Week 6 Discussion 2 Los Pen Profile the kind of empirical evidence at Los Pen that supports the school’s transformation.  Focus on quantitative data. Based on the statistical data gleaned from the readings what qualitative conclusions would you draw about the efficacy of the many aspects of differentiated parent support? INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE WEEK FIVE *Special thanks to Dr. Patrice Jones for sharing her original guidance in this document. In Week Five, you read about the link between Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and parental involvement. When students do not have their basic needs met or do not feel safe in school, they are not fully prepared for academic instruction.  “It is imperative that we proactively create a climate that will support all students learning” (Hjalmarson, 2011, p.135). Partnerships are all about connection.  In this final week of the class, we will end our discussion about the need to develop partnerships among schools, families, and communities to support student success.  Parents are the glue that helps to bring students and schools together.  For schools, it is important to gain parent support and involvement in assisting students in their educational growth. Schools must develop strategies to offer parents in establishing better support for students in their educational journey; however, in order for schools to help parents, there must be a plan in place. We learned at the start of this course that there are a variety of ways in which parents can be supportive of students in school.  Far gone are the days when the only way that parents could show support was to help with homework.  Although helping with homework is still vital, it is only a small example of the many strategies that parents can use to support the education of their children. Think about the classroom today, beyond fundraisers and PTA meetings.  What are some of ways in which your child's school has asked for your support or you have asked parents for support?  How does this extend to using technology as a means of academic support?  Consider the technology you use to communicate with your child’s teachers or with the parents of your students.  Research shows a strong correlation between the achievement gap and home Internet accessibility (Empowering Parents, 2010). “If, as President Obama emphasizes, parents have a responsibility to be actively involved in their children’s education, they will need the technology tools and skills to do so effectively” (The Children’s Partnership, 2010, p. 7).  Having regular communication with schools through email, blogs, and social media helps parents receive updates to their child’s performance and plan for what additional supports they might need for areas of need. We have learned throughout the previous weeks of this course that classrooms throughout the U.S. have become increasingly diverse. Hjalmarson writes that, “when people are born into families with limited parenting skills, without some intervention or tr ...

1. Week 6 Discussion 2 Los Pen
Profile the kind of empirical evidence at Los Pen that supports
the school’s transformation. Focus on quantitative data. Based
on the statistical data gleaned from the readings what
qualitative conclusions would you draw about the efficacy of
the many aspects of differentiated parent support?
INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE
WEEK FIVE
*Special thanks to Dr. Patrice Jones for sharing her original
guidance in this document.
In Week Five, you read about the link between Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs and parental involvement. When students do
not have their basic needs met or do not feel safe in school, they
are not fully prepared for academic instruction. “It is
imperative that we proactively create a climate that will support
all students learning” (Hjalmarson, 2011, p.135). Partnerships
are all about connection. In this final week of the class, we will
end our discussion about the need to develop partnerships
among schools, families, and communities to support student
success.
Parents are the glue that helps to bring students and schools
together. For schools, it is important to gain parent support and
involvement in assisting students in their educational growth.
Schools must develop strategies to offer parents in establishing
better support for students in their educational journey;
however, in order for schools to help parents, there must be a
plan in place. We learned at the start of this course that there
are a variety of ways in which parents can be supportive of
students in school. Far gone are the days when the only way
that parents could show support was to help with homework.
Although helping with homework is still vital, it is only a small
example of the many strategies that parents can use to support
the education of their children.

2. Think about the classroom today, beyond fundraisers and PTA
meetings. What are some of ways in which your child's school
has asked for your support or you have asked parents for
support? How does this extend to using technology as a means
of academic support? Consider the technology you use to
communicate with your child’s teachers or with the parents of
your students. Research shows a strong correlation between the
achievement gap and home Internet accessibility (Empowering
Parents, 2010). “If, as President Obama emphasizes, parents
have a responsibility to be actively involved in their children’s
education, they will need the technology tools and skills to do
so effectively” (The Children’s Partnership, 2010, p. 7).
Having regular communication with schools through email,
blogs, and social media helps parents receive updates to their
child’s performance and plan for what additional supports they
might need for areas of need.
We have learned throughout the previous weeks of this course
that classrooms throughout the U.S. have become increasingly
diverse. Hjalmarson writes that, “when people are born into
families with limited parenting skills, without some intervention
or training, they will very likely be the same kind of parent that
they were raised by” (2011, p. 157). Leaders in schools today
must recognize the need to become culturally literate so that
students can be successful. There have been a variety of
strategies discussed that can be used to implement a strong
program to support students and their families through
collaboration. Members of the school must take on the needed
leadership roles to address what's most important to students
and their families; however, according to the NEA, "cultural
competence is a key factor in enabling educators to be effective
with students from cultures other than their own" (no date, para.
2). What makes the need for cultural competence so important?
How can you contribute to building a positive relationship with
your school’s community? What can you do to provide support

