Jean W. Lewis, Family and Community Outreach Specialist; John O'Rourke, Superintendent
Row 1: James Griffiths, Dr. Kimberly Statham (Chief Academic Officer), Jean West Lewis (NNPS Key Contact), John O'Rourke, Andrea Wilborn, and Pat Kelly. Row 2: Ivy Nelson, Carole MacPhee, Lynne Newsome, Tammi McLean, and Deborah West.
Howard County Public School System in Maryland has been developing leadership and partnership programs in the National Network of Partnership Schools since 1997. Although over the years, the Superintendent of Schools changed and the Office of Family and Community Outreach was relocated, the facilitator's understanding of and dedication to school, family, and community partnerships helped smooth these transitions and sustain support for improving partnership programs.
Now, leadership for partnerships is located within the Division of Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration in the Office of Student Services and Special Education. The district leader for partnerships communicates and collaborates with colleagues in several departments including the Black Student Achievement Office, the Elementary Support Team, School Health Council, Career Connections Team, Public Relations Committee, and others.
The district leader for partnerships facilitates a set of 11 schools to help them form Action Teams for Partnerships, write plans, and implement partnerships to promote student success. The schools are guided to select family and community involvement activities that are linked to school goals for students' academic success in the school improvement plan. Activities include extended day (after school) and homework help activities; community partnerships to increase computers in community locations; and seminars for parents to share information and increase family involvement. The district leaders plan to address the challenge of scaling up their partnership program from helping 11 schools to assisting all schools in this large district to create action teams for partnerships, plan their programs, and share ideas with each other.
The district leader works with five community-based Learning Centers that provide after-school programs for 125 children and families, two thirds of whom are African American and one-third of whom do not speak English at home. The Learning Centers provide help with homework, resources for studying, assistance with language, enrichment, and support for families. District evaluations indicate that students who received extra help scored higher than similar students at their schools.
The district leader has developed useful tools and approaches. One example is a multiple intelligence checklist -- "My Child is Smart in Many Ways" -- for parents to share information about their children's talents. She is also is increasing district-wide school, family, and community partnership activities such as: bilingual and translation services for families who do not speak English; guidelines for teachers to make positive phone calls to each child's home; and services for the Academic Intervention Summer Program of bus minotor to ensure safety from home to school and health assistants in the schools.
Howard County's leaders wrote: "Membership in the National Network will help (you) document your successes and align your work on partnerships with your district's goals for students. You will have all the technical assistance, research findings, and collegiality needed to produce work of the highest quality . . . The leadership workshops in Baltimore are professionally rejuvenating."
Also see Howard County (MD) School System's examples of Promising Partnership Programs on the website, www.partnershipschools.org, in the section Success In the Spotlight.