National Network of Partnership Schools
Johns Hopkins university
partnership award
winners – 2004
WEBSITE SUMMARIES
2004 Partnership ORGANIZATION AWARD
WITH SPECIAL RECOGNITION
FAMILIES IN SCHOOLS, Los Angeles, CA
Ruth M. Yoon, Executive Director
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| Row 1: Mark Sullano, Lucille Ignacio, Maria Casillas (President), and Mina Arteaga. Row 2: Jose Cisneros, Mayra Martinez, Susana Bonis, Ruth Yoon (NNPS Key Contact), Pilar Buelna, and Barry Peterson. |
Families In Schools (FIS)
provides training, technical assistance, and support to help district leaders
and school teams plan, implement, and evaluate effective programs of school,
family, and community partnerships. The
organization has a strong reputation for high-quality professional
assistance. FIS is a four-year NNPS Partnership
Organization Award winner. It has
worked with LAUSD Districts B and F and with other districts and schools in Los
Angeles. In 2003, FIS became a federally-funded
Parent Information Resource Center (PIRC) for Los Angeles County to help
schools and districts build their partnership programs and meet the
requirements for family involvement in the No
Child Left Behind Act.
All FIS programs are linked to
increasing student achievement. For
example, Read with Me/Lea Conmigo and Reading Starts with Us provide
books that go home each week for parents and children to enjoy. Parents receive guidelines on how to read aloud
with their children in positive ways.
These efforts serve over 13,000 families a year to increase family
involvement in early literacy. Another
FIS program, G. O. T. (Going On To) College is an early college
awareness program for fifth- and sixth- grade students and their parents. Over 800 families and students were involved
in making college visits and receiving information to start plans and actions
for postsecondary education to realize students’ dreams for college. FIS assisted Local District H in its work
with school staff and several business and media partners to conduct Feria del Libro (Festival of Books). This activity brought together over 9,000
students and families from high poverty, low performing schools with over 22
authors and 114 book vendors.
FIS shares responsibilities
with district leaders to build capacity and ensure successful implementation
and evaluation of selected programs. FIS conducts program design, curriculum development, evaluation,
and training. In turn, districts and
organizations take leadership for participant recruitment, facilities, funding,
data collection, and staffing of activities and events. For example, FIS collaborated with Districts
2, 4, and 5 to conduct a “Providers Fair” for parents to review providers of
Supplemental Educational Services (e.g., tutoring services) for eligible
students. The goal is to increase the
number of the 180,000 eligible students who receive the services from just over
6% to a much larger number.
FIS leaders make many
presentations to educators, parent groups, political groups, and others. They also work with newspapers, radio, and television
stations, including Spanish language media to communicate information on its
work on partnerships.
FIS assesses its programs with internal
reviews and reflections, NNPS evaluation tools, and external evaluations. Recent studies of Read with Me/Lea Conmigo included pre- and post-surveys of teachers
and parents and district achievement data; a study of teachers in 77 schools in
6 districts; and a retrospective study of results over the past 2-3 years to
learn how to help schools institutionalize the program. These activities identified successes and challenges
that will be addressed in the next school year. Looking ahead, FIS will be working to “scale up” a program that assists
parents in helping students make successful transitions from elementary to
middle school, and will help schools’ Action Teams for Partnerships write more
ambitious plans linked to student achievement.
ABOUT NNPS: What
Leaders of Families In Schools Say
to Other Organizations . . .
Joining and being active in
NNPS is the best and most affordable way for a non-profit organization to
receive training and technical assistance to improve your programs of
partnerships. As a member, you receive
a handbook, newsletters, and access to information and technical assistance
from NNPS expert staff for a one-time, nominal membership fee. Leadership conferences to improve your
skills and to motivate you are offered to members at reduced costs. FIS has used NNPS materials and information
to develop workshops, training sessions and conferences that have increased the
number of schools and districts with which we work as well as our
credibility. The skills and knowledge
from NNPS also have helped us obtain grants and service contracts to improve
and expand our work on partnerships.
Also
see Families In Schools’ history of Partnership Organization Awards from 2001
to 2003 and examples of Promising Partnership Programs on the website, www.partnershipschools.org, in
the section In the Spotlight. For more
information visit www.familiesinschools.org.