3. to parents to encourage stronger school involvement?
Week 6 Discussion Guidance
Successful models of family partnerships makes families feel
welcome, include family input in multicultural curriculum, and
offer workshops for parents to learn and grow with their
children. One organization, Parents Reaching Out, uses the
Epstein model for parental involvement by developing family
leadership, connecting families throughout the community, and
provide families with learning opportunities (Parents Reaching
Out, 2008). They relate a supportive academic environment to
weaving a blanket. “Consider the similarities between weaving
blankets that stand the test of time and creating supportive
environments that help our children to thrive. The systems,
services and families in our children’s lives are strands of
thread” (Parents Reaching Out, 2008, p. 2). For the first
discussion, Community Involvement, reflect back to the
writings of Epstein. Respond to all of the questions being
posed here. Our communities are an important aspect of the
growth of the students within them. What does it look like to
have a community that is involved in the support and education
of students through shared decision-making and service learning
opportunities?
For the second discussion post, Los Pen, look back at the
research and data surrounding the success of the Los Pen
school. What conclusions can we draw from what we have
learned? Consider their motto: We are committed to creating a
school that knows no limits to the academic success of each
student. What does this mean in relation to the school’s
transformation? Using the empirical evidence as a starting
point, focus on the quantitative data and qualitative narratives,
what conclusions can you draw about the efficacy of the many
aspects of differentiated parent support? Please review the
discussion board rubric prior to your initial post to ensure you

4. are fully meeting each of the set criteria to earn full credit.
Your initial post should include relevant professional, personal,
or other real-world experiences in a manner that is rich in
thought and provides valuable insight into the topic.
Additionally, all elements of the discussion board prompt
should be thoroughly addressed with strong and precise
connections to previous and/or current course content, or to
real-life situations. When substantively replying to your peers’
post, be sure to provide a thorough and constructive analysis
relating the response to relevant course concepts that
incorporates pertinent follow-up thoughts or questions about the
topic, and demonstrates respect for the diverse opinions of
fellow learners.
Week 6 Assignment Guidance
All of the previous assignments have brought us to the
preparation for the final project for this course. Last week, you
developed an outline of a plan for a service learning project that
involved the school, the family, and the community. For
schools to be successful in supporting students academically
and emotionally, a strategic plan must be developed. Like you
addressed in the discussion post, the way schools care about
children is reflected in the way school’s care about the
children’s families. For this final project, Parental Involvement
for the 21st Century, revisit the National Network of
Partnerships Schools (Links to an external site.) from Week
Two. This organization provides sample plans and templates to
get you started. Be sure that your plan is supported by research
and resources for a successful outcome. Thoroughly read the
instructions for the final project to gain a better idea of what is
expected. Please use the assignment rubric to assist with the
development of your paper. Finally, make sure to use the
grading rubric as a self-checklist before submitting the final
copy of your assignment to confirm you have met or exceeded
each required expectation. The highest level of achievement on
the rubric is “distinguished,” which is only earned through

5. exceeding posted expectations at the proficiency level. Please
remember you are in a masters-level program. Therefore, your
writing, research, and content are held to graduate-level
expectations.
References and Resources
Hjalmarson, F. (2011). Differentiated parent support: Engaging
parents in unique ways to increase their involvement in School.
San Diego, CA: TurnAround Schools Publishing.
Jeltovski. (2011). mf692 (Links to an external site.)
[photograph]. Retrieved from
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/786542
Learning Leaders. (2011, March 11). Family engagement =
student success (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embeddedv=gw
EPv2ob_QI
National Network of Partnership Schools. (2010). One-year
action plan for partnership (Links to an external site.).
Retrieved
from http://sowashco.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2
&clip_id=333&meta_id=10524
NEA. (n.d.). Why cultural competence? (Links to an external
site.) Retrieved from: http://www.nea.org/home/39783.htm
Parents Reaching Out. (2008). Family involvement building
community partnerships (Links to an external site.). Retrieved
from http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/parent/artifacts/PR
O-NM-
3%20Family%20Involvment%20Building%20Partnerships2008.
pdf
The Children's Partnership. (2010, October 7). Empowering
parents through technology (Links to an external site.).
Retrieved from http://www.childrenspartnership.org/research-
list/empowering-parents-through-technology/
Required Resources
1. Read from your text, Differentiated Parent Support: Engaging

