Fall, 2001, No. 11 National Network of Partnership Schools
Neighborhood Representative Program Improves Communication and Attendance
Park Avenue Elementary School in Danbury, CT developed the Neighborhood Representative Program to encourage families to communicate with one another and share information about school-wide events. The Action Team sent a memo to all families requesting volunteers willing to call neighbors to share school news. The team members also brainstormed names of people they might recruit as neighborhood representatives.
The next step involved dividing the master student list into street addresses and assigning each street to the Neighborhood Reps. The team also linked one member of the school staff to three or four Neighborhood Reps to support them with any questions or concerns.
At a kick-off party, school staff introduced themselves to their Neighborhood Reps and gave them an information packet with the list of neighborhood parents to call, phone numbers, their school contact’s phone number, and the first month’s phone script of information on school activities. Each month, Neighborhood Reps received information on upcoming events to share in their neighborhoods. At the end of the school year, the Action Team celebrated with all Neighborhood Reps at a luncheon for volunteers.
The program faced a major communication challenge. The Neighborhood Reps read from English-only phone scripts and, therefore, were not able to communicate with families who spoke a language other than English. To remedy this situation, the program will recruit Park Avenue families that speak and read English, Spanish, and Portuguese to effectively communicate with all families.
Another challenge was to ensure that all Neighborhood Reps had complete and accurate phone lists. To resolve this, the Action Team will send the Neighborhood Reps an updated phone list twice a year.
The program required approximately $250 per year to mail the monthly phone scripts to all Neighborhood Reps and to host the kick-off party. To reduce costs, the team will send the monthly scripts home with the students’ of the volunteers and will use a pot-luck approach for the kick-off party.
Park Avenue Elementary School has found the Neighborhood Representative Program to be a positive experience for its families, students, community members, and school staff. The program has improved communication and increased family attendance at school events.
Adapted from: Promising Partnership Practices—2001, National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University.
