Francis Howell Middle School
St. Charles, MO
Team work makes Francis Howell Middle School a friendlier place, where all staff members know they are appreciated. That is the result of the Adopt-A-Team practice, which is really a team of parents adopting a team of staff members to show their appreciation with goodies and good wishes throughout the school year. More...
Laurie Holder, Co-Chair
636-300-1792 Bholder72@aol.com
Type 5 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership
Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee (BEAM)
Milwaukee, WI
When the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at the Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee attracted 30 parents to its monthly meetings, the team knew it had a good thing going, and that it wanted to keep going. The team knew it needed to involve all interested parents in meaningful ways. After brainstorming ideas about how to do this, the ATP, working with the school staff and Ameri-Corps VISTA volunteers decided the answer was: committees. More...
Brendan Gants, AmeriCorps VISTA
414-755-8712 b.gants@parentspluswi.org
Type 5 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Kennedy Jr. High School
Lisle, IL
With a high-functioning School, Family, and Community Partnerships (SFCP) team that has been in place at Kennedy Junior High for nine years, SFCP members turned their recent focus to ensuring the team’s sustainability and relevance in an evolving school environment. Hoping to establish a solid process that would determine whether the team was making continuous improvement to the school’s partnership climate while serving the needs of excellent teaching and learning, the SFCP looked to strengthen its level of collaboration within the school by bringing the Building Leadership Team (BLT) to the planning table. More...
Lisa Kolick, Parent Co-Chair
630-357-5655 learn5k@comcast.net
Type 5 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership
Bell City Elementary School
Bell City, LA
As the holiday season approached, students of Bell City Elementary got a chance to get into the giving spirit—during the school day in the comfort of their own building. Many students in rural Bell City have limited access to stores where they can buy gifts. To help these children, the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP), working with the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), brought the stores (or at least the merchandise) to the school for their first-ever Elementary Christmas Shop. More...
Gina Murphy, ATP School Representative/Elementary Counselor
337-622-3210 Ext. 26 gina.murphy@cpsb.org
Type 3 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Parkside Elementary School
La Vale, MD
In the age of DVD Home Delivery and On-Demand Cable Packages, watching a movie, more often than not, happens in private before a small, glowing screen. For the students and families of Parkside Elementary, however, when it comes to enjoying a little bit of cinema, there’s no place like school. So went the Parkside PTA’s annual Fall Movie Night, which welcomed the season—and welcomed families to the school cafeteria to watch The Wizard of Oz. More...
Patti Stevenson, Principal
301-729-0085 patti.stevenson@acps.k12.md.us
Type 3 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Marengo Ranch Elementary School
Galt, CA
Families camping out behind the school? It was an idea that school offcials at Marengo Ranch Elementary had been considering for years. The time never seemed right, until last September. About 100 adults and 120 students pitched tents on a weekend night in September, gathered around campfires for songs and s’mores, watched a movie projected on a sheet, did crafts, and generally had a great time under the stars. More...
Terry Metzger, Principal
209-745-5470 tmetzger@galt.k12.ca.us
Type 3 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Daniel Boone Elementary School
Wentzville, MO
Grown-ups and children alike jumped out of their seats to answer trivia questions and celebrate their correct answers during the first-ever Family Trivia Night held at Daniel Boone Elementary. The participants’ enthusiasm, both during and after the occasion, ensured that the trivia contest will reappear on the school’s event calendar. More...
Kirsteen James, Assistant Principal
636-851-5353 Kirsteen.james@fhsdschools.org
Type 2 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Robert Frost Elementary School
Pasco, WA
The Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at Robert Frost Elementary managed to brighten up families’ mailboxes this year, and they did it with nothing more than a big stack of blue and yellow postcards and a staff of teachers with good news to share. A core ATP goal—fostering positive student recognition—inspired the Good News Postcards this year. After the principal stressed the importance of establishing effcient and positive teacher-to-parent communication, the team’s Positive Student Recognition committee decided that mailed postcards would provide a tangible affirmation of every student’s good qualities. More...
Laura Rudeen, ATP Co-Chair
509-543-6795 lrudeen@psd1.org
Type 2 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Naperville North High School
Naperville, IL
The School/Family/Community Partner-ship (SFCP) at Naperville North High School wanted to continue the momentum it has built over the last dozen years. It also wanted to increase the number of people involved in the partnership and find a way to sustain projects from year-to-year, despite the natural turnover of parents and faculty. All those wants led to the creation of the High School Organizational Design (HSOD), a new structure to help the partnership support its school improvement goals and sustain itself while empowering more parents, students, staff members and administrators. More...
Robyn O'Halloran, SFCP Co-Chair
630-527-9496 ohcrew@comcast.net
Type 5 | High School | Climate of Partnership
Lincoln Jr. High School
Naperville, IL
When the strength of parent-to-school partnerships rests on effective communication, it’s not always necessary to implement a brand-new strategy to improve the dialogue. The team for School, Family, and Community Partnerships (SFCP) at Lincoln Junior High realized that one such avenue was already in place, the school’s newsletter, the Lancer Ledger. More...
Theresa Tinker, Parent Co-Chair SFCP
630-3585-2746 tltinker55@hotmail.com
Type 2 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership
John B. Cary Elementary School
Hampton, VA
Building on the successes of the school’s Promising Partnership Practice published last year, Cary Elementary invited dads, stepdads, granddads, uncles, brothers, and other male guardians and role models involved in students’ lives to its day-long, triple-header My Day with Dad! celebration. By marking the important role that these men play in children’s lives, the school’s Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) also wished to encourage them to participate in, and even help to plan, other activities in the school building. More...
