Developing Meaningful School-Family-Community Connections

1. Developing Meaningful School-Family-Community Connections IASB Convention 2009 Dan Fox, East Buchanan Rod McGraw, East Buchanan Deb Holsapple, Marshalltown Spence Evans, Des Moines Lou Ann Gvist, Iowa School Boards Foundation

2. Purposes: • Review key insights from research • Learn about Karen Mapp’s “Joining Process” • Hear from three different Iowa school administrators putting research into practice • Q & A with presenters

3. Why should we care about these connections? When working together, families, schools and communities can successfully make a difference to improve student learning.

4. New Wave of Evidence (2002) Home-School Partnerships Overall Finding: • There is a positive and convincing relationship between family involvement and benefits for students, including improved academic achievement. This relationship holds across families of all economic, racial/ethnic and educational backgrounds and for students at all ages.

5. New Wave of Evidence (2002) Effective Practices Overall Finding: • Parent and community involvement that is linked to improving student learning has a greater effect on achievement than more general forms of involvement.

6. Effective Practices Unfortunately, efforts to build linkages are often focused on fundraising and volunteerism; while helpful and even important, these more general forms of involvement do not lead to improved student achievement.

7. Effective Practices Efforts to build connections should be part of the school improvement process….and not a separate initiative or program. Parent & community engagement efforts should be linked to your student improvement goals.

8. Key Take Away Message… • Evidence across studies show the most important aspect to successfully connect schools, families and communities to improve student learning is to build effective relationships.

9. Building Effective Partnerships • Engage diverse families – and recognize, respect and address cultural and class differences

10. Building Effective Partnerships Design inviting programs that: • Are welcoming and address specific parental and community needs • Honor parents for any/all contributions they make to support learning

11. The Joining Process • Welcoming – family friendly schools • Honoring – respecting families for any contribution they make; responsive to diverse needs • Connecting – focused on improved student learning

12. Putting Research Into Action Dan Fox Superintendent/Elementary Principal East Buchanan Community Schools Rod McGraw Board member East Buchanan Community Schools

13. Leadership Honor Welcome Connect

14. Building Relationships School Home

15. Sustaining Family Involvement Through Leadership Welcome Families are made to feel at home, comfortable, and a part of the school community. Honor Family members are respected, validated and affirmed for any type of involvement or contribution they make. Connect School staff and families put children at the center, and connect on education issues of common interest, designed to improve educational opportunities for the children. Relationships Welcome, Honor, Connect The “oil” that keeps the cogs in motion….

16. Putting Research Into Action Deb Holsapple Associate Principal Marshalltown High School Marshalltown Community School District

17. Welcoming Families • Number every door of the school. • Place a “Welcome” sign by each door. • State if the doors are locked or unlocked during the day. • Offer signage in all languages of the building, especially directions to the office. • Invite parents into the building prior to conferences. • Include the whole family! Have Food! Play games! Make it fun! Hold it outside!

18. Honoring & Connecting • Value parents’ expertise about their child • Home Visits – Neutral Location • Conference – Personal Invitation • Parent Advisory/Network • Bridging the Diversity Gap • Interest Workshops • Parent Volunteers – Hall monitors/café • Student + Family + School + Community = Student Success/Graduation

19. Putting Research Into Action Spence Evans Principal Hiatt Middle School Des Moines Public Schools

20. Making Parent Connections - the Amos Hiatt Way • 565 Home Visits during the first week of summer • 2 Positive Parent Contacts in the first 2 weeks of school • Parent Evenings focused on activities for the home • Monthly Calendar with few announcements • 100 percent attendance for Parent/Teacher Conferences

21. Improvements Based on Parent Connections • 5,326 office referrals before new administration. Down to under 200 last year • ITBS scores have improved every year for the last 3 years • Attendance rates continue to improve

22. Improvements Based on Parent Connections • Fewer students listed as At-Risk based on our district’s early indicator system • Parent Evenings: attendance increased from 25 to 200 parents attending

23. The Supt/Board Team Roles: • Ensure all family engagement programs are all linked to learning • Ensure efforts are focused on building trusting, meaningful relationships • Ensure families are honored for their contributions & cultural/class differences are respected

24. Q & A

25. www.schoolboardresearch.org New resources coming soon!

26. Contacts: Dan Fox, Superintendent, East Buchanan CSD; 319-935-3367, dfox@east-buc.k12.ia.us Rod McGraw, Board member, East Buchanan CSD;319-935-3367, rmcgraw@wlumber.com Deb Holsapple, Associate Principal, Marshalltown High, Marshalltown CSD; 641-754-1130 dholsapple@marshalltown.k12.ia.us Spence Evans, Principal, Hiatt Middle School, Des Moines Public Schools; 515-242-7774 spence.evans@dmps.k12.ia.us Lou Ann Gvist - ISBF515-247-7064, Lgvist@ia-sb.org www.schoolboardresearch.org

27. Additional Resources Iowa School Board Foundationwww.schoolboardresearch.org Iowa Statewide PIRCwww.iowaparents.org A New Wave of Evidencewww.sedl.org Beyond the Bake Sale(Henderson, Mapp, Johnson & Davies, 2007)www.thenewpress.com/bakesale/ Harvard Family Research Projectwww.hrfp.org