Row 1: Cris Whitehead (NNPS Key Contact), Stephanie Ward, and Mary Canchola (NNPS Key Contact). Row 2: Maria Gutierrez, Mayra Hernandez, Francisca Gonzalez, and Bridgette Stanciel.
Leadership for Partnerships
Strategic Learning Initiatives (SLI), a three-time award winner, is an organization that assists schools to involve parents in children’s education and to be active partners in their children’s schools. SLI agrees that just about all parents want to help their children’s learning and development; they just need the information, tools and support to do it. SLI’s Fun with Math workshop was designed to highlight the importance of math in children’s lives and to help parents understand how math instruction has changed over time.
Parents participated in three activities and math games that they also could use at home to help students build math skills. The presentations and materials were in English and Spanish. The activities were prepared for the third grade level, with demonstrations added on how to adapt the activities for younger or older children. Participants shared feedback about the activities at a subsequent workshop and evaluated the effectiveness of the project. Parents were able to help their children with basic math facts at home and have fun in the process!
Facilitation of Schools’ ATPs
SLI offers technical assistance to schools in parent engagement workshops, parent leadership training, celebrations, and other events. Working with the Action Teams for Partnerships (ATPs) in collaborating schools, SLI orients and facilitates progress on partnerships. SLI strengthens school-based programs of family and community involvement by supporting parent facilitators in designing parent workshops. Starting with a parent survey at the end of the school year, SLI identifies the topics of workshops needed for the next school year. These are checked and approved by schools’ ATPs.
School facilitators for partnerships meet with SLI to plan the workshops for the next school year, using NNPS approaches and addressing the goals of each school. Responsibilities are shared by the school and by SLI. Agendas, scripts, and activities are developed; handouts are prepared and translated into Spanish, as needed; manipulatives are gathered; and other supplies are purchased. Parent facilitators are trained in conducting the workshops. Each facilitator works from a script, but has built-in flexibility in conducting the workshop. The facilitators meet to debrief and discuss areas for improving outreach and the quality of each workshop. All results and evaluations are reviewed by the ATP in planning workshops for the next year.
See the history of Strategic Learning Initiatives’ Partnership Organization Awards on the website, www.partnershipschools.org in the section Success Stories. Visit the organization at: http://www.strategiclearninginitiatives.org/.