Sheree Drapp, Parent Involvement Coordinator; James Miller, Principal (Chaska District 112)
Row 1: Karin Blomquist, Renee Van Bergen, and Karin Steine (NNPS Key Contact). Row 2: Sheree Drapp (NNPS Key Contact), Tina Jensen, Dawn Dammann (Co-Chair), Carolyn Kupahl, Becca McPherson (Co-Chair), and Jim Miller (Principal).
The Early Childhood Center in Chaska has been a member of NNPS since 1997, working to establish and sustain a strong partnership program. The Action Team for Partnerships meets monthly. It includes four teachers, four parents, the principal, a support staff member, specialist, and early childhood family education, all serving two-year terms. Members are selected in April, and a retreat is held to orient new members. Ad hoc committees organize and implement activities in the action plan. The Coordinator for the Center serves on the Action Team and the School-site Council. She meets monthly with nine other schools' Parent Involvement Coordinators to discuss ways to improve parental involvement and student success. This Center serves kindergarten students only.
This means that every family is new every year. Thus, transitions in and out of the school are very important to students and to families. Visiting days in April and before school starts in September help orient incoming parents.
The outgoing transition also is critical. Kindergarten children move on to first grade in six elementary schools in the district. At the school's Transition Event, two teachers from each "receiver" school conducted an information session for parents at the early childhood center. The Action Team for Partnerships, with help from other parents, publicized the event. Translators and translated materials were provided for Spanish-speaking parents and childcare was available. This activity helped parents learn about the new school their child would attend in a comfortable, family-friendly setting. The school was given an award by the National School Public Relations Association for its friendly and informative brochure, A parent's guide to kindergarten readiness. About 200 families attended the event. They provided overwhelmingly positive evaluations and useful feedback to improve the event even more next year.
The school's Action Plan for partnerships supports student achievement by assisting parents to work with their children on readiness activities in kindergarten and for preparing for first grade. This includes parent-child activities to enjoy picture books; use newspapers, signs, and labels; discuss numbers, colors, and shapes; conduct talking and questioning activities; conduct other early literacy and numeracy skills; and use play to build students' confidence and social skills.
The school uses the NNPS framework of six types of involvement to evaluate the quality and comprehensiveness of its program. The team notes that one reason they are known as a School of Excellence is that they welcome parent involvement and assist parents with useful resources.
The school faces new challenges with a growing number of families whose first language is Spanish. They hired an ESL teacher to translate materials for the Transition Event into Spanish, made personal phone calls in Spanish, and had the translator at the evening event to assist Spanish-speaking families.
The philosophy of NNPS is consistent with the work that we do with families. "It matches what we are all about," says Jim Miller, principal. The six types of involvement provide a comprehensive framework to look at the work we do in pursuing partnerships with families. The framework helps guide evaluation and planning. There is a continual message about the importance of persisting with partnership activities."