Ray Schwabe, April Bellovich, Sharyn Long, Jan Hopke-Almer (Principal), Thao Lor Lee, Mary Sellers (NNPS Key Contact), Neftali Ramirez and Ong Vang. Not Pictured: Edward Vang and Jonathan Goss.
The Action Team for Partnerships at Phalen Lake meets monthly. It is chaired by the Home and School Liaison (who also attends Site Council meetings) and has eight other members including the principal, parents, teachers, other school staff fluent in Hmong and Spanish, an after-school program coordinator, and a volunteer coordinator. ATP meeting summaries are given to the Site Council, PTO, and staff members. The team members, who volunteer or are appointed, take the lead on different initiatives and work with other teachers, staff, community members, and parents. The annual action plan for partnerships is incorporated in the School Continuous Improvement Plan (SCIP).
The Family Room is considered the “heart” of the school with a coordinator and staff who are fluent in Hmong, Spanish, and Sign Language to make sure all parents are welcome. New families are given a tour of the school and invited to join activities, volunteer, and come often to the Family Room to ask questions or discuss issues in any language. The Family Room staff works with teachers to contact parents, schedule conferences, and provide support at classroom and grade level events. As the Assistant Principal noted: “The coffee is always on.”
This year, the team held an all-day tea to recognize all volunteers from families and community organizations. The well-appointed “café” was designed and supported by teachers and other staff and the Capitol City Initiative. Refreshments were served from breakfast through tea time. A large numbers of volunteers, teachers, and those from community organizations were able to come by to be appreciated.
A Health and Science Fair, led by the science teacher with support from the Family Room and Action Team, was attended by over 400 people. Community organizations participated, including interactive and informational displays by many organizations that provided health care and health services to families in the community. The school nurse, counselors, social worker, and physical education teacher also had booths. Grade level displays and sixth graders research projects also were shared. A scientist from the 3M Corporation conducted a demonstration on cryogenics, and a health raffle rounded out the successful event.
The school has been working to fully include all families, particularly the parents of recently arrived Hmong students and other parents of English Language Learners. An on-site adult literacy program provides opportunities for parents, teachers, and staff to interact at the school building throughout the day. The bilingual staff in the Family Room engages families in many ways and translates materials to reach all families with school communications. The team reports that participation of ELL parents has increased in the PTO and in other activities.
In 2006, the school conducted a comprehensive survey and compared the responses of African American (16%), American Indian (5%), Asian American (16%), European American (18%), and Latino (20%) parents, as well as parents of students receiving special education services (9%) and those in the school’s Language Academy (16%). Parents in all groups commented on the value of the Family Room, the high quality of the teachers, the high level of respect shown to parents, and/or the schools’ academic and support programs. Several groups of parents asked for more and better homework – something the Action Team for Partnerships and teachers may consider in their plans for next year.
We would tell other principals about the NNPS comprehensive framework of the six types of involvement and its role as a clearinghouse for the latest information on effective strategies for family and community involvement. NNPS also provides data on the value of involvement activities. With NNPS, a new principal does not have to reinvent parent and community involvement, but can learn about best practices and the ideas of others through NNPS’s newsletters, annual collections of best practices, and website.