We examined “school-family-community” collaboration in a context of ethnocultural diversity to identify and analyze collaborative practices involving immigrant families. “Building Family Support for Student Achievement: CABE Project INSPIRE Parent Leadership Development Program,” The Multilingual Educator (March). Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement. This success also leads to a measureable change in the principals’ own confidence to let this happen. Early in the school year, as they proactively get to know children and their families, many teachers engage children in learning about different types of families. 2011. At two schools with principals who are “strong” supporters, principals not only encouraged their parent leaders to present what they were learning to the teachers, but they worked alongside the parent specialist to prepare a parent team from each of the four i3 schools in the district to make a presentation to the school board about the i3 Project 2INSPIRE program. In 2006. grant – this one with a statewide focus – to further develop our parent engagement program. In looking at the dynamics of the i3 schools, it seems that those five principals considered “strong” supporters have begun to make that paradigm shift from involvement to engagement as Ferlazzo describes. 1:9–18. 2007). While parents and families need to be active participants in the education of their children, schools need to facilitate a welcoming environment, foster clear communication and involve parents in the decision-making process. Recently, the research team at Panorama Education looked at responses from 18,000 parents and guardians from a diverse set of school districts across the country. School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action. The missing link in some schools is for school leaders to truly believe that parents – especially those who have taken on the challenge of becoming parent leaders – are an asset to the school. In 2006, CABE secured a second PIRC grant – this one with a statewide focus – to further develop our parent engagement program. Project staff reported that after this session, they felt the climate at the school was much more inviting. They are watching and listening to what we say through our collegial interactions. Gain valuable support for your initiatives by building a culture of inclusion, where families have a seat at the table and the opportunity to provide input on decisions that impact their children and schools. Here are three proven ways to strengthen family-school partnerships. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for … Consider ways to encourage families to connect with one another. Many of them were frustrated and in some cases “militant” because they were going back to schools that were not transformed. The concepts and outcomes presented in the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family School Partnerships (Mapp & Kuttner 2013) are becoming evident in actual practices of the program. He has strong beliefs in growing teacher capacity through collaboration and coaching. This diminishes the role parents have in their school community. As one principal participating in our i3 initiative said: At their LCAP2 parent meetings, parents and community members had a chance to receive an update on the school’s goals and performance and to voice their ideas about how they could further support students in their academic growth and overall well-being at the school. After … School-community partnerships can interconnect together many resources and strategies to enhance communities that support all youth and their families. One thing all of our schools have learned is that engaging families is a process, and the first step is to demonstrate a commitment to family engagement as a core strategy to improve teaching and learning, as Jeynes (2011) states: “A school can run a parental engagement program with great efficiency, but parents can easily discern whether their participation is welcome and whether their input is warmly received.”. “We all have the well-being of their child in common, and that is a great place to begin any relationship with a parent.”, Harness the Power of Technology — Strategically. During the first year, we developed a three-level curriculum. On a yearly survey given at the beginning of each school year, principal responses have steadily increased on a survey item that asks them whether this description applies to their school: “Families and staff have opportunities to learn together how to collaborate to improve student achievement.” Out of the ten principals participating in our program, in Year 1, three indicated that this statement was “a great deal or a lot like our school”; in Year 2, it was five principals; and in Year 3, it was eight principals. If we publicly bad mouth our administrators, colleagues, parents or students, we are demonstrating that we don’t take the collaboration, or partnering, seriously. It usually comes about when there is an event at the school where parents have taken the lead and carry out the event in a very professional manner and with great results. Using this process, we learn about each person and the lived experiences that have given them cultural capital and wisdom that is now shared with others. The control schools did not receive any of the. When schools and families work together, children have a far better chance of not only being successful in school but being successful in life as well. “Parental Involvement Research: Moving to the Next Level,” The School Community Journal 21, no. First and foremost, learning partnerships can support student outcomes (see, for example, Little, Wimer, & Weiss, 2008). Mandy Manning, 2018 Teacher of the Year, teaches students who are immigrants and refugees. The challenge for many parents, however, is figuring out what they can do and knowing the most effective ways to get involved. Successful collaborative relationships with families are based on a number of beliefs about families and the perceived benefits of family-school relationships. 1:169–91. 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