals 2000, Title VI, Title VII, and Safe and Drug Free Schools allocations.
School data. Reported “adequate” funding was more important than the absolute level of funding for improving the quality of schools’ partnership programs. Program quality improves when adequate funding persists for two years or grows from inadequate to adequate levels. By contrast, program quality stalls when inadequate funding persists or when funding declines over time.
District data. Some districts in the sample are located in states that also joined the National Network. These districts reported significantly higher state technical assistance, general funds, and competitive grants for improving partnerships than districts in states that are not Network members.
Districts using Title I funds for partnerships have more full-time facilitators and support from educators and families to help schools improve their partnership programs.
Districts with a line item in their budgets for partnerships report higher quality programs with more district leadership activities, more facilitation of schools, and greater support from colleagues for partnerships.
Per Pupil Expenditure. The data from Network members helped estimate a “per pupil expenditure” that is needed to support staff and program costs for partnerships at the state, district, and school levels. On average, about $10-$12 per student covers program costs at the school level; about $5-$7 per student supports programs at the district level; and about $0.15-$0.25 per student supports leadership and programs at the state level. For less than $20 per student per year, all states, districts, and schools could begin to build productive partnership programs. This remarkably reasonable level of funding is available from federal, state, and local programs that already emphasize the importance of school, family, and community partnerships for student success.
From: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Clark, L. A., and Van Voorhis, F. E. (1999). Costs and benefits: School, district, and state funding for programs of school, family, and community partnerships. paper presented at the 1999 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago.