Jihan Atiq, Wally Loague, Kate Barr, Lisa Trychta, Jessica Jozwiak, Don Perry (Principal), Linda Cusak, and Lisa Kolick (NNPS Key Contact).
Meeting the Challenge to Involve More Families
Kennedy Junior High School, a four-time Partnership School Award winner, serves approximately 1,100 students in grades 6 to 8. The school is dedicated to improving communications between parents and school staff. The School Family Community Partnership (SFCP) team, Home and School Association, and School Improvement Team work together to coordinate outreach to families and community partners.
In the summer before the 07-08 school year, SFCP revamped, updated, and improved its Parent Volunteer Coupon Book. The book, standard practice at Kennedy for years, is distributed with student registration materials at the beginning of each year for parents to indicate their interests in volunteering for school events and programs. To increase the effective use of volunteers, SFCP evaluated the book’s format, wording, and relevance to school, teacher, and student needs. They created a more useful set of options for parents to select and received almost 1000 returns from parents ready to help, including more diverse families and dads. The improved book enabled SFCP to assign more volunteers to support important school and classroom projects and events throughout the year.
Reach Results for Student Success in School
A communication How To packet attached to students’ mid-term report cards guided parents to obtain information on school and district programs and resources, including the e-mail system. Students were asked to explain the new technologies to their parents, including how to use the school’s Blackboard for information on each student’s assignments and announcements, i-parent for parents to view students’ schedules and grades, and the KJHS website for general information and news. SFCP members developed the packet in response to an e-mail survey of parents and a roundtable discussion with parents on what they wanted to know about the school and about students’ work and achievement.
The SFCP team found that good information was available, but parents needed clear directions on the available technology. The resulting instructional packet showed parents how to sign up for the school’s e-mail list, access their own child’s homework assignments online, and tune in to the school’s radio station. A movie ticket raffle, with one student winner from each grade level team, encouraged students to help their parents navigate these systems. Over 70% of students came to their parents’ aid, helped them with technology, and entered the raffle. About 3% of the school community did not have easy access to e-mail, reinforcing the need to continue low tech communications with some parents.
See Kennedy Junior High School’s history of Partnership School Awards in 2001, 2006, and 2007. Also see examples of activities in Promising Partnership Practices on the website, www.partnershipschools.org in the section Success Stories. Visit the school at www.ncusd203.org/Kennedy.