Fall, 1999 No. 7 National Network of Partnership Schools
Meeting
the ChallengeSchools in the National Network Develop Strong Community Connections
Mavis G. Sanders, Assistant Director
One of the key challenges for Type 6 – Collaborating with the Community is to match community contributions to school goals for student success. Schools in the National Network are showing how this challenge can be met as an integral part of their programs of school, family, and community partnerships.
Analyses of 1998 UPDATE data collected from over 400 schools uncovered a wide variety of community institutions with which schools can partner. These include: businesses/corporations; universities and educational institutions; health care organizations; government and military agencies; national service and volunteer organizations; faith organizations; senior citizen organizations; cultural and recreational institutions; and other community organizations and individuals. Each of the school-community activities that was implemented focused on students, schools, students’ families, or the community.
Connecting Type 6 with all Types of Involvement
Many of the community activities that were implemented supported or strengthened the other types of involvement in the Epstein framework. For example, one school partnered with a nearby church that provided meeting space for parenting workshops (Type 1 – Parenting). Another school partnered with a local community organization to translate school flyers into different languages for its families, and to provide interpreters for school meetings with families (Type 2 – Communicating). A school partnered with AmeriCorps and a local university to provide reading tutors for students in grades 1 through 5 (Type 3 – Volunteering). Another school partnered with a local children’s bookstore to provide parents with information on books that they can read with their children at home (Type 4 – Learning at Home). And still another school partnered with McDonald’s to provide meals to increase parents’ attendance at school meetings on curricular goals and objectives (Type 5 – Decision Making).
Using Type 6 to Meet School Goals
Other schools partnered with their communities to provide a variety of services to promote student learning and development. One school, for example, partnered with its state department of environmental protection to help science faculty integrate local resources and environmental concerns into the existing science curriculum. Another school partnered with IBM to develop a computer center to promote computer literacy among members of the community. One school partnered with a local library to hold a community art exhibit of students’ work. And still another school partnered with local hospitals, dentists, nurses, and dieticians to develop a low cost health care site at the school that provides preventative and maintenance health care for students, families, and community members.
These and other reported activities show how community partnerships can be developed to help meet school goals for student success. If your school has not yet met this challenge, why not make it a priority for the 1999-2000 school year?
View two charts summarizing how students, families, schools, and communities benefit from partnership activities and various examples of community partners.
From: Sanders, M. G. (April, 1999). Collaborating for student success: A study of the role of “community” in comprehensive school, family, and community partnership programs. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Montreal, Canada.
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