School-Family-Community Partnerships

1. School-Family-Community Partnerships Erik M. Hines, M.Ed EDCP 665 University of Maryland, College Park

2. Objectives • At the end of the class session, you will be able: - To understand the framework of School-Family-Community Partnerships - To identify the six types of involvement used in School-Family- Community Partnerships - To understand how School-Family- Community Partnerships are implemented

3. “It takes a village to raise a child” -African Proverb-

4. School-Family-Community Partnerships (SFC) • SFC involves the effort of parents, teachers, administrators, and community agencies • SFC involves viewing our students/clients as individuals. We have to view them as children or individuals and not as another student or client assigned to our case load. • SFC involves a vested interest in our students and clients. We have to view our students or clients as investments to contribute to society.

5. School-Family-Community Partnerships "Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children." (Goal 8 – Goals 2000, Educate America Act) (U.S. Department of Education, 1994)

6. Theory of SFC • Overlapping Spheres of Influence • Involves the family, school, and community • Recognizes that these entities can have an impact on student/client learning and development • Frequent interaction and communication can send a message of the value to the student or client about their welfare, academic, and individual needs (Epstein, 1987)

7. Models of Overlapping Spheres of Influence • External Model • The school, families, and communities can be drawn closer together or farther apart • School, families, and communities conduct practices that are independent of each other as well as jointly to facilitate the learning and development of the student/client • Internal Model • Interpersonal relationships between school, families, and communities • Social interactions between SFC at the individual and institutional level

8. School-Family-Community Partnerships Six Types of Involvement

9. Type 1: Parenting • Framework • Help all families establish home environments to support children as student • Sample Practices • Family support programs to assist families with health, nutrition, and other services • Challenges • Provide information to all families who want it or who need it, not just to the few who can attend workshops or meetings at the school building • Enables families to share information about culture, background, and children’s talents and needs • Redefinitions • “Workshop to mean more than a meeting about a topic held at the school building at a particular time; “workshop” may also mean making information about a topic available in a variety of forms that can be viewed, heard, or read anywhere, anytime

10. Type 2: Communicating • Framework • Design effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and their children’s progress • Sample Practices • Conferences with every parent at least once a year, with follow-ups as needed • Language Translators • Challenges • Review the readability, clarity, form, and frequency, of all memos, notices, and other print communications • Consider parents who do not speak English well, do not read well, or need large type • Redefinitions • Communications about school programs and student progress to mean two way, three way, and many

11. Type 3: Volunteering • Framework • Recruit and organize parent help and support • Sample Practices • School and classroom volunteer program, to help teachers, administrators, students, and other parents • Challenges • Recruit volunteers widely so that all families know that their time and talents are welcome • Make flexible schedules for volunteers, assemblies, and events to enable employed parents to participate • Redefinitions • “Volunteer” means anyone who can support school goals and children’s learning or development in any way, at any place, and at any time-not just during the school day and at the school building

12. Type 4: Learning at Home • Framework • Provide information and ideas to family about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning • Sample Practices • Information for families on skills required for students in an academic subject and client regarding personal life decisions • Challenges • Coordinate family-linked homework activities, if students have several teachers; include family in the activities of client such as career decision making • Redefinitions • “Help” at home to mean encouraging, listening, reacting, praising, guiding, monitoring, and discussing- not “teaching” or “preaching” at the person

13. Type 5: Decision Making • Framework • Include parents in school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives • Sample Practices • Independent advocacy groups to lobby and work for school reform and improvements as well as individuals with disabilities • Challenges • Offer training to enable leaders to serve as representatives of other families, with input from and return of information to all parents • Redefinitions • “Decision making” to mean a process of partnership, of shared views and actions toward shared goals, not a struggle between conflicting ideas

14. Type 6: Collaborating with the Community • Framework • Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development • Sample Practices • Ensure equity of opportunities for students , clients, and families to participate in community programs or to obtain services • Redefinitions • “Community” to mean not only the neighborhoods where students’ homes and schools are located but also neighborhoods that influence student and learning development.

