Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WI DPI), with Key Contacts Jane Grinde and Ruth Anne Landsverk, joined the National Network of Partnership Schools as a "charter state member" in the 1996-97 school year. A strong advocate for school-family-community partnerships, John Benson, Wisconsin’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction, created the Family-School-Community Partnership Team (FSCP) at the department; allocated federal Title VI and Goals 2000 funds to DPI for state leadership activities; established a Parent Advisory Council to advise the superintendent; and implemented a policy for state employees to volunteer at schools, libraries, or child care centers.
With these funds and official support, the FSCP Team (1) sponsors annual family-school-community partnership conferences for Action Teams of parents, teachers, administrators, and community members; (2) provides small seed grants ($200-$500) to family-school-community partnership teams to fund activities to improve partnerships; (3) provides modest partnership grants ($2000) to fund Action Team coordinators who also serve as liaisons to parents; (4) publishes Learning Together packets which guide and share ideas with Action Teams; and (5) conducts other state leadership activities.
By fall 1998, nearly 250 teams of parents, teachers, school administrators, and community members in Wisconsin have learned about the six types of involvement, and have written plans for partnership. Grinde and Landsverk noted, "With modest grant money, schools’ Action Teams for School, Family, and Community Partnerships have done wonderful things to forge closer, stronger bonds to improve children’s learning."
The FSCP team also connects with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to obtain resources from various departments, and to serve as speakers and advisors in courses and educational programs. FSCP has an ongoing relationship with Wisconsin Public Broadcasting to cosponsor Wisconsin Family Read-In, volunteer programs, and Kids Vote.
As a member of the National Network of Partnership Schools, the WI DPI is demonstrating strong state leadership in scaling up the number and quality of school, family, and community partnerships in districts and schools in Wisconsin.
For more information, contact Jane Grinde (608-266-9365 or grindjl@mail.state.wi.us) Director, Bright Beginnings/Family-School-Community Partnerships; or Ruth Anne Landsverk (608-266-9757 or landsra@mail.state.wi.us), Coordinator, Family-School-Community Partnerships.