A Business Partnership with Sunrise Assisted LivingHighlands Elementary School Naperville, Illinois One school improvement goal for Highlands Elementary School encouraged intergenerational understanding and provided opportunities for students and seniors to learn about each other's unique life experiences, skills, needs, limitations, and responsibilities. To achieve our goal, a team of teachers, parents, and Sunrise Assisted Living staff brainstormed ideas that would: 1) allow seniors the chance to share their knowledge/experience with students as well as get out into the community, and 2) offer students a unique educational experience and demonstrate to them the impact of "community service." More... Jane Werneite, Action Team Chairperson (630) 420-6335 Type 6 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
CLUB MIDChaska Middle School Chaska, Minnesota Three years ago the Involvement Coordinators at Chaska Middle School partnered with community agencies to develop an exciting opportunity to keep young adolescents out of trouble by engaging them in after-school activities. Local recreation programs had been struggling with successful ways to get teens involved in activities other than school sports teams. After a survey of all the school's sixth- through ninth-graders revealed both interests in and obstacles to programs, a winning combination was designed that incorporated professional staff expertise, non-duplication of services between agencies, social opportunities for young teens, and a safe, positive environment that families could embrace. Two years ago, CLUB MID began. More... Kathryn Sitter, Coordinator (952) 556-7400 Type 6 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Communication through TechnologyVicenza American High School , Italy Vicenza American High School has worked hard to improve communication with families and the community through its Technology Committee. The goal is to encourage two-way communication instead of the traditional school-to-home method. More... Elise Bratcher, Action Team Chairperson (044) 451-7710 Type 2 | High School | Climate of Partnership |
Father-to-Father WorkshopsKingsley Elementary School Naperville, Illinois Often when we think about family involvement we immediately focus on the mother. This activity illustrates how schools can reach out to another significant family member, the father More... Catherine Ryan, Principal (630) 637-4582 Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Filial TherapyWoodridge Primary School Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Woodridge Primary School (WPS) offers programs designed for parents. One program focuses on parenting children with social, emotional, and behavioral problems. In collaboration with the University of Akron Counseling Department, WPS offered an innovative program called Filial Therapy. More... Carol Stanley, Action Team Chairperson (330) 928-1223 Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Get-to-Know-You ConferencesWebster-Stanley Elementary School Oshkosh, Wisconsin Get-to-Know-You conferences accomplish exactly what their name implies-the chance to establish positive relationships early in the school year to help the rest of the year go more smoothly. They give parents the chance to get to know the child's teacher, and give teachers a chance to know the child they will teach for the next nine months. The conferences started with incoming kindergartners and their parents several years ago, and are available to an additional grade each year. In the 2000-2001 school year, conferences will be held for Kindergarten through Grade 3. More... Patti Vickman, Principal (920) 424-0460 patvic@oshkosh.k12.wi.us. Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Hamilton Helpers ProgramHamilton Elementary School Sanford, Florida Hamilton Elementary Cluster Magnet School for Communications through Advanced Technology educates over seven hundred students each year. Eighty-one percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and we are considered an "at-risk" school. In order to improve the students' educational performance, we have instituted a number of innovative programs. The Florida Department of Education recently selected Hamilton Elementary as a regional winner of the Family Involvement Award. Our Hamilton Helpers program was presented at the Florida PTA Leadership Conference in July. More... Beth Jensen, Secretary (407) 320-6067 Type 3 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
High School Parent SurveyNaperville North High School Naperville, Illinois Naperville North High School formed a committee to develop a parent survey. The purpose was to determine parents' attitudes and boundaries that they set for their teens so that other parents could use the results as a reference point when they make their own family decisions about teen readiness for increased responsibilities. More... Denise Mitchell, Coordinator (630) 420-6240 Type 2 | High School | Climate of Partnership |
Launching a Mentoring ProgramLaurel Woods Elementary School Laurel, Maryland In partnership with the Coca Cola Company, Laurel Woods Elementary School established a mentoring program for fourth grade students. The school's Action Team for Partnerships dedicated a lot of effort implementing this program successfully. They learned some valuable lessons along the way. More... Rosanne Wilson, Principal (410) 880-5960 Type 6 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Microsoft Family Night and Internet SafetyPrairie Elementary School Naperville, Illinois School/Family/Community (S/F/C) members organized a Microsoft Family Night in September for families to see various educational and recreational software applications. In October, S/F/C members organized an Internet Safety Night presented by the Naperville Police Department (NPD) to help parents protect their children from dangers on the Internet. The NPD has been at the forefront of Internet child safety with the development of their internationally used Internet safety curriculum. More... Jack Pool, Principal (630) 420-6348 Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
