Success Partners Participant Handbook...The Participant Handbook contains all the documents you will need to carry out the initiative, and therefore, this handbook will need to accompany

Success Partners Participant Handbook

Modules 1-10

Vision: To establish and maintain a school culture that ensures increased student achievement through parent-school

partnerships

Dear Success Partners Educators,

Welcome to the Step Up For Students professional development initiative, Success Partners. We are so excited to partner with you in the years to come as we work together to increase parental engagement and to support student academic, social, and emotional success! We know it is going to be a great time of learning with and from each other.

To support you in the successful execution of the Success Partners initiative, you have been provided with

this Participant Handbook for Year 1. The Participant Handbook contains all the documents you will need to

carry out the initiative, and therefore, this handbook will need to accompany you to each module, or face-to-

face learning session.

Over the course of the first year, you will be taken through ten modules, which will challenge you and your

colleagues to take an in-depth look at what your school is currently doing to address parental engagement

and provide you with tools, structures, processes and conditions to take your partnership with parents to the

next level. Through these discussions and modules, you will develop a Parent-School Partnership Plan (PSPP)

specific to your school’s needs, which will be implemented during Year 2.

Thank you for your dedication to changing the lives of children by engaging their parents in their learning.

We look forward to not only supporting you in this work, but also to developing long-lasting friendships. The Office of Student Learning Team

Participant Handbook Table of Contents

Contents Pages

Year-at-a-Glance 1

Module 1 Agenda 3

Success Partners Overview 4 Sample Parent Intro Letter to Success Partners 5

4 As protocol 6

Giving Families Back their Power article 7

Module 2 Agenda 25

I Can’t Understand Why Johnny Won’t Do His Homework article 26

Parent Engagement Activities Evaluation Tool 27 Parent Engagement Rubric 28

The Difference between Parent Engagement and Parent Involvement article 29

Engagement vs. Involvement T-Chart 32

Module 2 Ideas for the Parent-School Partnership Plan 33

Module 3 Agenda 34

Body Biography 35

Celebrating Parents through a School-wide Enrichment Model 36

Developing a SEM Process 37 SEM Flyer 38

Module 4 Sample Parent Invitation Letter 39 Parent Interest Inventory 40 Module 3 Ideas for the Parent-School Partnership Plan 41

Module 4 Agenda 42

Visit Our School 43

What Does Our School Environment Say to Families? article 44 Sample Anthropological Dig Parent Letter 45 Module 4 Ideas for the Parent-School Partnership Plan 46

Module 5 Agenda 47


Module 6 Agenda 49

Visualization Flow-Chart 50

Looking at Behavior article 51

Behavior Recognition Tally Chart 55


Module 7 Agenda 57

Features of the Teaching & Learning Exchange (TLE) 58 Module 7 Ideas for the Parent-School Partnership Plan 59

Module 8 Agenda 60

DOVE Brainstorm Chart 61

Sample Expectations 62

Module 9 Sample Parent Invitation Letter 65 Teachers Find Home Visits Help in the Classroom article 66 Module 8 Ideas for the Parent-School Partnership Plan 68

Module 9 Agenda 69

Compass Points Questions 70

Suggestions for the Parent-School Partnership Plan (PSPP) 71

Module 10 Sample Parent Invitation Letter 73

Module 10 Agenda 74 PSPP Template 75

Succ

ess

Pa

rtn

ers

Year

On

e

Year

-At-

A-G

lan

ce

Mo

du

le 1

M

od

ule

2

Mo

du

le 3

M

od

ule

4

Mo

du

le 5

M

od

ule

6

Loo

kin

g W

ith

in:

Un

de

rsta

nd

ing

the

Pu

rpo

se o

f P

are

nt*

–Sch

oo

l Par

tne

rsh

ips

Ob

ject

ive

s:

P

arti

cip

ants

will

beg

in t

o d

evel

op

a

sch

oo

l an

d c

lass

roo

m c

ult

ure

th

at e

mb

race

s p

aren

t en

gage

men

t.

P

arti

cip

ants

will

gai

n a

cle

ar

un

der

stan

din

g o

f th

e Su

cces

s P

art

ner

s o

verv

iew

an

d t

he

Par

ent-

Sch

oo

l Par

tner

ship

Pla

n

goal

Sch

oo

l sta

ff w

ill in

tro

du

ce t

he

ir

stu

den

ts’ p

aren

ts a

nd

fam

ilies

to

Su

cces

s P

art

ner

s an

d t

hei

r p

aren

t-sc

ho

ol p

artn

ersh

ip w

ork

.

Act

ivit

ies:

Co

mp

lete

on

line

Staf

f Su

rvey

on

P

aren

t En

gage

men

t.

R

evie

w c

urr

ent

be

liefs

ab

ou

t p

aren

t in

volv

emen

t in

ch

ild’s

ed

uca

tio

n u

sin

g a

Blo

ck P

art

y p

roto

col.

B

egin

wit

h t

he

End

in M

ind

: D

iscu

ss S

ucc

ess

Pa

rtn

ers

goal

s.

R

evie

w a

nd

re

fin

e N

orm

s (c

om

mu

nit

y ag

reem

ents

).

