Susan Rohr and Karen Long, Coordinators
Sue Rohr (ATP Co-Chair), Shirley Bradley, Diane Zupp, Judy Kenny (Principal), and Karen Long (ATP Co-Chair).
The Franklin-York Learning Community of schools combined two elementary schools (Franklin and York) in one integrated program of school, family, and community partnerships. Over the past two years, the school has built a strong sense of teamwork and collaboration among teachers, parents, and administrators. The team leader writes: “Our learning center now has a reputation for strong partnerships with the parents and community. Any new principal will become part of this effort.”
Some activities include a Meet the Teacher time before school opens in the fall; a Multicultural Night with activities for all six types of involvement that was attended by about three hundred people; newsletters; Math, Science, and Creativity Nights; Student of the Month with parents invited to lunch; and many others. One innovative activity of “porch visits” enabled the school staff to visit every student’s home to make in-person contacts with families during September and October to reach parents who do not usually come to school meetings. The leaders explained: “The 'porch visits' opened lines of communication and broke down barriers of suspicion and fear that existed in the past.”
Membership provides a framework for success in developing a program of school, family, and community partnerships. It assists a school in organizing an annual action plan using six types of involvement. Membership was extremely valuable to our school
--Susan Rohr and Karen Long, Franklin-York Learning Community