Anne Carusi, Area Executive Officer
Row 1: Anjali Patel Durepo (Key Contact), Juanita Campbell, Christine Johnson, Stephanie Triantos, Reada Nelson, and Angela Jones. Row 2: Chava Rosen, Barbara Phillips, Audrey Francis, Anne Carusi (Area Executive Officer), Victoria Ray, and Wanda Jackson. Row 3: David Brock, Concetta Fantom, Arthur Chenoweth, and Evelyn Anderson. Row 4: Kenneth Jackson.
The Southern Area is one of nine mini-districts within the Baltimore City Public School System. It is recognized for facilitating the work of over twenty elementary, middle, and high schools to form their Action Teams for Partnerships and to write and implement annual Action Plans for Partnership. The area has also developed effective community collaborations, despite changes in Area Executive Officers and in Facilitators for School, Family, and Community Partnerships. Beginning in 1994, this Area helped researchers learn how school district leaders can effectively facilitate the work of a large set or cluster of schools. The knowledge gained in the Southern Area contributed to the design of the National Network of Partnership Schools.
The Area's full-time Facilitator for School, Family, and Community Partnerships meets with each Action Team school's Action Team for partnerships; conducts cluster meetings of groups of schools to encourage sharing ideas, problems, and solutions; and organizes end-of-year celebrations and planning activities with all schools' Action Teams for Partnership.
The Southern Area Executive Officer and Facilitator worked well together to provide school principals, teachers, parents, and students with common messages of the importance of school, family, and community partnerships. Partnerships are part of the Area Strategic Plan, thereby identifying the district's goals for all schools to improve family and community involvement in order to help students succeed at higher levels.
The Area is developing strong partnerships with community groups. For example, a local hospital has provided families with information on health issues and services, helped middle school students learn about parenting skills and responsibilities, and helped staff with topical health seminars. Also, Community Forums were conducted on many occasions to discuss school topics, and Study Circles were held in non-school locations to discuss school policies and issues. These meetings brought together parents, community members, school officials, school board members, and others from all of the Area's schools.
The Southern Area's program of [school, family, and community partnerships] has greatly contributed to the district's school improvement efforts....By having an Area Facilitator, we are better equipped to...support school teams,...provide technical assistance to teams [to help] overcome obstacles or challenges in school-family relations,...and organize area activities--like the Community Forums--that benefit the entire region.
--Anne Carusi, Southern Area of Baltimore City Public School System