Developing Effective University-K12 Partnerships

1. Developing Effective University-K12 Partnerships Bernard Oliver, Director/Professor Diane Archer-Banks, Program Coordinator Diana Melendez, Program Coordinator Sophie Maxis, Graduate Assistant Jackie Basallo, Graduate Assistant A paper prepared for the annual K-12 Conference and Innovation Fair, Orlando, FL October 2007

2. Principles of Partnership • Agreed upon mission, goals, value and measurable outcome • Relationship of mutual trust, respect, genuineness, and commitment • It builds upon identified strength and assets, but also addresses areas that need improvement • Partnership balances power among partners and enables resources among partners to be shared • Clear, open and accessible communication between the partners; a common language, listening skills, etc. • Roles, norms and processes for the partnership are established with input from all partners • Goal of continuous improvement and feedback • Shared credit • They take time to develop (evolutionary) (CCPH,2000)

4. Five Essential Elements of Partnership • Top level commitment • Defined goals and objectives • Two-way communication • Attitudes • Reassessment and evaluation (Pounder, 1998)

5. Dilemmas/Challenges of Collaboration • Need for change toward more collaborative schools vs persistence of schools • Resource gains vs costs of collaborative • Professional interdependence vs professional autonomy • Shared influence vs shared accountability • Balance of influence vs over control (Pounder, 1998)

6. Successful Academic Development • High standards for programs staff and students • Personalized attention • Adult role models • Peer support • K-12 program integration • Strategically timed interventions • Long term investment of students • School-society budge for students • Scholarship support • Evolution that contributes to the interventions (Gullatt & Jan, 2004)

7. Research on Early Interventions(Outreach) Effective Practices • Key person to monitor the student over time • High quality instruction • Long term investment vs short term investment • Paying attention to student’s cultural background • Peer group for emotional/social support • Financial support/incentives Limitations • Program attrition • Small number of students • Participant selection • Male participation • Programs are ? Systematic • Limited impact on academic achievement • Long term effects • Program costs (NPEL, 2001)

8. Practices That Address College Going • High expectations • Rigorous curriculum • Early identification and support mechanisms • Close relationships between students, parents, teacher • Individual attention and strong sound support • Personalized learning • Access to college information (early) • Exposure to college expectations and experiences • Improved guidance • Increased academic support • High standards • Mentoring • Transition programs • Financial assistance • Parental involvement • Small learning communities (AYPF, 2001)

9. Problems of College Access • Lesser financial barriers • Better academic preparation (especially urban) • Encourage focus on college prep • Increase information re: finances, admissions, college life, etc. • Engage families early • More equitable admissions policies • College information • College advising • Intervention programs (ACE, 2003)

10. Impediments to Opportunity to Learn • Inequalities of family social and cultural capitol • Inequality of resources in communities • Lack of peer support for academic achievement • Racism • Inequalities in K-12 schools/including teacher quality • Segregation of students • Poor academic/personal counseling • Low expectations • High drop out rate • Limited financial support (NPEC, 2006)

11. Major Program Characteristics of Outreach/Academic Support Programs • Counseling (financial aid, career, etc.) • Academic enrichment • Parental involvement • Personal and social enrichment • Mentoring • scholarships

12. Schools and Families • Students/schools with engaged parents • earn higher grades/test scores • enroll in higher level programs • more likely to be promoted • have more regular school attendance • have better social skills, adaptive behavior, etc. • attend post secondary schools • stronger teacher-parent relationships • improves overall quality of schools (Henderson, Mapp 2002)

15. Mission The mission of the University of Florida Alliance is to enhance college access for historically underrepresented urban youth by: t Providing college outreach and awareness t Engaging parents in the educational process t Offering professional leadership development to educators t Mentoring and fostering student leadership t Granting scholarship support in partnership and collaboration with schools and community agencies.

16. Core Values • We believe that culturally responsive schooling is conducive to student success. • We believe that early outreach and college awareness enhances college participation. • We believe in equal access and opportunity to post-secondary education for all students. • We believe that all students deserve a high quality and well-balanced education. • We believe that parents and families are key partners in the educational process. • We believe that mentoring and academic support are necessary for student success. • We believe that all students have the individual talents and abilities to succeed.

17. Programs

18. Rubin, H. (2002). Collaborative leadership: Developing effective partnerships in communities and schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. (Summer 2000). Partnership perspectives: Community-Campus Partnerships for Health. 1, 11, entire volume. Patriakakou, E., Weissberg, R. P., Redding, S. and Walberg, H. (ed.) (2005). School-family partnerships for children’s success. New York: Teacher College Press. De, Carvalho, M. E. (2001). Rethinking Family-school relations: A critique of parental involvement in schooling. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. Swap, S. M. (1993). Developing home-school partnerships. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Greenberg, A. R. (1991) . High school-college partnerships: Conceptual models, programs and issues. ASHE-ERU Higher Education Department No. 5. Washington, DC: George Washington University. Osguthorpe, R. T. Harris, R. C., Harris, F. M., Black, S. (eds.) (1995). Partner schools: Centers for educational renewal. San Francisco: Jossey Boss Pounder, D. G. (1998). Restructuring schools for collaboration: Promises and pitfalls. New York: State University of New York Press. Henderson, A. T., and Mapp, K. L. (2002). A new wave of evidence: The impact of school, family and community connections on student achievement. Austin, TX: National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools. Epstein, J. L. (et al.) ( 2002). School family and community partnerships: Your handbook for action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.