Jane Grinde, Director, and Ruth Anne Landsverk, Coordinator, Family-School-Community Partnership Team; Elizabeth Burmaster, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Jane Grinde (NNPS Key Contact) and Ruth Anne Landsverk (NNPS Key Contact).
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has been a partner in National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins for over seven years, and a past Partnership State Award winner in 2001. The quality of its program has been strengthened by State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster's initiative, New Wisconsin Promise, which recognizes the importance of family and school partnerships and the shared responsibilities of educators and parents for excellent schools and for increasing students' achievement and success. The Bright Beginnings/Family-School-Community Partnerships team (FSCP) also is supported by Assistant Superintendent Richard Grobschmidt, a longtime champion of school, family, and community partnerships.
FSCP's work is organized by annual Leadership Plans. Among many activities, the team conducts state conferences, presentations, and regional workshops to help districts and schools in Wisconsin understand and develop plans and programs for family and community involvement. FSCP uses new technologies, such as audio-conferences, to conduct statewide meetings without requiring days of travel. The team is spearheading new approaches to train VISTA volunteers to assist schools in developing comprehensive and goal-oriented programs and practices of partnership and to increase students' literacy skills and other indicators of success in school. The State Superintendent appointed a Parent Leadership Corps of advisors, ensuring that parents' voices are heard on state policy issues.
Over time, the FSCP has greatly increased interdepartmental and other state connections on partnerships. The team invites representatives from state offices for Title I, Family Literacy/Even Start, Special Education, Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE), Title IV, Childcare Center, Lifelong Learning, and other departments to attend FSCP team meetings. FSCP also works with Parents Plus (PIRC), Wisconsin State PTA, Community Education, and the VISTA and AmeriCorps members and supervisors in schools across Wisconsin. cess.
The DPI leaders have produced several excellent Learning Together booklets with guidelines and tools on improving programs of partnerships. They are completing another on how LEAs and schools in Wisconsin can meet the parental involvement requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act. They regularly contribute information on partnerships to the DPI website, and serve on state task forces and committees as experts on partnerships.
The FSCP team is expanding its Wisconsin Network of Partnership Schools, linked to NNPS. Every year, Wisconsin’s leaders strengthen state policy and leadership on partnerships and assist districts and schools across the state to improve their partnership programs. The state has one of the best, sustained leadership programs on school, family, and community partnerships.
NNPS is a state’s lifeline to the most current research, best practices, and a host of tools and ideas that will help your state, school districts, and schools start to develop comprehensive programs of partnership, improve as they go along, and blend partnerships into your state’s education infrastructure. NNPS’ dedicated and knowledgeable staff is absolutely wonderful in responding to requests for help and information. We feel personally connected to them. Of course, your state should join NNPS, too.
To learn more about the DPI's work on partnerships, visit www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dltcl/bbfcsp/index.html Also see Wisconsin DPI's history in its Partnership State Award in 2001 and examples of Promising Partnership Programs on the website, www.partnershipschools.org, in the section In the Spotlight.