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| Sue Carpenter, Sylvia Hazard, Marcy Gonski, Ileane Kacynski, Diane Zanghi (NNPS Key Contact), Kathleen Murphy (Principal), Leslie Callahan, Carol Marcus, and Sue Carlson. |
Orchard Hills School's Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) meets on the second Tuesday of each month. The chair of the ATP and committee chairs are selected based on their demonstrated interests and talents. New team members are welcome or may be recruited at any time to extend the activities of the ATP.
The ATP builds many partnerships, but one of the most important is with the PTA whose president also is a member of the ATP. ATP activities are reported at monthly PTA meetings. A slide show was developed for use at PTA meetings to help parents learn about the school's partnership programs. Messages about partnerships are given at the annual Open House. ATP activities also are highlighted in the school newsletter and on the website.
The principal plays an important role. She attends all ATP meetings, provides time for an ATP representative to present information at faculty meetings, and orients new staff members on the school's priority for school, family, and community partnerships.
One of Orchard Hills' goals is to improve students' reading skills, so it is no surprise that the ATP conducts several activities to promote family and community involvement with students on literacy. Teachers develop the academic materials and provide training, while parents and other volunteers advertise, create posters and buttons, plan food, and give other input to programming.
The ATP conducts Readapalooza, an annual week-long event with themed days when students dress up like storybook characters, decorate a bulletin board with their class's favorite book, and write and publish their own stories and poetry. Local authors, illustrators, and the school librarian teach students about creating and reading books. Parents who are unable able to volunteer during the day may help plan the various activities that occur throughout the week.
The ATP applied for and received a grant from the school district to sponsor two new reading programs to provide information to parents, especially those with children who need extra help with reading. The first program, Reading Starts With Us, included families of students in grades K-2. The second, Book Explorers Club, included students and families in grades 3-5. The ATP sent letters home and personally invited parents of at-risk students to attend. The team provided dinner and babysitting to encourage more parents to attend the events. These efforts resulted in a maximum-capacity turnout, including many parents of at-risk youngsters who had not been involved before.
The ATP monitors attendance at the events to learn if each activity is popular with families. The team also collects feedback from parents and teachers to improve or expand its programs. Surveys from parents about the Book Explorers Club led the ATP to realize that not only was the program helping parents, but it should be expanded. Consequently, it offered the program three times in 2005 and organized a parent-facilitated summer reading program known as Reading Wizards. Evaluations at Orchard Hills are helping to improve its program of school, family, and community partnerships.