1. Parent Engagement for Successful Partnerships By: Serenity Kelton Membership & Programs Director Texas Association of Partners in Education

2. Texas Association of Partners in Education TAPE is a state-wide membership association made up of businesses, institutions of higher education, school districts, volunteers and community organizations. We provide: Best practices for partnership engagement Models of effective programs/partnerships that may be replicated Resources Professional development Networking opportunities

3. How can Educators and Parents STREGTHEN and SUSTAIN HEALTHY SCHOOLS? What do we mean by healthy schools? We mean a safe and nurturing PLACE. A welcoming environment for ALL. A “Partnership School” A “family-like” school and “school-like” families An EXCELLENT school that students, teachers, and parents want to attend and support. A place where students develop to their full potential and produce positive results (Academically, physically, emotionally) Other ideas?

4. What is important to know about school, family and community partnerships? Not only THAT partnerships contribute to good schools and successful students But also WHAT is needed in and excellent partnership program? And HOW to organize and sustain high- quality and effective programs of family and community involvement

5. Theoretical ModelOverlapping Spheres of Influence of Family, School, and Community on Children’s LearningExternal Structure Force BForce C Experience, Experience, Philosophy, Philosophy, Practices of FamilyPractices of School Force D Experience, Philosophy, Practices of Community Force A Time/Age/Grade Level School Family Community Community

6. The Keys To Successful School-Family-Community PartnershipsEpstein’s Six Types of Involvement Type 1,Parenting – Assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills, understanding child and adolescent development, and setting home conditions that support children as students at each age and grade level. Assist schools in understanding families. Type 2,Communicating – Communicate with families about school programs and student progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications. Type 3,Volunteering – Improve recruitment, training, work and schedules to involve families as volunteers and audiences at school or in other locations to support students and school programs. Type 4,Learning at Home – Involve families with their children in learning activities at home, including homework and other curriculum-related activities and decisions. Type 5, Decision Making – Include families as participants in school decisions, governance and advocacy through PTO/PTA, school councils, committees, action teams, and other parent organizations Type 6, Collaborating with Community – Coordinate resources and services for students, families, and the school with businesses, agencies, and other groups, and provide services to the community. National Network of Partnership Schools Johns Hopkins University

8. Enable families to share information with schools about background, culture, children’s talents, goals and needsRedefinitions “Workshop is not only a meeting on a topic at the “school building” at a particular time but also the content of a topic to be viewed, heard or read at convenient times and varied locations”

9. Challenges – Type 2COMMUNICATING Make all memos, notices and other print and non print communications clear and understandable for all families Obtain ideas from families to improve the design and content of major communications such as newsletters, report cards, and conference schedules Establish easy-to-use two-way channels for communications from school to home and home to school Redefinitions “Communications about school programs and student progress” are not only from school-to-home but also home-to-school, with varied two way channels of communication that connect schools, families, students and the community

11. Make flexible schedules for volunteers, assemblies and events to enable working parents to participate

12. Recognize parent and other volunteers for their assistance at school and in other locationsRedefinitions “Volunteer” not only means those who come to school during the day, but also those who support school goals and children’s learning in any way, at any place and at any time.

14. Involve families and their children in all curriculum-related decisionsRedefinitions “Homework” not only means work that students do alone, but also, interactive activities that students share with others at home, linking school work to real life “Help” at home means how families encourage, listen, praise, guide and discuss schoolwork with their children, not only how they “teach” children school subjects.

16. Offer training to enable parent leaders to develop skills to serve as representatives of other families

17. Include student representatives along with parents on decision-making committeesRedefinitions “Decision making” means a process of partnership – sharing views, solving problems and taking action on shared goals, not an endless power struggle. Parent “leader” means a representative who shares information with and obtains ideas from other families and community members, not just a parent who attends school meetings.

19. Inform all families and students about community programs and servicesRedefinitions “Community” is rated not only by high or low social or economic qualities, but also by the strengths and talents of individuals and groups available to support students, families and schools. “Community” includes not only families with children in the schools, but also ALL who are interested in children’s success and who are affected by the quality of the education

20. Jumping Hurdles Exercise All schools face challenges in developing programs of school, family and community partnerships. With teamwork, we can solve challenges to involve more families. With a partner near you, share one example of… A successful activity for family or community involvement in your school or a school you know A challenge that arose in implementing the activity A solution to the challenge A “Next step” to improve the activity Which type of involvement was this activity?

21. Action Teams for Partnerships Guides the development of a comprehensive program of partnerships, including all 6 types of involvement, and the integration of all family and community connections within a single, unified plan and program. Consists of 6-12 participants; 3 teachers from different grade levels, 3 parents, 1 administrator, 1 community member, 2 students

22. Starting PointsAn Inventory of Present Practices of School, Family and Community Partnerships Present Strengths: Which practices of school, family and community partnerships are now working well for the school as a whole? For individual grade levels? For which types of involvement? Needed Changes: Ideally how do we want school, family, and community partnerships to work at this school 3 years from now? What present practices should continue, and which should change? To reach school goals, what new practices are needed for each of the major types of involvement? Expectations: What do teachers expect of families? What do families expect of teachers and other school personnel? Sense of Community: Which families are we now reaching, and which are we not yet reaching? How do we reach those families that are hard to reach? Are current partnership practices coordinated to include all families as a school community (or are children who receive special services separated from other families?

23. Five Steps Create an Action Team Obtain Funds and other support Identify starting points Develop a 3-year outline and a 1-year action plan Continue planning and working

24. The concepts and data were created by the National Network for Partnership Schools Johns Hopkins University Dr. Joyce Epstein Questions contact: Serenity Kelton Texas Association of Partners in Education Skelton@tape.org 512-473-8377