6. Parents in Unique Ways to Increase Their Involvement in
School:
· Chapter Eleven – Home to School Connection
· Chapter Twelve – Full Circle
2. Abravanel, S.A. (2003). Building community through service-
learning: The role of the community partner. Links to an
external site.University of Nebraska Digital Commons..
Retrieved from
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article
=1014&context=slcepartnerships/
1. With the community partner in mind, from the school
perspective, what can be done to encourage and support the
emergence of the agency or organization as a partner? From the
agency or organization perspective, what are the significant
considerations involved in establishing successful service-
learning partnerships?
Recommended Resources
1. Marshall, L. & Swan, P. (2010). Parents as Participating
Partners. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 15(3), 25-
32. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
1. This article highlights some key pedagogical strategies that
assisted classroom teachers to improve indigenous students’
understanding of mathematics, particularly in the area of
numbers.
· School/ Family/ Community Partnerships: Caring for the
Children We Share. (2010). Phi Delta Kappan, 92(3), 81-96.
Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
1. Epstein discusses the need to develop partnerships between
schools, families, and communities to support student success.
Week 6 Journal Partnership

7. Using the Journal tab, respond to the following prompt:
Write a paragraph identifying a community organization or
business that you could contact with which to build a
partnership and why this might work.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)
for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your journal entry.
INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE
WEEK FIVE
*Special thanks to Dr. Patrice Jones for sharing her original
guidance in this document.
In Week Five, you read about the link between Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs and parental involvement. When students do
not have their basic needs met or do not feel safe in school, they
are not fully prepared for academic instruction. “It is
imperative that we proactively create a climate that will support
all students learning” (Hjalmarson, 2011, p.135). Partnerships
are all about connection. In this final week of the class, we will
end our discussion about the need to develop partnerships
among schools, families, and communities to support student
success.
Parents are the glue that helps to bring students and schools
together. For schools, it is important to gain parent support and
involvement in assisting students in their educational growth.
Schools must develop strategies to offer parents in establishing
better support for students in their educational journey;
however, in order for schools to help parents, there must be a
plan in place. We learned at the start of this course that there
are a variety of ways in which parents can be supportive of
students in school. Far gone are the days when the only way
that parents could show support was to help with homework.
Although helping with homework is still vital, it is only a small
example of the many strategies that parents can use to support
the education of their children.

8. Think about the classroom today, beyond fundraisers and PTA
meetings. What are some of ways in which your child's school
has asked for your support or you have asked parents for
support? How does this extend to using technology as a means
of academic support? Consider the technology you use to
communicate with your child’s teachers or with the parents of
your students. Research shows a strong correlation between the
achievement gap and home Internet accessibility (Empowering
Parents, 2010). “If, as President Obama emphasizes, parents
have a responsibility to be actively involved in their children’s
education, they will need the technology tools and skills to do
so effectively” (The Children’s Partnership, 2010, p. 7).
Having regular communication with schools through email,
blogs, and social media helps parents receive updates to their
child’s performance and plan for what additional supports they
might need for areas of need.
We have learned throughout the previous weeks of this course
that classrooms throughout the U.S. have become increasingly
diverse. Hjalmarson writes that, “when people are born into
families with limited parenting skills, without some intervention
or training, they will very likely be the same kind of parent that
they were raised by” (2011, p. 157). Leaders in schools today
must recognize the need to become culturally literate so that
students can be successful. There have been a variety of
strategies discussed that can be used to implement a strong
program to support students and their families through
collaboration. Members of the school must take on the needed
leadership roles to address what's most important to students
and their families; however, according to the NEA, "cultural
competence is a key factor in enabling educators to be effective
with students from cultures other than their own" (no date, para.
2). What makes the need for cultural competence so important?
How can you contribute to building a positive relationship with
your school’s community? What can you do to provide support
to parents to encourage stronger school involvement?

9. Week 6 Discussion Guidance
Successful models of family partnerships makes families feel
welcome, include family input in multicultural curriculum, and
offer workshops for parents to learn and grow with their
children. One organization, Parents Reaching Out, uses the
Epstein model for parental involvement by developing family
leadership, connecting families throughout the community, and
provide families with learning opportunities (Parents Reaching
Out, 2008). They relate a supportive academic environment to
weaving a blanket. “Consider the similarities between weaving
blankets that stand the test of time and creating supportive
environments that help our children to thrive. The systems,
services and families in our children’s lives are strands of
thread” (Parents Reaching Out, 2008, p. 2). For the first
discussion, Community Involvement, reflect back to the
writings of Epstein. Respond to all of the questions being
posed here. Our communities are an important aspect of the
growth of the students within them. What does it look like to
have a community that is involved in the support and education
of students through shared decision-making and service learning
opportunities?
For the second discussion post, Los Pen, look back at the
research and data surrounding the success of the Los Pen
school. What conclusions can we draw from what we have
learned? Consider their motto: We are committed to creating a
school that knows no limits to the academic success of each
student. What does this mean in relation to the school’s
transformation? Using the empirical evidence as a starting
point, focus on the quantitative data and qualitative narratives,
what conclusions can you draw about the efficacy of the many
aspects of differentiated parent support? Please review the
discussion board rubric prior to your initial post to ensure you
are fully meeting each of the set criteria to earn full credit.

