Jessica Jozwiak and Lisa Trychta, Co-Chairs; Susan Stuckey, Principal (Naperville District 203)
Row 1: Maria Vasich, Amy Vanderveen, Anna Fattore, Ann Vitek, Jeanne Coyne and Robin Moss. Row 2: Jim Polites, Becky Fox, Eric Nelson, Debbie Whang, Judy Yon, Elaine Cosantino, Christine Johnson, Jane Wernette (Co-Chair), Lisa Trychta (NNPS Key Contact), Jessica Jozwiak (NNPS Key Contact), Barb Svarz, Mary Ellen Labahn and Kim McCue. Row 3: Nancy Malesky, Tatia Beckwith, Kathy Damianides, Nancy Grander, Jenny Patzelt, Susan Stuckey (Principal), Diane White, Sue Jorstad, Lynn Weiss, Sarah Gold and Mary Kay Henry.
Highlands Elementary School joined the National Network of Partnership Schools in 1996, and won a Partnership School Award in 2001. The schools' leaders for partnerships and principal changed over the year. Despite the changes, the school continued to improve its partnership program from year to year.
District leaders in Naperville share knowledge and skills with school leaders. The district offers an annual, fall orientation workshop for new principals and new team members from all schools, and provides on-going guidance and support to schools' teams for their work on partnerships. At Highlands, the leaders of the School/Family/Community Partnership Team also share knowledge, plans, and ideas with all team members and with other teachers and parents to encourage new leaders on partnerships to emerge. The program of partnerships is an on-going, regular part of school planning.
The School/Family/Community Partnership Team links to the Building Leadership Team and works in cooperation with the Home and Schools Association (parent organization). The full action team of teachers, parents, administrators, and community partners meets every other month; a parent subcommittee meets in the interim and as needed.
The school's large team for school, family, and community partnerships includes parents and teachers from all grade levels. Parent leaders are becoming expert in implementing activities for all six types of involvement. Teachers and administrators often serve as advisors and content experts on projects for parental involvement.
Activities at Highlands include Family Education Nights; Parent Coffees; annual parent surveys; business partners for a "bank at school" program; Internet Safety Night with the police department; Reading Club; Family Math, Science, Literacy, Technology Nights; Games Around the World; Family Career Night, and other activities.
Action plans are completed each spring for the next school year, with connections and collaborations with the Home and School Association. Next year, the team plans to conduct two activities that will be easy for employed parents to attend: a Dad's Breakfast with activities on a Saturday morning, and a Families Careers Night to help students see connections between their school subjects, schoolwork, and various careers.
Highlands' leaders write: "We strongly recommend a program of partnership for any school. The six types of involvement encourage a broader view of how parents, educators, and community partners can connect and work together. It can be … a great companion to a school PTO/PTA. The goal is simple: Utilize the three key stakeholder groups (school /family / community) to maximize all students' learning and development . . ."
See Highlands Elementary School's history of Partnership District Awards in 2001 and examples of Promising Partnership Programs on the website, www.partnershipschools.org, in the section Success Stories In the Spotlight. In the same district, see the Partnership District Award for Naperville, above, and the Partnership School Award for Madison Junior High School, below.