New Notes in '99Fayetteville Elementary School Fayetteville, New York The Fayetteville Elementary Site Based Team concentrated on developing more effective two-way communication between parents and teachers. While we sent plenty of paperwork home to parents, i.e., newsletters, children's work, notices, etc., we lacked a method for parents to communicate easily and consistently back to school. On a daily basis, teachers received multiple kinds of paper from parents: notepaper, notebook paper, scrap paper, and others. There was no easy way for teachers to distinguish absenteeism notes from other notes related to academic achievement, or personal information about things going on in the child's life. More... Nancy Smith, Principal (315) 682-1320 Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Now for the Good NewsNaples American High School , Naples Itlay The tendency in secondary schools is for communication to decrease with families or to focus on negative issues. To offset this practice, Naples American High School began "Good News Cards" to increase communication with parents, and in particular, to note when a child had accomplished something positive. More... Kay Galloway, Principal (081) 811-4064 Type 2 | High School | Climate of Partnership |
Open House and Ice CreamWestlake Elementary New Carlisle, Ohio After the Westlake Action Team studied the results of the National Network's Starting Points* we decided to change the way we hold our open houses. Westlake for many years had held separate open houses on different nights for first grade, second and third grade, and fourth and fifth grade. The feedback that we received from Starting Points was that families with several children in different grade levels had to attend more than one night of open house and had to sit through the same presentations at each one. More... William H. Gruber, II, Action Team Chairperson (937) 845-4480 Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Open Tech LabRanch View Elementary School Naperville, Illinois Ranch View Elementary School has an exciting new program for students, their families, neighbors, and friends. Ranch View and the School/Family/Community Partnerships Team sponsored an Open Tech Lab, which was open two nights per month from 6-9 p.m. Individuals and families could explore the Internet, become more computer proficient, and/or complete homework assignments in the school's technology lab. More... Tatia Beckwith, Assistant Principal (630) 420-6575 Type 4 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Potluck PTO MeetingsAniwa Elementary School Aniwa, Wisconsin Question: How can a small, rural school boost attendance at parent meetings, keep parents up-to-date on what their children are learning, and get parent input on school goals and initiatives?Answer: Hold Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) potlucks. More... Mary Detterming, Principal (715) 449-2931 Type 5 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Principal's TeaGreen Middle School Green, Ohio Green Middle School organized a Principal's Tea each month to encourage parents to visit the school. Starting with sixth grade, we randomly selected 15-20 names of students and sent their parents an invitation to attend the tea. Our topic focused on "Middle School and What It's About." We held this informational tea in our school library and served refreshments and cookies. More... Nancy Pruneski, Grant Coordinator (330) 896-3039 Type 2 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Start with SuccessStanley M. Makowski Early Childhood Center Buffalo, New York On October 20, 1999, the doors of the Stanley M. Makowski Early Childhood Center opened wide to parents, children, staff, and community agencies. As each family arrived, they received a paper leaf on which to write something they liked about school. More... Marcia Rosenthal, Action Team Chairperson (716) 888-2007 Type 3 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Technology Increases School-Home CommunicationsLincoln Junior High School Naperville, Illinois One of Lincoln Junior High's school improvement goals was to utilize the tools of technology to increase teacher effectiveness, student learning, and parent communication. More... Dan Brace, Type 2 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Washington GreetersWashington Junior High School Naperville, Illinois Last May, Parent Involvement Team members met to talk about the recent violence that had occurred in schools around the United States. The discussion led to the idea of the Washington Greeter program. The program created a friendly way to deter anyone from entering the building that did not belong there. In addition, visitors received a warm welcome when entering the school. More... Mark P. Pasztor, Principal (630) 420-6390 Type 3 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership |
We're ConnectedRamstein American High School Ramstein Air Base, Gemany Ramstein High School (RHS) has a web site for all persons interested in knowing more about the school. The site allows anyone to communicate, learn, offer suggestions, and become acquainted with the school. The site originated several years ago, but has grown dramatically this school year. More... J. Norris, Action Team Chairperson (637) 147-6951 Type 2 | High School | Climate of Partnership |