Published Version to Share With Colleagues: 
18 Programs Win Partnership Awards
for Leadership and Outreach to Families
Seven schools, eight districts, two state departments of education, and one organization received NNPS Partnership Awards in 2008. An interesting pattern emerged this year. All of the school award winners were located in award-winning districts...
MetLife Foundation
Supports
NNPS and
Partnership Programs
MetLife Foundation awarded the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships a grant for 08-09 to increase the number and quality of programs of family and community partnerships in districts and schools across the country...
Issues and Insights:
Low Income or High Income:
Involve All Families
A reporter called a few weeks ago to discuss her observation that only affluent parents were involved in the local schools, even in schools that served mainly families with low incomes. “Why is this happening?” she asked.
This pattern of involvement – inequitable and selective – reflects the “old way” of engaging families. That is, parents who are comfortable at school get involved and others stay away...
Elementary School Report: Students’ Health and Safety:
Partnerships Promote Fitness and Wellness
Many elementary schools in NNPS are selecting health and safety as a nonacademic goal that can be attained best when school, family, and community work together with students. Health and safety involvement activities – one-time events or repeated over time – engage parents and others in the community in exciting and productive ways...
Five NNPS Schools Receive
National
Blue Ribbon Awards
Five schools in NNPS were recognized with 2008 National Blue Ribbon Awards by the U. S. Department of Education. The schools (members of NNPS for 1 to 10 years) are: Ala Wai Elementary School in Honolulu, HA; Cecil Elementary School in Baltimore, MD; Crespatown Elementary School in Crespatown, MD; Hickory Elementary School in Bel Air, MD; and Kennedy Junior High School in Lisle, IL. A sixth Blue Ribbon awardee, Hagan Elementary School, in Williston, ND, recently joined NNPS...
Meeting the Challenge:
Create Pathways through High School:
Partnerships Help Students Graduate
Earning a high school diploma is an essential first step toward a successful and stable future. Too many students are not achieving this important goal. According to a recent report, in 2005 the average graduation rate was 74.4% for students who enrolled as high school freshmen four years earlier. By 2006, students from low-income families were four times more likely than their more affluent peers to drop out before earning a high school diploma. Changing these trends will require schools to draw on all available resources, including school, family, and community partnerships...
Leadership Line:
The Power of Hope and the Need for Change:
How District Leaders Help Schools Improve their Partnership Programs
Talk across the country – regardless of political preferences – has been about the power of hope and the need for change. Many schools are eager for changes that produce active and successful students and families who are hopeful about their children’s futures. NNPS is learning that district leaders are important change agents for transforming schools, engaging parents, and increasing student success...
Research Brief:
Evaluations Improve Partnership Programs
and More Involvement Produces Results
Every year, districts, schools, states, and organizations in NNPS must complete an UPDATE survey to assess the quality of their partnership programs. Why is it important to evaluate progress?
Dr. Steve Sheldon, Director of Research at NNPS, conducted a study of 470 schools that completed UPDATE surveys in 2006 and 2007 to see if and how evaluations affected the partnership program development and results for students...