Betsy Taylor, Parent Involvement Facilitator
757-848-2374 bbtaylor@sbo.hampton.k12.va.us
Type 5 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
Philadelphia, PA
Introducing families to the school’s new headmaster was the impetus for the first Chat and Chew at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. Held in September, this was a particularly important get-acquainted session as Dr. Larry Taub is the first deaf headmaster the school has had in its 150 years. More...
Tina Pakis, Family Liaison
215-951-4765 tpakis@psd.org
Type 2 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Roosevelt Middle School
Blaine, MN
Roosevelt Middle School turned the tables just a bit with Parent Education Night. The October event brought adults to school for an evening of instruction—about their middle-schoolers and about how to be better at-home supporters. The Roosevelt Middle School Parent Partnership Team planned the event following the success of a similar program the previous school year, and in response to parents’ requests for more information on important middle-school topics. More...
Greg Blodgett, Principal
763-506-5800 Greg.Blodgett@anoka.k12.mn.us
Type 1 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership
Emerson Elementary School
Pasco, WA
If anyone doubts that fathers and other male role models can be persuaded to accompany their sons and daughters to a school event with little more than some basketballs and a few stacks of hot pizza, the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at Emerson Elementary has a message for them: Try it. One evening in March, for about an hour, students were encouraged to bring a significant male figure in their lives to the school gym. Having recently completed a P.E. unit on basketball, they brought their “Papas” to school to show off their newfound skills. More...
Renea Hanshew, Co-Chair
509-543-6792 rhanshew@psd1.org
Type 3 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Francis Howell Middle School
St. Charles, MO
The School-Friendly Business Program serves as a great example of a unique collaborative exercise that rewarded community businesses for providing good and responsive services to students and families, and for supported school goals and school schedules. The specific goal that Francis Howell Middle School’s Parent Improvement Team, or PIT Crew, had in mind for this practice was to improve student attendance. In particular, the PIT Crew set its sights on decreasing the number of excused absences usually associated with a student’s need to meet an appointment with a professional, often a doctor, dentist, or orthodontist. More...
Laurie Holder, Co-Chair, Parent Involvement Team
636-300-1792 Bholder72@aol.co,
Type 6 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership
Spooner Middle School
Spooner, WI
Souper Bowl of Caring was a super community service project for Spooner and Washburn County, with huge contributions by the students and staff of the Spooner School District. Part of a national campaign held the week before the NFL Super Bowl, Spooner’s project benefitted three area non-profits that work to alleviate hunger and poverty. The Souper Bowl featured three events: a food drive led by the students at Spooner Middle School; a “chili feed” for the community; and a silent auction. More...
Michelle Traxel, AmeriCorps VISTA
715-635-2173 traxelm@spooner.k12.wi.us
Type 6 | Middle Grades | Climate of Partnership
Porter Elementary School
Mesa, AZ
The parents at Porter Elementary School have a place of their own, now that the school has opened a Parent Resource Center. With furnishings and decorations donated by a local furniture store, the center is an inviting stop-off spot for parents and other family members looking for information, resources, or support. More...
Tony LaMantia, Principal
602-463-0127 tlamanti@mpsaz.org
Type 1 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Beardsley School
Bridgeport, CT
The Beardsley School seemed to support the Mary Poppins philosophy of parental involvement: “A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down.” At the elementary school, it wasn’t sugar, but a Sweetheart Dance, a spirited family night that school officials hoped would make parents more likely to return to school for more serious matters, such as parent-teacher conferences and mathematics and literacy nights. More...
Amy Marshall, Principal
203-576-7184 amarshall@bridgeportedu.net
Type 3 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Kosciuszko Montessori
Milwaukee, WI
School officials at Kosciuszko Montessori, seeking to boost the flow of family input into the school’s decision-making processes, found an effective means of encouraging parents’ help: Ask for it. Of course, asking a family member to fill out a survey—in this case, a detailed Parent Climate Survey for Milwaukee Public Schools—may not by itself suffice to make that parent feel involved with his/her child’s education. More...
Kimberly Yoder, AmeriCorps VISTA
414-902-7200 k.yoder@parentspluswi.org
Type 5 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Steeple Run Elementary School
Naperville, IL
For a full week in April, students and families at Steeple Run Elementary learned a thing or two about what life is like outside “the box.” Getting anyone to shut off their televisions for a week is no small task. So the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) presented families with a litany of alternatives for all that “screen time.” More...
Karen Currier, Principal
630-420-6385 kcurrier@naperville203.org
Type 6 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
Maya Angelou Elementary School
Pasco, WA
As the last school year progressed, parents at Maya Angelou Elementary spent more and more of their time at a new social networking site. Were the parents frittering away their free time? Not so. The teachers encouraged them to participate. What was that social networking site? The school’s cafeteria. For two hours every Wednesday morning, a group of volunteers and involved parents—or VIPs—took up scissors, tape, markers, and glue; fell into position behind staplers and laminating machines; and dropped completed craft projects into bins for teachers to use in their classroom lessons. More...
Ashley Chubb, ATP Co-Chair
509-543-6748 achubb@psd1.org
Type 3 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership
W. T. Cooke Elementary School
Virginia Beach, VA
Families in the Virginia Beach community around W. T. Cooke Elementary were treated to the opportunity of a lifetime this past Christmas—a free ride on the Polar Express. Yes—that Polar Express. The ever-popular holiday children’s book by Chris van Allsburg inspired a festive evening at Cooke, pulling together school and community resources to bring the story alive for more than 300 students and their families. More...
Kim Guevara, Early Childhood Special Education Teacher
757-648-2320 Kim-Susan.Guevara@vbschools.org
Type 6 | Elementary | Climate of Partnership