North Penn School District
Lansdale, PA
In the North Penn School District, a district in which 71 distinct languages are spoken, the need to establish school-to-parent communication across cultures is an everyday challenge. In 2006, the district superintendent identified the need to engage all families as a “missing link” between the Effective Schools structure already in place and the next level of student achievement. The district formed engagement teams in each of its 18 buildings. As a result, a sense of family-friendliness took hold in the district. More...
Linda Abram, Family and Community Engagement Specialist
215-853-1091 abramla@npenn.org
District-Level Leadership
Wausau School District
Wausau, WI
O.N.E. stands for Our Network for Education, a work in progress that will build and sustain a volunteer program for the district’s 21 schools. O.N.E. is set to make its official debut in the fall of the 2009-10 school year at four elementary schools. The network will invite parents, community members, businesses, and organizations to be active participants in the district’s educational process through volunteer opportunities. Using web-based software for volunteer management, the district will be able to display volunteer opportunities online. More...
Roxane Hagedorn, AmeriCorps VISTA
715-261-0584 rhagedor@wausau.k12.wi.us
District-Level Leadership
Thomas County Schools
Thomasville, GA
Pulling inspiration from the “playbook” of a neighboring school district that held a similar event, Thomas County Schools leaders met with parent coordinators from that district to develop their own plan. In this way, the sharing of information helped to bring the Back to School Blitz into existence. Collaborative leadership turned that concept into a success. More...
Kathy Keown, Director, Tilte I/Special Projects
229-225-4380 Ext. 133 kkeown@rose.net
District-Level Leadership
Hampton City Schools-Title I Program
Hampton, VA
In 2008, the Title I Parent Involvement Program of Hampton City Schools (HCS) introduced its first division-wide event to recognize the exceptional contributions of parents, volunteers, and community partners in all its Title I schools. In celebrating these Title I Promoters of Excellence, the Parent Involvement Program shows appreciation to those who voluntarily invest their time and resources in the Title I school community. More...
Chanda Epps, Title I Coordinator
757-727-2024 cepps@sbo.hampton.k12.va.us
District-Level Leadership
Naperville Community Unit School District 203
Naperville, IL
Every year, Naperville School District 203 retires some of its older computers. Usually, these were sold to a liquidator for fair market value. In 2008, a pair of innovative community business partners—partners who sit on an Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at one of the district’s junior high schools—realized that they could capture more value from the old systems both in terms of financial assets and educational opportunities. More...
Nina Menis, Director of Community Relations
630-420-6475 nmenis@naperville203.org
District-Level Leadership
Howard County Public School System
Columbia, MD
Organized under its Department of Student, Family, and Community Services, the Howard County Public School District manages its own Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at the district level. This “DATP” wrapped up its third year of operation. The three-year development of the team demonstrates the challenges and rewards that accompany promoting partnerships among district leaders. More...
Jean West Lewis, Family and Community Outreach Specialist
410-313-6794 jean_lewis@hcpss.org
District-Level Leadership
Baltimore County Public Schools
Baltimore, MD
When parents queue up to talk to teachers about their sons and daughters’ performance in the classroom, parent-teacher conferences can have their limitations. How could these collaborations be extended, wondered the Parent Support Services (PSS) office of Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS), while continuing to ensure that teachers had enough time to meet with all parents? More...
Susan Hahn, Parent Services Representative
410-887-0365 shahn2@bcps.org
District-Level Leadership
Fresno Unified School District
Fresno, CA
The nation’s credit crunch and economic recession provided a teachable moment for families in the Fresno Unified School District. With almost everyone’s attention turning to job stability, rising expenses, and other economic worries, the district’s Department of Community and Family Engagement Network (CFEN) saw an opportunity to offer financial education sessions to help families not only manage their finances more effectively but also connect to their children’s mathematics lessons. More...
Brendel Jackson, Manager
559-248-7130 brendel.jackson@fresnounified.org
District-Level Leadership
Middletown Public Schools
Middletown, CT
For the Action Teams for Partnerships (ATPs) of Middletown Public Schools, district-level partnership coordinators know the importance of recognizing a year of work well-done. The annual Glow & Grow Year-End Celebration for Partnerships gave school partnership and action teams the chance to celebrate their successes—that was the Glow—and to address new strategies that can be put into practice next academic year—and that was the Grow. More...
Donna Marino, Parent Resource Coordinator
860-638-1462 marinod@mps1.org
District-Level Leadership
Francis Howell School District
St. Charles, MO
What’s in a name? Quite a bit of excitement when the district-wide student showcase and all-around school celebration is called the Howell-A-Palooza. A “lollapalooza” is, by definition, a “wonderful thing.” And that seems to be an apt definition for Francis Howell School District’s adaptation. It, too, was a wonderful thing—drawing at least 5,000 people to a community-wide event that showcased student work, promoted community resources, strengthened school-community bonds, and gave everyone a good time and a good feeling about their schools. More...
