Fall, 1999 No. 7 National Network of Partnership Schools
Member News
School in Danbury, CT Implements Full
Partnership Schools-Comprehensive School Reform ModelTwo Network Schools Recognized by Working Mother Magazine
Los Angeles County Opens Resource Center on Family-School-Community Partnerships
Washington and
Missouri Join
National NetworkWashington Creates Notebook on Types of Involvement
School in Danbury, CT Implements Full
Partnership Schools-Comprehensive School Reform ModelPark Avenue School in Danbury selected the National Network of Partnership Schools as its Comprehensive School Reform model (CSR) for whole school change. The school was awarded a three-year Obey-Porter Grant to use the Network’s action team approach and planning tools to improve reading, writing, math, behavior, and connections and pathways for partnerships. Principal, Beverly White, social worker, Joyce Burns, and parent-outreach coordinator, Joanna León, are guiding the project. Five Action Teams were formed to focus on the five goals. Every faculty member selected one Action Team as an area of interest and expertise. The teams also include parents, administrators, paraprofessional staff, and members of the community so that all partners in education work together on all areas of school improvement.
The five Action Teams have written One-Year Action Plans for the 1999-2000 school year with specific activities to improve student success on Connecticut state tests and other school indicators. For example, math teachers are using the TIPS interactive homework process to increase family involvement in math, conducting other math partnerships, and making improvements in math instruction.
Other schools interested in using partnerships to organize whole school change should use Action Team Structure #2 in the Network’s Handbook (pg. 102), and contact Network staff for information on the Partnership Schools-CSR model.
Two Network Schools Recognized by Working Mother Magazine
Curtis Bay Elementary School in Baltimore, MD, and Max Leuchter Elementary School in Vineland, NJ, were chosen by Working Mother (September 1999) as schools that work for families. Working Mother talked to national education and child development experts, social policy professionals ,and administrators at state and local levels to find 10 schools or districts that made great progress adapting to families’ needs and enhancing the school-family relationship.
Curtis Bay Elementary was recognized for its volunteer program, and Max Leuchter Elementary was recognized for its Parent Resource Center and use of TIPS interactive homework. Congratulations to these Network schools!
Los Angeles County Opens Resource Center on Family-School-Community Partnerships
The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) opened a Family-School-Community Partnership Resource Center to serve families of students placed at risk and students with special needs. Barbara Wilson, Program Administrator, explained: “Parents of students with special needs and educational problems often have a difficult time finding resources in the community and school systems to help their children.” The Center, located in San Pedro, is a clearinghouse with information on national, state, and local services for families of about 100,000 students in Special Education, Juvenile Court and Community Schools, and Alternative Education – three divisions of LACOE.
Ann Kinkor, LACOE Program Coordinator and Key Contact to the National Network, stated: “Family-school partnerships are essential for youth challenged with disabilities, delinquency, pregnancy, foster care, and other obstacles that may interfere with success in school.” At the resource center, Ann and her colleagues also train teams of parents, teachers, and administrators to work together as Action Teams for Partnerships. She explained, “The Network’s six types of parent involvement have helped our Action Teams plan good programs. The six ‘keys’ to parent involvement also are the keys to student success.”
The LACOE Action Teams are joining the National Network to obtain extra help and to share their work with others across the country. Five videos on students with special needs and special situations were produced by the LACOE Family-School-Community Partnership Resource Center. For information on ordering the videos, call Ann Kinkor at (310) 521-0334.
LACOE’s FSCP Center, videos, and other partnership activities are supported, in part, by the Los Angeles-based Family-School-Community Business Partnership Foundation and by other organizations interested in school, family, and community partnerships for children with disabilities and youth at risk.
Washington and
Missouri Join
National NetworkThe state departments of education in Washington and Missouri joined the National Network of Partnership Schools to strengthen their leadership activities, and in-state and national networking on school, family, and community partnerships.
Chris McElroy, Program Administrator for Readiness to Learn and Partnerships for Learning in the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), is the Key Contact to the National Network. With support from Superintendent, Terry Bergeson, the State Board of Education adopted a position statement on partnerships. Washington has formed a broad Leadership Team for Partnerships including colleagues from several OSPI departments, the Washington State PTA, and other state professional organizations. The Leadership Team will work together and with regional Education Service Districts and others to help schools and districts build comprehensive programs of school, family, and community partnerships.
In Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Joan Solomon, Coordinator of Caring Communities and School Improvement Initiatives, serves as the Key Contact to the National Network. The state is strongly committed to improving family and community involvement in schools and in supporting students. With encouragement from State Superintendent, Robert Bartman, Missouri will help schools and districts develop school, family, and community partnerships across the grades. Solomon will begin to work with a set of pilot schools and will develop a state leadership team and plan for partnerships in the 1999-2000 school year.
Washington Creates Notebook on Types of Involvement
Washington State School Director’s Association (WSSDA) has published a 500 page loose-leaf binder which includes ready-to-print materials, and easy-to-follow guides for activities and projects for the National Network’s six types of family and community involvement. The Tool Kit for School-Family-Community Partnerships may be ordered from WSSDA by calling (360) 493-9231. The price for a single copy is $79 plus sales tax, postage, and handling. Washington state residents pay slightly less, and multiple copies may be ordered at a quantity discount.
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