One of the big questions NNPS members ask is: How can we evaluate our partnership program?
Research shows that it pays to evaluate. Using UPDATE data, NNPS studies indicate that districts and schools that evaluate their work report higher quality partnership programs and improvements from one year to the next. Members who evaluate their programs may take their work on partnerships more seriously and use the results to improve their plans and activities in the next school year.
After working on partnerships for a full school year, all NNPS members should take time to review and discuss: Which activities were successful? What challenges arose? How can we improve our program next year?
NNPS provides easy-to-use tools for schools, districts, states, and organizations to assess progress. Members should collect the surveys, inventories, and reflections in a partnership program notebook to chart progress over time.
All NNPS members must complete UPDATE to sustain membership. The annual survey helps schools, districts, states, and organizations assess progress on essential elements of partnership programs, including leadership, teamwork, plans, implementation of plans, funding, collegial support, evaluation, and networking. All members should discuss the questions, complete the survey, save a copy for the program's history, and send a copy to NNPS.
In its Handbook1, NNPS provides three tools that schools' Action Teams for Partnerships (ATPs) can use to supplement UPDATE and revise their next One-Year Action Plans.
End-of-Year Evaluations. ATPs should assess the quality of each major activity that was conducted during the year. How well was each activity implemented? Did each activity reach all intended families, contribute to student success, or meet another stated goal? (See Handbook pp. 360-364 if your One-Year Action Plan is organized by school goals or pp. 353-359 if your annual plan is organized by the six types of involvement.)
Measure of School, Family, and Community Partnerships. ATPs may assess whether activities for the six types of involvement and outreach to all families improved. Was information on homework provided to families at all grade levels? Did the ATP recognize volunteers for their time and efforts? (See Handbook pp. 330-335.)
Annual Review of Team Processes. ATPs should discuss how well members worked together. This quick checklist covers team membership, schedules, organization, and program implementation. Did the ATP need to replace members for next year? Were meetings well planned? Did team members share leadership for involvement activities? (See Handbook p. 111.)
Useful evaluations need not be complex, costly, or confusing. The NNPS evaluation tools will help all members identify successful practices, promote discussions of challenges and solutions, and improve plans for the 2005-06 school year. Educators often say that they pay attention to what gets measured. This is definitely true for school, family, and community partnerships.
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1 See Epstein, et al., School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Corwin Press, 2002).