Developing Meaningful SchoolFamilyCommunity Connections

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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

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Purposes

• Review key insights from research
• Learn about Karen Mapps Joining Process
• Hear from three different Iowa school
  administrators putting research into practice
• Q A with presenters

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Why should we care about these connections?

• When working together, families, schools and
  communities can successfully make a difference to
  improve student learning.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Building Effective Partnerships

• Engage diverse families and recognize, respect
  and address cultural and class differences

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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

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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

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Putting Research Into Action Dan
Fox Superintendent/Elementary Principal East
Buchanan Community Schools Rod McGraw Board
member East Buchanan Community Schools
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Leadership
Honor
Welcome
Connect
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Building Relationships
School
Home
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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. Relationshi
ps Welcome, Honor, Connect The oil that
keeps the cogs in motion.
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Putting Research Into Action Deb
Holsapple Associate Principal Marshalltown High
School Marshalltown Community School District
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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!

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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

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

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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

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Improvements Based on Parent Connections

• Fewer students listed as At-Risk based on our
  districts early indicator system
• Parent Evenings attendance increased from 25 to
  200 parents attending

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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

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Q A
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www.schoolboardresearch.org
New resources coming soon!
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Contacts Dan Fox, Superintendent, East Buchanan
CSD 319-935-3367, dfox_at_east-buc.k12.ia.us Rod
McGraw, Board member, East Buchanan
CSD319-935-3367, rmcgraw_at_wlumber.com Deb
Holsapple, Associate Principal, Marshalltown
High, Marshalltown CSD 641-754-1130
dholsapple_at_marshalltown.k12.ia.us Spence Evans,
Principal, Hiatt Middle School, Des Moines
Public Schools 515-242-7774 spence.evans_at_dmps.k12
.ia.us Lou Ann Gvist - ISBF515-247-7064,
Lgvist_at_ia-sb.org www.schoolboardresearch.org
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Additional Resources
Iowa School Board Foundationwww.schoolboardresear
ch.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 Project www.hrfp.org