10. Your initial post should include relevant professional, personal,
or other real-world experiences in a manner that is rich in
thought and provides valuable insight into the topic.
Additionally, all elements of the discussion board prompt
should be thoroughly addressed with strong and precise
connections to previous and/or current course content, or to
real-life situations. When substantively replying to your peers’
post, be sure to provide a thorough and constructive analysis
relating the response to relevant course concepts that
incorporates pertinent follow-up thoughts or questions about the
topic, and demonstrates respect for the diverse opinions of
fellow learners.
Week 6 Assignment Guidance
All of the previous assignments have brought us to the
preparation for the final project for this course. Last week, you
developed an outline of a plan for a service learning project that
involved the school, the family, and the community. For
schools to be successful in supporting students academically
and emotionally, a strategic plan must be developed. Like you
addressed in the discussion post, the way schools care about
children is reflected in the way school’s care about the
children’s families. For this final project, Parental Involvement
for the 21st Century, revisit the National Network of
Partnerships Schools (Links to an external site.) from Week
Two. This organization provides sample plans and templates to
get you started. Be sure that your plan is supported by research
and resources for a successful outcome. Thoroughly read the
instructions for the final project to gain a better idea of what is
expected. Please use the assignment rubric to assist with the
development of your paper. Finally, make sure to use the
grading rubric as a self-checklist before submitting the final
copy of your assignment to confirm you have met or exceeded
each required expectation. The highest level of achievement on
the rubric is “distinguished,” which is only earned through
exceeding posted expectations at the proficiency level. Please

11. remember you are in a masters-level program. Therefore, your
writing, research, and content are held to graduate-level
expectations.
References and Resources
Hjalmarson, F. (2011). Differentiated parent support: Engaging
parents in unique ways to increase their involvement in School.
San Diego, CA: TurnAround Schools Publishing.
Jeltovski. (2011). mf692 (Links to an external site.)
[photograph]. Retrieved from
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/786542
Learning Leaders. (2011, March 11). Family engagement =
student success (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embeddedv=gw
EPv2ob_QI
National Network of Partnership Schools. (2010). One-year
action plan for partnership (Links to an external site.).
Retrieved
from http://sowashco.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2
&clip_id=333&meta_id=10524
NEA. (n.d.). Why cultural competence? (Links to an external
site.) Retrieved from: http://www.nea.org/home/39783.htm
Parents Reaching Out. (2008). Family involvement building
community partnerships (Links to an external site.). Retrieved
from http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/parent/artifacts/PR
O-NM-
3%20Family%20Involvment%20Building%20Partnerships2008.
pdf
The Children's Partnership. (2010, October 7). Empowering
parents through technology (Links to an external site.).
Retrieved from http://www.childrenspartnership.org/research-
list/empowering-parents-through-technology/
Required Resources
1. Read from your text, Differentiated Parent Support: Engaging
Parents in Unique Ways to Increase Their Involvement in

12. School:
· Chapter Eleven – Home to School Connection
· Chapter Twelve – Full Circle
2. Abravanel, S.A. (2003). Building community through service-
learning: The role of the community partner. Links to an
external site.University of Nebraska Digital Commons..
Retrieved from
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article
=1014&context=slcepartnerships/
1. With the community partner in mind, from the school
perspective, what can be done to encourage and support the
emergence of the agency or organization as a partner? From the
agency or organization perspective, what are the significant
considerations involved in establishing successful service-
learning partnerships?
Recommended Resources
1. Marshall, L. & Swan, P. (2010). Parents as Participating
Partners. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 15(3), 25-
32. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
1. This article highlights some key pedagogical strategies that
assisted classroom teachers to improve indigenous students’
understanding of mathematics, particularly in the area of
numbers.
· School/ Family/ Community Partnerships: Caring for the
Children We Share. (2010). Phi Delta Kappan, 92(3), 81-96.
Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
1. Epstein discusses the need to develop partnerships between
schools, families, and communities to support student success.