Celebration of Life DayGrand Blanc Community Schools Grand Blanc, Michigan In the Fall of 1997, two middle school students in our district committed suicide within a short period of time. The Superintendent of Schools immediately formed a task force of volunteers from staff, families, and community members. Representatives from each of the Partnership Action Teams also became members of this task force. Plans were made to heighten the awareness of suicide as a social problem and to educate the students, families, and community about signs and prevention of suicide. More... Martha Weiss, District Facilitator (810) 629-8275 Type | District | District |
Family Involvement Coordinating CommitteeHoward County Public School System Ellicott City, Maryland Howard County, Maryland is a community of 234,710 situated midway along a corridor linking Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is a source of local pride. For seven consecutive years, the system has maintained its standing as the top-rated school system in Maryland as measured by the Maryland State Performance Report Card. Currently the school system operates 65 instructional facilities serving more than 42,000 students. As the liaison for Family and Community Outreach in the Office of Academic Support, my role is to serve as a resource across all service areas, and to facilitate the integration of resources among the central office, schools, families, and the community. In addition, I work directly with schools and families to support their efforts to develop and maintain strong home-school partnerships. It has been my desire, as the Key Contact to the National Network of Partnership Schools, to develop an "action team" approach at the central-office level that would drive effective and efficient family involvement practices district-wide. More... Jean Lewis, Family and Community Outreach Liaison (410) 313-6794 Type | District | District |
Family Resource CenterSouth-Western City Schools Columbus, Ohio South-Western City Schools believes that a strong interaction among the family, school, and community supports student learning. To reinforce this belief statement, a Family Resource Center has been established. Additionally, this school year all 17 elementary school buildings in the district have become Ohio Partnership Schools through the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University. The goal of the Family Resource Center is to provide accessible, on-site services for the community that strengthen and support the family. We believe parents are the first and most significant teachers in the lives of their children and that all children are entitled to reach their developmental potential. The Family Resource Center provides a central location from which family/school/community partnerships can be organized in order to provide family-centered, community-based, preventive, and comprehensive services that support and are responsive to the needs of families. The Family Resource Center exists mainly to provide integration and coordination of activities and services to families. We believe that more extensive efforts must be made to build relationships with school families and that families should play an integral part in the planning and implementation of school programs in addition to providing extended learning at home. More... Dr. Suzanne Darmer, Coordinator of Federal & State Programs (614) 801-8440 Type | District | District |
First Thursdays at Baltimore Museum of ArtBaltimore City Public School System Baltimore, Maryland It had come to my attention that the Baltimore Museum of Art might be interested in helping schools with their Family Fun and Learning Nights. With this in mind, I contacted the educational department at the museum and arranged to speak with someone. We met for a delightful lunch at the museum and discussed many possible programs that could be established. I was particularly excited about the offer by Stacey Shellnut to bring families to the museum to participate in "First Thursdays". Every Thursday admission to the museum is free, and on the first Thursday of each month, museum hours are extended until 9pm. Additional events and programs are conducted that relate to current exhibits. The museum has been hosting this event for years, but we knew that the families in my area were not participating in great numbers. More... Marsha Greenfeld, District Facilitator (410) 545-1536 Type | District | District |
Knowledge is PowerHoward County Public School System Ellicott City, Maryland In the Fall of 1996, the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) established two Community Based Learning Centers in Community Homes, a neighborhood of low to moderate income housing in Columbia, Maryland. Goal I of our school system states that the system is committed to ensuring that every student meets or exceeds rigorous performance standards and that the system's achievement data will be free of patterns associated with gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. The Learning Centers were established to support families whose children often lack equal access to the necessary resources needed for learning. Over time, these challenges often become impediments to learning which trap children in a vicious cycle of academic failure. Community Based Learning Centers disrupt this cycle by functioning as neighborhood academic support sites for students in the hours immediately following school. More... Jean Lewis, Family and Community Outreach Liaison (410) 313-6794 Type | District | District |
Sowing Seeds, Planting Partnerships, Harvesting RelationshipsWisconsin Department of Public Instruction Madison, Wisconsin The vision of the Bright Beginnings/ Family-School-Community Partnership Team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) dares to dream a mighty hope: that "all children will grow up in nurturing, healthy, and safe learning environments in which all families are fully supported in their roles and responsibilities." By creating and advancing family-school-community partnerships, the Team specifically seeks to ensure successful learners and stronger communities. More... Ruth Anne Landsverk, Coordinator, Families in Education (608) 266-9757 Type | State | State |
Speakers' BureauRush-Henrietta Central School District Henrietta, New York The Rush-Henrietta Speakers’ Bureau was started in the Fall of 1998. The principals wanted to bring in speakers on parenting topics and had little or no funds to pay presenters. As a result, we began to look for "free" speakers. More... Kay Lyons, Partnership Schools Facilitator (716) 359-5029 Type | District | District |
The VISTA Family-School-Community ProjectWisconsin Department of Public Instruction Madison, Wisconsin Wanting to lead by example, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WDPI) created a family center at its state office building in Madison. Without enough money to fund a staff person, we took advantage of our relationship with the state office of the Corporation for National Service (CNS) to ask for a VISTA to staff it. To our surprise, the state program officer offered us not one VISTA but an additional eight to be placed in schools. All we had to do was to write a successful proposal, focusing on serving a low-income population. CNS worked with us in developing the proposal. More... Jane Grinde, Director of Bright Beginnings/ Family-School-Community Partnership (608) 266-9356 Type | State | State |
Welcome FoldersRush-Henrietta Central School District Henrietta, New York Welcome Folders were first distributed in September 1997, as the result of a suggestion made by parents the previous spring. The goal was to familiarize new-to-the-district families with the school district, its programs, and various community services. As one parent said, "There is so much available here in our community, but it took me months after I moved here to find out about all of the programs and resources." More... Kay Lyons, Partnership Schools Facilitator (716) 359-5029 Type | District | District |