Mary Jo Griffin, Director Parent Involvement
636-851-4045 maryjo.griffin@fhsdschools.org
District-Level Leadership
Kennewick School District & Pasco School District
Pasco, WA
Since October of last year, district-level facilitators for the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) in neighboring Kennewick and Pasco, Washington—each a part of the “Tri-Cities” community—have held monthly meetings to share ideas and strategies related to the work they do for and with the ATPs in their respective schools. More...
Jessica Wallace, Parent Partnership/Pre-K Outreach
509-543-6771 jwallace@psd1.org
District-Level Leadership
Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Paul, MN
The district’s Offices of Academics, Accountability, and Community Relations learned of the need for consistent, easily intelligible standards for families and school staffs. In response, they adapted some of the already-made teacher materials into the Learning Standards for Families booklets. Available in English, Hmong, Spanish, and Somali, the booklets give examples of what a student learns in each grade (pre-K–6th), and what families can do to reinforce students’ literacy, math, and science skills at home. More...
Joe Munnich, Family & Community Involvment Coordinator
651-767-8109 joe.munnich@spps.org
District-Level Leadership
Francis Howell School District-Early Childhood
St. Charles, MO
For years, the Early Childhood programs available in the Francis Howell School District meant that local parents did not have to look far for resources that would help their children flourish when they entered the K–12 school system. Serving as the point of first contact with the district for over 5,000 children and their families each year, the Parent Education Program establishes a strong connection between home and school, initiating relationships with families that turn into community partnerships that are built to last. More...
Mary Jo Griffin, Director Early Childhood/Parent Involvement
636-851-4045 maryjo.griffin@fhsdschools.org
District-Level Leadership
Little Rock School District
Little Rock, AR
The Parent Involvement Office of the Little Rock School District (LRSD) TEAMed up with families at two separate, comprehensive training events this school year held in October and March. Their primary message was clear and strong: Together, Everyone Achieves More. The Parent Institute series brings together resources from the district and the broader Little Rock community that cover a range of areas of interest, providing parents, teachers, and the community with information designed to help students reach important goals. More...
Kaye Rainey, Parent Involvement Coordinator
501-447-3358 kaye.rainey@lrsd.org
District-Level Leadership
School District of Rhinelander
Rhinelander, WI
Often, NNPS schools and school districts go out of their way to foster a better climate for partnerships among staff, family members, and the community. In Rhinelander, Wisconsin, it was the climate itself—in particular, the city’s pleasantly mild summer months—that opened up an opportunity for all three parties to come together for the sake of promoting youth literacy. More...
Casey Gauthier, VISTA Leader
715-365-9700 Ext. 5136 casey.gauthier@dpi.wi.gov
District-Level Leadership
School District of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Most parents have had moments when they wanted to tell their school superintendent what was on their minds —pay a compliment, ask a question, or express a concern. Parents in the Philadelphia Public Schools received just such an opportunity through a series of monthly Superintendent’s Parent Roundtable Discussions. More than 3,000 parents and other adults attended the sessions held each month from November to June at the district office and at schools in different regions of the district. More...
Quibila Divine, Director
215-400-6443 qadivine@philasd.org
District-Level Leadership
LAUSD-8
Los Angeles, CA
District 8 schools asked fathers and other male guardians to take their places in a nationwide, unified cadre of men who demonstrated proudly their commitment to their children’s education. These schools asked district dads and father figures to do one thing: Bring their children to school. On Monday, September 8, 2009, this was how the male role models of more than 1,000 District 8 students added their number to the Million Father March. More...
Juanite Coleman-Merritt, Parent Ombudsperson
310-354-3485 juanita.coleman@lausd.net
District-Level Leadership
Virginia Beach City Public Schools
Virginia Beach, VA
For many students in communities across the country, the bus is what brings you to school. For preschool-age children in Virginia Beach, the bus brings school to you. Brightly colored and covered from front to back with images of young children playing and reading on a sandy, sunny shoreline, the Reading Bus makes its rounds through the city three days a week. More...
Janet Smallwood, Title I Coordinator
757-263-1188 JanetM.Smallwood@VBSchools.com
District-Level Leadership
Pasco School District
Pasco, WA
This year, among many things that district leaders accomplished in addition to facilitating all of its schools’ teams, was the implementation of a number of tools that encouraged ATP development in Pasco schools. These directly involved school ATP Chairs and Co-Chairs in different ways, but one might call the resulting materials “for Chairs, by Chairs.” The three tools were an ATP Chairperson Self-Evaluation, an ATP Parent Job Description, and an ATP Chairperson Video. More...
Lorraine Landon, Parent Education Coordinator
509-543-6714/509-543-6771 llandon@psd1.org/jwallace@psd1.org
District-Level Leadership
North Penn School District
Lansdale, PA
With both leadership and direct facilitation from the district level, specific solutions to one school’s challenges can translate into district-wide strategies. One such example came in the fall of 2008, when North Penn High School—one of the North Penn School District’s 18 schools—did not meet Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmarks for academic achievement among the school’s African American subgroup. More...
Linda Abram, Family & Community Engagement Specialist
215-853-1092 abramla@npenn.org
District-Level Leadership