Spring, 1999 No. 6  National Network of Partnership Schools

State Line

Connecticut Sets Three Goals for School-Family-Community Partnerships

The Connecticut School-Family-Community Partnership Project helps educators, parents, and community members develop partnership programs. The project, strongly supported by Theodore S. Sergi, Commissioner of Education, is collaboratively led by the State Department of Education, The Special Education Resource Center, and the Governor’s Prevention Partnership. It is guided by the principle that all families have strengths and are capable of playing critical roles in their children’s educational success. Leaders Harriet Feldlaufer, Judy Carson, and Barbara Slone selected three goals to organize the work of the project.

Goal 1. Promote a Comprehensive Definition of School-Family-Community Partnerships. The Connecticut State Board of Education adopted a definition of partnerships (see box). To promote implementation of the state’s definition, the Partnership Project sponsored a Policy Forum with over 160 education, business, community, and parent groups to discuss how to work together to improve students’ education and achievement. Along with the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and the Connecticut PTA, the Partnership published A Policy Action Packet for School-Family-Community Partnerships: A Guide to Developing Partnership Programs for Student Success. The publication was designed to help districts develop local policies and build programs consistent with the new state law. A biannual newsletter also promotes the development of partnership programs, calls attention to research and policy developments, and highlights local programs.

 

Goal 2: Train School Teams to Develop and Maintain School-Family-Community Partnerships. A major activity of the Partnership Project is providing two-day training workshops and on-going technical assistance to school-based teams. The action-oriented teams from schools in several districts develop and maintain programs of school, family, and community partnerships focused on student success. The training is based on Epstein’s framework which helps the state and its schools work well with the National Network of Partnership Schools. The Project also conducts a competitive grants program for small cash stipends to support partnerships in schools with high educational and economic needs. "Hot Topic" workshops are conducted twice a year for school teams on subjects such as how partnerships support early literacy, improve student behavior, and reduce violence in schools and communities.

Goal 3: Serve as a Resource for Building School-Family-Community Partnerships. The Connecticut School-Family-Community Partnership Project has produced a collection of books, videos, and other resources and materials to help schools develop their policies and programs, and to increase public awareness of the positive impact of school-family-community partnerships on student learning. The materials may be borrowed from the state’s lending library for special education and family support resources. These resources are listed in an annotated bibliography, and soon will be online.

As a state leader in the National Network of Partnership Schools, Connecticut is practicing its message of partnership. It collaborates with several state groups, and facilitates the work of schools and districts. The staff and programs are supported, in part, by federal funds from Even Start, Special Education, and Safe and Drug Free Schools, and the Parent Information and Resource Center which is funded by a Goals 2000 grant to the United Way of Connecticut. Connecticut’s leaders have designed and implemented an important program that demonstrates the state’s clear vision, strong leadership, and dynamic support for action on school, family, and community partnerships.

For more information contact harriet.feldlaufer@po.state.ct.us,   judy.carson@state.ct.us, at the Connecticut State Department of Education; or slone@rh.edu at the Special Education Resource Center.

Connecticut State Board of Education Defines Partnerships

The State Board of Education defines school-family-community partnerships as the continuous planning, support, and participation of school personnel, families, and community organizations in coordinated activities and efforts at home, in the school, and in the community that directly and positively affect the success of all children’s learning. Each partner is viewed as an equally contributing member, maintaining a certain independence while acknowledging shared responsibility. To succeed, the partnership must be flexible and based on mutual respect. Schools must take the lead in developing and sustaining effective partnerships. (August 7, 1997)

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