Advisory BoardDesign and Architecture Senior High School Miami, Florida Design and Architecture Senior High recruited approximately 25 business owners, educators, school staff, and specialists in design fields to serve on a school Advisory Board. The board met monthly to enhance the school’s programs, bringing them up to date with current design industry standards and providing students with exciting internship opportunities. More... Eddie Medina, Assistant Principal (305) 318-1897 emedina@dadeschools.net Type 5 | District | Climate of Partnership |
Bring Your Parent to LunchOccupational Training Center Buffalo, New York Once a month, a day is set aside at the Occupational Training Center so that students with special needs can meet their parents for lunch and learning in the school cafeteria. Everyone brings a lunch from home. Students prepare a dessert of cookies and coffee during home and careers class to serve at the Bring Your Parent to Lunch meetings. The monthly lunches give parents an opportunity to connect with each other, with students, and with the school staff. Each luncheon features a guest speaker. More... Sarah Kerruish, Home & Careers Teacher (716) 838-2121 Type 5 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Celebrate Success WeekWestminster Community School #68 Buffalo, New York For one week in March, parents, teachers, administrators, students, and community members celebrated all of the successes and achievements of Westminster Community School. The five key components of success that received recognition included: the M&T Bank partnership, the administrative staff, faculty and staff, students, and parents. The Morale Committee, with the assistance of the Parent Involvement Committee, other school personnel, and parents, planned the Celebrate Success Week. More... Deborah A. Cooper, ATP Member (716) 838-7456 Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Chili Cook-Off/Activities ExpoSuperior High School Superior, Wisconsin Superior High School combined its Activities Expo with a Chili Cook-Off, adding a tasty treat to an annual event. Student groups, service organizations, and local businesses competed in the cook-off, while the Activities Expo showcased student groups. Well over 500 people attended the combined events to learn about the school’s offerings and celebrate school spirit. More... Francy Chammings, ATP Chairperson (715) 394-8720x157 chammf@superior.k12.wi.us Type 2 | High School | Climate of Partnership |
Family Fun FairThompson Middle School Newport, Rhode Island At Thompson Middle School, students and their families received a passport to education and fun. This spring, the school held its First Annual Family Fun Fair, featuring stimulating activities with educational themes. Each attendee received a passport that they had stamped or signed as they participated in the various activities. Individuals with 10 or more stamps could enter a prize drawing for live lobsters. The indoor block party atmosphere entertained families and students as they sampled core academic areas. More... Veronica Mays, Parent Liaison (401) 847-9657 vmays@newportrischools.org Type 3 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Father’s ForumIowa Maple Elementary School Cleveland, Ohio Members of Iowa Maple Elementary’s School Parent Organization (SPO) were concerned with the low attendance of men at monthly SPO meetings. They were worried that fathers may not feel welcomed or needed in the SPO. In order to encourage father participation, and to demonstrate appreciation for fathers’ roles in their children’s lives, Iowa Maple’s SPO hosted a Father’s Forum. More... Joan Gamble, Parent Liaison (216) 451-6630 joang43@yahoo.com Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Food for VolunteersFairmount Park Elementary School Canton, Ohio “In our community we take care of our own people,” said one parent about the Food for Volunteers project. School volunteers can select a large grocery bag of non-perishable food for every 20 hours of volunteering, if they so desire. The food helps the Fairmount Park Elementary School community, especially the large number of children who receive free or reduce-priced lunches. Fairmount’s Parent Group started this practice through their Family Resource Center to appreciate family members who volunteer at the school and to help meet a basic need of many families. More... Beverly Ciricosta, Principal (330) 456-3167 ciricosta_b@ccsdistrict.org Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Improving School-to-Home CommunicationsBountiful High School Bountiful, Utah “One of our major goals is to improve communication between parents, the community, and faculty members of Bountiful High School,” said Gregory Wilkey, Assistant Principal. The Community Council, Bountiful High School’s (BHS) Action Team for Partnerships, implemented several strategies using technology, print, and human relations to better communicate with families. More... Gregory Wilkey, Assistant Principal (801) 402-3900 Type 2 | High School | Climate of Partnership |
