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| Mary Canchola, Bridgette Stanciel, Francisca Gonzalez, Lidia Cuellar, and Cris Whitehead (NNPS Key Contact). |
Strategic Learning Initiative (SLI) conducts parent leadership training, celebrations, and other events in collaboration with NNPS, and guides three schools' Action Teams for Partnerships with work on family and community involvement. SLI strengthens whole-school improvement by helping schools integrate professional development, shared leadership, and parent engagement in ways that benefit students. These efforts strengthen the connections of teachers, principals, and parents.
SLI recruits and trains Parent Engagement Facilitators/Leaders who work with groups of parents, facilitate meetings, make presentations, and assist other parents. The parent-training includes attention to the framework of six types of involvement. The Facilitators work with their schools' Action Teams to help more parents become involved at school, at home, and in the community. In the 2005-06 school year, the Facilitators will design some of their own workshops for other parents on topics of importance at their school.
As an organization, SLI helps parents and educators work better together on goals in their school improvement plans, particularly in three NNPS-linked, collaborating schools. Most (90%) parents in the collaborating schools are Spanish speaking. This makes it necessary for the SLI staff and Facilitators to speak Spanish and/or translate (or have translated) materials for family involvement in Spanish.
SLI incorporates NNPS materials into its training, planning, and program improvement. For example, the SLI leaders discuss each issue of Type 2, the NNPS newsletter, with the Parent Engagement Facilitators, and school Action Teams. The leaders frequently consult the NNPS Handbook and review the annual collections of Promising Partnership Practices. SLI also helps schools evaluate their programs and progress with NNPS tools (e.g., End-of-Year Evaluations and UPDATE surveys). The goal is to review and improve action plans each year. In 2005, parent surveys indicated that parents who attended SLI workshops conducted more reading activities, helped with homework, and were more patient with their school children. SLI also found that 50% of parents attended workshop sessions in the participating schools - seven times the Chicago citywide average and about double the rate in these schools two years ago. The schools exceeded goals that they set for parent attendance at workshops, reaching over 1300 parents in 2005. One principal noted, "Parents have been helping their children more at home - there's a noticeable difference. This is contributing a lot to your students' increasing achievement."
SLI conducts an end of year celebration that brings the participating school teams, parent facilitators, and parents together to share ideas, celebrate progress, and receive certificates and awards for work well done. Students perform at this event. The various leaders gain new ideas that help improve their own programs from year to year.