Kentucky and seven other states—Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, Wisconsin and Utah—are state members of the National Network of Partnership Schools. As state members, they demonstrate their commitment to school-family-community partnerships. Through a variety of strategies and activities, Kentucky provides excellent examples of how state leadership activities can strengthen district and school programs of partnership.
Kentucky joined the Network in 1996. When the state's Key Contact relocated, she was replaced by Freida Collins in February 1997. As Kentucky's Community and Family Engagement Consultant, Ms. Collins assists districts in helping schools develop, implement, and evaluate policies and programs that involve families and communities. Ms. Collins draws upon her previous experiences with school-family-community partnerships as the coordinator of community tutorial programs in Virginia and work with Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) in Virginia and Kentucky.
Working closely with others in the State Department of Education, Ms. Collins has planned a number of initiatives for the 1997-98 school year. During September and October, she collaborated with service learning coordinators to link Service Learning and Partnership programs. She also conducted training workshops for Key Contacts from four schools and two districts that indicated on grant applications a strong interest in improving their partnership programs. The Key Contacts, with Ms. Collins' assistance, are responsible for training school teams composed of administrators, teachers, and other school and family representatives to plan, implement, and evaluate their programs of partnership.
Ms. Collins is planning to work with other groups and organizations to help schools and districts improve school-family-community partnerships. One such group is the Kentucky Coalition of School Volunteer Organizations (KCSVO), which assists schools and districts in developing and maintaining school volunteer programs. Other organizations are the Kentucky Congress of Parents and Teachers, the state's chapter of the national PTA, and the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, an independent advocacy organization for educational improvement in Kentucky. Under the leadership of Freida Collins, Kentucky is continuing to work as a member of the National Network of Partnership Schools with energy, enthusiasm, and commitment.