15. Expected Results Six Types of Involvement

16. Parenting • Student/Client • Positive personal qualities, habits, beliefs, and values as taught by family or agency • Parents • Awareness of own and other’s challenges in parenting • Teachers/Administrators/Counselors • Understanding of student/client diversity • Awareness of own skills to share information on child development

17. Communicating • Student/Client • Awareness of own progress and actions needed to or maintain grades or personal skills • Parents • Responding effectively to student/client problems • Teachers/Administrators/Counselors • Appreciation and use of parent network for communication

18. Volunteering • Student/Client • Increased learning of skills that receive tutoring, assistance, or targeted attention from volunteers • Parents • Gains in specific skills of volunteer work • Teachers/Administrators/Counselors • Greater individual attention to students and clients, with help from volunteers

19. Learning at Home • Student/Client • Self Concept of ability as learner • Parents • Awareness of student or client as learner • Teachers/Administrators/Counselors • Satisfaction with family involvement and support

20. Decision Making • Student/Client • Understanding that student and client rights are protected • Parents • Shared experiences and connections with other families • Teachers/Administrators/Counselors • View of equal status of family representatives on committees and in leadership roles

21. Collaborating with the Community • Student/Client • Awareness of careers and options for future education and work • Parents • Knowledge and use of local resources by family and student/client to increase skills and talents to obtain needed services • Teachers/Administrators/Counselors • Openness to and skill in using mentors, business partners, community volunteers, and others to assist students and clients as well as augment teaching practice

22. Four factors that promote Community Involvement • High commitment to learning • A Principal, President, Administrator that focuses on community involvement • A working school/client service climate • Two-Way Communication between schools and community partners

23. Action Team for Partnerships Approach

24. The Purpose of Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) • A branch or section of the School Improvement Team • Coordinates, writes, and implements plans to produce results for students/clients, families, and for the school/university/community agency as a whole • Comprised of case workers, students, deans, assistant principals, agency counselors, social workers, business and community partners, parents and other family members • Members of ATP work together to produce and maintain a climate of good partnerships at a particular institution through review of institutional goals; designing, selecting, implementing and evaluating partnership activities; and improving partnership programs

25. What does an ATP look like? • Consists of 6 to 12 members • Two teachers, two parents, an administrator, parents, student (1-2 at high school level) PTA president, and school secretary • Two rehabilitation counselors, an administrator, a former client, • Parents, professors, two administrators (provost and dean), a student representative from each collegiate level (freshman, sophomore, etc), representatives from the college community (office of residence life, financial aid, each academic area, etc), and a representative from the student health center

26. What does an ATP look like? (cont’d) • Business partners • Faith-based organizations • Civic and cultural organizations • Community agencies

27. The Function of an ATP • Create, implement, coordinate activities • Monitors progress, solves problems, publicizes activities • Reports on the school’s partnerships to the School Council/School Improvement and community • Recruits other members of the academic, institutional, and community settings to assist in family and community involvement activities

28. Function of an ATP (cont’d) • Organizes work by using the six types of involvement as its point pf reference • Create a One Year Action Plan for improving partnerships at your particular institution • Utilize leadership, chairs, co-chairs, and committee members to delegate responsibilities • Establish goals and guidelines for teamwork, including how team members will communicate, discuss ideas, solve problems, and make decisions • Create a budget according to the needs of the One Year Action Plan • Meet regularly at least once a month; preferably for 1-2 hours

29. Function of an ATP (cont’d) • Recognize and celebrate of all involved parties in the SFC partnership • Evaluate the progress to improve the quality of implementation and the strength of results from various involvement activities • Gather and collect new ideas • Create a New One Year plan to ensure continuation of SFC at your institution

30. The Leadership of ATP

31. Principals, Provost, Agency Administrators • Connect the ATP to the SIP or governed body of an institution • Serve as a chair on a committee • Allocate funds for partnership activities • Guide ATP in creating periodic reports to the governing body for accomplishments and improvement • Work with local community agencies and entities to obtain resources beneficial to the institutions, families, and community

32. School Counselors and Rehabilitation Counselors • Serve as chairs, co-chairs, or leaders • Expertise in working directly with family, students, clients, and community agencies • Facilitate meetings that will guide the agenda of SFC partnerships to work efficiently for the benefit of the students and clients

33. Developing an Effective Team • Selecting or electing members who have a commitment to SFC partnerships • Understand your team members • Have clear, concise, and measurable goals • Minimize conflict • Establish rules and procedures • Take action

34. Conducting Team-Training and End-of –Year Celebration Workshops

35. Team-Training Workshops • Preplanning • Review your handbook and any other resources that may assist you • Time • Six to eight hours • At least three hours in the morning to present background information for ATP to be successful • Three hours in the afternoon to create a draft of the One Year Action Plan

36. Team-Training Workshops (cont’d) • Materials • Audio/visual aids • Handouts • Agendas • Workshop Evaluation • School Improvement plan and school policies • Other Services • Stipends • Continuing education credit • Door prizes • Child care for parents • Transportation

37. End-of-Year Celebration Workshops • Recognize the progress of ATPs in regards to SFC partnerships • Organized as a breakfast, luncheon, dinner • Range from a couple of hours to a full day • Display table and exhibits of videos, information on SFC partnerships • Explain the direction and future goals of the ATPs for the following year