Involving Diverse FamiliesBeacon Hill School Seattle, Washington Over the past two years, Beacon Hill School, a diverse urban elementary school, has reached out to specific groups of underperforming students and their parents. At Beacon Hill these underperforming students included children for whom English is a second language, children of recent immigrants, children who live in poverty, and children of color. A team of faculty and staff from different grade levels created an after-school tutoring program so that children could work with teachers and instructional assistants in their home language (Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, or English) on the information and skills they learned in class. This focused instruction helped children learn better, provided them with additional practice, and helped them complete their homework. More... Susie Murphy, Principal (206) 252-2705 sbmurphy@seattleschools.org Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Involving Grandparents and Seniors at SchoolHubbard Primary School Forsyth, Georgia “We always invite parents to everything we do, but there aren’t many opportunities to ask grandparents,” said one teacher at Hubbard Primary School. “This gives us a special way to include grandparents, and we have a huge response.” Hubbard Primary School invited seniors to two school events: Grandparents Day and American Education Week. At both activities, grandparents and seniors read to students and enjoyed refreshments. Staff at Hubbard Primary School hoped involving grandparents and seniors would help improve students’ academic achievements and self esteem. More... Susan Wood, Parent Involvement Specialist (478) 994-7066 woodsu@monroe.k12.ga.us Type 3 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Latino Parent AssociationWashington Elementary School Whitewater, Wisconsin One school improvement goal set by Washington Elementary School was to fortify partnerships with minority families. A motivated parent, working with the school leadership team, began the Latino Parent Association (LPA) to help reach this goal. The LPA would provide better ways to collaborate with parents, create a sense of belonging for this group of parents in the school, and increase staff understanding of cultural and poverty influences on student learning. In its first year, the LPA organized Mexican holiday celebrations, meetings, and fun nights at school. More... Rachel Kruse, (262) 472-8600 Type 5 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Madison MailMadison Junior High School Naperville, Illinois Thanks to a new e-mail system, over 150 Madison families receive announcements, recorded telephone messages, and school newsletters directly to their home or work computers. More reliable than fliers and telephone calls, this e-mail system can efficiently contact a large number of families, particularly with breaking news or important messages. More... Michael Jaensch, Parent (630) 428-3901 Type 2 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Making Parent-Teacher Conferences Parent-FriendlyBirchwood Elementary School Birchwood, Tennessee “It has been two years since I have had an irate phone call after report cards were distributed,” said the principal. “This is an astonishing accomplishment!” The positive change at Birchwood Elementary School has evolved since restructuring parent conference days. With support from Chattanooga’s Public Education Foundation (PEF), the school improved conferences to establish a welcoming atmosphere and involve all parents in a dialog concerning their children. More... Sylvia Beavers, ATP Chairperson (423) 961-2444 Beavers_Sylvia@hcde.org Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Meany Family Enrichment CenterMeany Middle School Seattle, Washington A team of staff, parents, YMCA Community Learning Center directors, students, administrators, and district program coordinators organized the Family Enrichment Center at Meany Middle School. Team members’ vision for the Family Center was to create a space and opportunities for all families to feel welcomed and receive support, resources, and information. More... Sally Graham Hurt, Family Center Coordinator (206) 605-9393 Type 1 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership |
My Hero and MeLiteracy, Inc. New York, New York As fathers, grandfathers, and godfathers entered the Head Start Center for the My Hero and Me workshop series, they were greeted by a male volunteer who set the tone for a father-friendly setting. Literacy, Inc. (LINC) worked with the Builders for Family and Youth Head Start program to create the eight-week series of workshops that promoted men’s involvement in children’s learning. The series included workshops in reading, writing, math, and basic carpentry, as well as a trip to the zoo. More... Hector Vizcaino, LINC Coordinator (212) 620-5462 info@lincnyc.org Type 4 | Organization | Climate of Partnership |
New Parent InitiativeHighlands Elementary School Naperville, Illinois An annual school survey at Highlands Elementary School demonstrated a need for better communication with new parents. Highlands had 40 new families that relocated to Naperville and 28 new kindergarten families entering the school. Highlands’ School Family Community Partnership (SFCP) Team reviewed the survey results and brainstormed ways to improve communications with these families so that they might become more active in their children’s school. The New Parent Initiative helped parents help their children transition more smoothly to their new school. More... Jessica Jozwiak, SFCP Co-Chairs (630) 961-5042 jejoz@hotmail.com Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Parenting Classes to Strengthen FamiliesSunset Junior High School Sunset, Utah Sunset Junior High School’s Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) co-sponsored the “Strengthening Families” parenting class with Davis Behavioral Health. The program consisted of seven two-hour sessions