John Philips, Andrea Ward, Dawn Follendorf, Jill Camber Davidson, Jane Grinde (NNPS Key Contact), Stephanie Hogue, Ruth Anne Landsverk (NNPS Key Contact), Jill Haglund, and Neldine Nichols. Not Pictured: Steve Kretzmann, Teri Dary, Justin Steiner, and Courtney Rothenbach.
The Community Learning and Partnership (CLP) team oversees the state’s work on school, family, and community partnerships and contributes to the New Wisconsin Promise – the State Superintendent’s vision for school improvement. CLP leaders, Jane Grinde and Ruth Anne Landsverk, have partnered with NNPS since its inception. (See the spring 2006 issue of Type 2, NNPS’s newsletter, for an interview with Jane Grinde, part of NNPS’s 10th Anniversary celebration of “charter” states that have worked with NNPS from the start.)
The CLP leaders have become well-known experts on partnerships, represent family and community involvement on many DPI committees, and collaborate with colleagues in other DPI departments and state organizations to support and expand their agenda on partnerships. They have on-going support from Elizabeth Burmaster, State Superintendent, and Richard Grobschmidt, Assistant State Superintendent of the Division of Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning, where the program is located.
Among many activities, CLP guided the Parent Leadership Corp (an advisory group for the Superintendent) with the development of an inservice “package” to improve teacher-parent relationships in all schools. A presentation on What Parents Want School Staff to Know was developed to discuss the need for parents and school staff to build mutual respect, trusting relationships, and to provide families with information on how their schools work and how to become involved in their children’s education.
The state’s leaders for partnerships worked with the state PIRC (Parents Plus) to guide VISTA members to assist 10 Milwaukee schools and 9 other schools to strengthen their partnership programs. The activity is helping the CLP and PIRC leaders understand how VISTA can work in targeted ways with schools’ Action Teams for Partnerships to help improve programs of family and community involvement linked to school improvement goals. Site visits and other assessments revealed that strong and well-prepared supervisors of VISTA members increased the success of the VISTA members at their school sites. The evaluations are helping CLP plan on-going training for all VISTA supervisors to boost the effectiveness of the VISTA members and the school-based action teams.
CLP collaborates on projects and grants with colleagues in Special Education, Student Services, Library Development, Content and Learning, Title I, and other departments. They have multi-agency connections with many groups, including a major Early and Ongoing Collaboration and Assistance (EOCA) grant. Looking ahead, CLP plans to help more districts and schools across the state strengthen the connections of family and community involvement with student achievement and success indicators.
The CLP leaders have developed a series of useful publications and an active website to orient educators and parents, statewide, about work on partnerships. See the many facets of state leadership on partnerships at DPI at www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dltcl/bbfcsp/index.html.
Recently, I was contacted by staff member from a nearby state asking about the value of membership in NNPS. I said …”Very valuable!” The Handbook for Action is one of the most practical resources for developing partnerships. I like being able to call or email NNPS, be greeted warmly, and get answers to my questions. …Our connection with NNPS enables us to say that our approach is research-based. What a benefit NNPS has been to our work, as we help schools and districts develop sustainable partnerships with families and communities to help all children achieve academically and socially!
See Wisconsin DPI’s history of Partnership State Awards in 2001, 2003, and 2005 and examples in the annual collections of Promising Partnership Programs at www.partnershipschools.org, in the section Success Stories.
Note: John Philips died unexpectedly a short time ago. An integral part of the CLP team of DPI leaders, John worked throughout his life to increase equality, social justice, and environmental conservation. DPI will miss him.