Row 1: Ellen Yaffa, Jeana Preston (NNPS Key Contact), and Bea Fernandez. Row 2: Yee Khun, Beth Sondak, John Wedemeyer (Executive Director/NNPS Key Contact), Maria Moore-Flagg, and Tony Herrera. Not Pictured: Barbara Withrow.
Strengthening Leadership for Partnerships
The California Parent Center (CPC), a three-time award winner, works in partnership with the California Department of Education (CDE) Title I Office, to provide technical assistance (TA) to county offices of education, districts, schools and parent leaders. The CPC provides two-day Leadership Development Conferences, modeled after NNPS’s annual Leadership Development Conference in Baltimore. The CPC conferences helps build district and school leaders’ knowledge of and capacity to establish effective school, family and community partnerships to increase students’ success and academic achievement. Districts with high numbers of Title I schools and those in Program Improvement are actively recruited to attend the conferences.
In 2007, CPC increased awareness of its partnership conferences by presenting information at meetings of key state groups, including: National ESEA Parent Conference, National Title I Conference, California Title I Conference, California State Technical Assistance Leadership Institute, National School Boards Association Conference, and National Center for Urban School Transformation Conference. The presentations covered the NNPS framework of Six Types of Involvement, how to link partnerships to academic and school improvement goals, resources and services of NNPS, and the efforts of CDE and CPC to provide state-level guidance and TA on partnerships. On the “conference circuit,” CPC sent clear messages across the state about the importance of involving families and how the CPC can help.
Encourage Districts and Schools to Improve their Partnership Programs
CPC added a workshop entitled,Knowing Where to Look – Finding Funds to Support Partnership Programs, as a session in its two-day Leadership Development Conferences. Many participants are unable to find adequate finances to implement the activities in their partnership programs. Drawing from information from NNPS, CPC’s Finding Funds workshop begins with three concepts: People are waiting to be asked; If you don’t A-S-K, you don’t G-E-T; and “Would it possible?” as a preface for requests. Participants are guided to find financial and other resources and to use community collaborations to gain support to implement programs. Learning how to tap resources helps participants see how to get what they need for their partnership programs.
The interactive workshop includes a “community scan” to identify potential partners in the school neighborhood and surrounding areas. The workshop provides sample letters of intent, grants, budgets, thank you notes for contributors, helpful websites, and grant writing tips. In 2007, the workshop was so popular that CPC will provide it as a “whole group” activity rather than a breakout session in the future.
See the history of CPC’s Partnership Organization Awards in 2005 and 2006 on the website, www.partnershipschools.org in the section Success Stories. Visit the California PARENT Center at http://parent.sdsu.edu.