held once a week. Parents and their teenage children ate dinner together at the school before the evening activities began. During the first hour of the program, the parents and students met separately to focus on issues such as time management, celebrating families’ strengths and values, and “why do my parents/children act the way they do?” Parents and teenagers came back together for the second hour to practice the lessons they learned. The weekly classes gave families the opportunity to bond while eating a meal and working together. More... James Schmidt, Principal (801) 402-6700 Type 1 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Reaching Out to Hmong FamiliesLincoln Elementary School Appleton, Wisconsin Lincoln Elementary School serves a diverse population of nearly 400 students from pre-school to sixth grade; 22% of the students are Hmong. The school modified its communication practices to meet the linguistic and cultural differences of these immigrant families. The Americorps VISTA volunteer translated the school’s calendar into Hmong and created a Hmong family night to build partnerships with Hmong families. More... Linda Her, Americorps VISTA Volunteer (920) 832-6270 Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
School MessengerBuckeye Woodland Elementary School Cleveland, Ohio Every day, administrators at Buckeye Woodland Elementary School manage to call 450 student homes in under three hours. The phone calls inform the parents of absences, tardiness, and school announcements. To have a parent or a staff member spend three hours on the phone calling parents would be an exhausting task. Instead, the school purchased a communications system called “School Messenger.” More... Judy Kincaid, Family Liaison (513) 231-2661 Type 2 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Shadowlawn Parent CenterShadowlawn Elementary School Miami, Florida Shadowlawn Elementary School resides in a primarily Haitian Creole neighborhood, where most families are recent immigrants learning a new language, culture, and way of life. The school created the Shadowlawn Parent Center to connect families with community services and learning opportunities that could help them adjust to life in the United States. The belief was that supporting families would also strengthen the school’s academic efforts with children. The Shadowlawn Parent Center debuted in 2002 with a Parent Teacher Liaison funded by the principal. The Parent Center, a transformed room and office in a Pre- K building, became home to a parent ESOL/ literacy class. More... Barbara Rosenblatt, Chairperson for Parent Involvement (305) 758-3673 Barbara_Rosenblatt@dadeschools.net Type 1 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Taking School HomeVerdugo Hills High School Tujunga, California Verdugo Hills High School has the largest geographic transportation sending area of any high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school’s Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) helped produce a video series to bring parents who lived near or far right into the classroom with their students. Known as Taking School Home, the project provided a way for parents who were unable to come to school to be informed about their children’s academic lives. The project was created and led by Verdugo Hills’ Parent Center Director, a former documentary filmmaker. More... Jean Hoelscher, Parent Center Director (818) 353-1171x326 jeanlh@verizon.net Type 2 | High School | Climate of Partnership |
The Reel Cross-Town ClassicNaperville Central High School Naperville, Illinois “The Reel Cross-Town Classic” is a joint video project being developed by Naperville Central High School and Naperville North High School. The School, Family, and Community Partnership (SFCP) Teams from both schools planned the project to highlight the broad range of academic, extra-curricular, and service opportunities available to students at Naperville high schools. The videos, filmed by the Operations Manager at Naperville Community Television (NCTV), will capture the enthusiasm and energy of the high school experience. More... Debbie Cota, Parent Involvement Team (630) 983-3637 Type 6 | High School | Climate of Partnership |
Volunteer ReceptionJohn F. Kennedy School Windsor, Connecticut John F. Kennedy School honored its parent and community volunteers in a special reception during National Volunteer Week. Volunteers were invited to attend the May school-wide Student of the Month assembly, where the principal and members of the school’s Community Involvement Task Force (CITF) expressed appreciation for their efforts. Students displayed a banner they created for the volunteers and sang a song in their honor at the assembly. More... Denise Novak, Social Worker (860) 687-2060 dnovak@windsorct.org Type 3 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |
Your Change Can Change LivesColeman Accelerated Elementary School St. Joseph, Missouri After reading “A Castle on Viola Street,” one of the Missouri “Show- Me” Reader award-winning books, students at Coleman Accelerated Elementary School made a text-to-life connection by becoming involved in the building of a local Habitat for Humanity home. This text-to-life connection was a part of the school’s annual Partnership Action Plan, in which the school librarian selects a book that can be tied to character education or volunteerism. More... Diana Schmidt, Librarian (816) 671-4100 Diana.schmidt@sjsd.k12.mo.us Type 6 | Elementary Grades | Climate of Partnership |