Evie Gustafson, Principal, Jane Turner, Action Team Chair
Row 1: Jane Turner (ATP Chair) and Evie Gustafson (Principal). Row 2: Candy Brown, Toni Kuhn, Cindy Claffy, Teresa Bosarge, Marianne Yuwiler, Amy McDonald, Samantha McKeon, and Kristy Mahakian. Row 3: Teresa Aragon, Alice Bendixen, Emily Iland, Mary Osborne, Suzanne Saginian, Natasha Bovee, and Loren Graham. Row 4: Tarra Messick, Amy Hairfield, Dave Leathers, Eric Greenfield, Lori Russum, Susan Nales, Maria Waschak, and Amanda Wiseman.
The school of about 500 students in kindergarten through grade six joined the National Network in 1997, and has been developing and improving its program of school, family, and community partnerships for three years. It is recognized for addressing all six types of involvement in its program, and for working in innovative ways to focus on student learning. For example, at a Family Reading Night, parents and children rotated through various reading stations to read aloud, conduct drama, art, and other activities. To improve volunteering, the Action Team surveyed parents and developed a Resource Directory to make it easier to match parents’ interests and schedules with school needs for volunteers.
Bouquet Canyon is always working to improve its partnership activities. For example, it redesigned its Back-to-School Night to include information for parents on state (California), district, and school curricular standards by grade level and across subjects. It designed a Dad’s Day Breakfast that not only was a social activity but also focused on and featured students’ journal writing. This activity, which attracted 90% of the students’ fathers (or father figures) was the result of teamwork of teachers, parents, administrators, community business partners, and students.
The National Network's structure and guidelines can be easily replicated at any school, and provide a flexible framework with which to create a program. The annual action plan serves as an umbrella for all parent activities at the school, and helps to coordinate and unify parent participation and involvement.
--Evie Gustafson and Jane Turner, Bouquet Canyon Elementary School