U

se t

he

Jigs

aw p

roto

col.

Thin

kin

g D

iffe

ren

tly

abo

ut

Par

en

tal E

nga

gem

en

t

Ob

ject

ive

s:

P

arti

cip

ants

will

eva

luat

e th

e

pu

rpo

se o

f p

revi

ou

s p

aren

t ac

tivi

ties

Par

tici

pan

ts w

ill r

efl

ect

on

th

eir

cu

rren

t an

d p

ast

bel

iefs

an

d

acti

on

s re

late

d t

o p

aren

tal

enga

gem

ent.

Par

tici

pan

ts w

ill o

bta

in a

co

mm

on

lan

guag

e fo

r u

nd

erst

and

ing

the

leve

ls o

f p

aren

t en

gage

men

t an

d

un

der

stan

d t

he

dif

fere

nce

b

etw

een

par

ent

enga

gem

ent

and

invo

lvem

ent.

A

ctiv

itie

s:

R

ead

an

d d

iscu

ss a

sce

nar

io t

o

elic

it t

each

ers’

bel

iefs

.

Eva

luat

e cu

rren

t an

d p

ast

sch

oo

l par

tner

ship

act

ivit

ies.

Use

Par

ent

Enga

gem

ent

Ru

bri

c to

un

der

stan

d le

vels

of

enga

gem

ent.

Rea

d a

rtic

le o

n p

aren

t en

gage

men

t vs

Invo

lvem

ent

and

dis

cuss

dif

fere

nce

s b

etw

een

th

e tw

o.

D

ocu

men

t n

ew id

eas

and

ac

tivi

ties

fo

r en

gagi

ng

par

ents

.

Uti

lizin

g an

d C

ele

bra

tin

g O

ur

Par

en

ts’ S

tre

ngt

hs

and

Ass

ets

th

rou

gh t

he

Sch

oo

lwid

e

Enri

chm

en

t M

od

el (

SEM

)

Ob

ject

ive

s:

P

arti

cip

ants

will

lear

n a

bo

ut

a va

riet

y o

f Sc

ho

olw

ide

Enri

chm

ent

Mo

del

(SE

M)

pro

gram

s.

Act

ivit

ies:

Wat

ch t

he

SEM

mo

del

vid

eo: “

A

Ris

ing

Tid

e Li

fts

All

Ship

s”.

R

ead

“C

eleb

rati

ng

Par

ents

th

rou

gh a

SEM

” ar

ticl

e.

C

om

ple

te a

Bo

dy

Bio

grap

hy

to

iden

tify

idea

s fo

r im

ple

men

tin

g a

SEM

in o

ur

sch

oo

l.

D

ocu

men

t n

ew id

eas

and

ac

tivi

ties

fo

r en

gagi

ng

par

ents

.

Exam

inin

g O

ur

Sch

oo

l En

viro

nm

en

t **

Par

ents

are

invi

ted

to

att

end

th

is m

od

ule

. O

bje

ctiv

es:

Par

tici

pan

ts w

ill g

ain

an

aw

aren

ess

of

the

str

uct

ure

s in

th

eir

sch

oo

l en

viro

nm

ent

rela

ted

to

par

enta

l en

gage

men

t an

d t

he

mes

sage

s th

ese

sen

d t

o p

aren

ts.

P

arti

cip

ants

will

lear

n t

he

po

wer

beh

ind

act

ivel

y lis

ten

ing

to a

nd

sp

eaki

ng

wit

h p

aren

ts,

colle

agu

es a

nd

stu

den

ts.

Act

ivit

ies:

Iden

tify

new

an

d a

nal

yze

exis

tin

g st

ruct

ure

s an

d

pro

cess

es w

ith

in a

sch

oo

l (V

isit

O

ur

Sch

oo

l - A

nth

rop

olo

gica

l D

ig).

Exp

erie

nce

ho

w t

o li

ste

n t

o a

nd

ta

lk w

ith

par

ents

usi

ng

a P

air

Co

mm

un

icat

ion

pro

toco

l.

R

ead

Sch

oo

l En

viro

nm

ent

arti

cle.

Do

cum

ent

new

idea

s an

d

acti

viti

es f

or

enga

gin

g p

aren

ts.

P

aren

t Su

rvey

on

Par

ent

Enga

gem

ent

On

e R

oad

blo

ck t

o P

are

nt

Enga

gem

en

t: H

om

ew

ork

O

bje

ctiv

es:

Par

tici

pan

ts w

ill a

dd

ress

cu

rren

t h

om

ewo

rk p

olic

ies

and

th

eir

imp

act

on

par

ent

par

tner

ship

s an

d

enga

gem

ent.

Act

ivit

ies:

Use

th

e Sn

ow

bal

l pro

toco

l to

in

vest

igat

e h

om

ewo

rk id

eas

and

wat

ch s

cho

ol v

ideo

.

Use

th

e C

on

tin

uu

m D

ialo

gue

p

roto

col t

o e

xam

ine

ho

mew

ork

bel

iefs

.

Do

cum

ent

new

idea

s an

d

acti

viti

es f

or

enga

gin

g p

aren

ts.

A S

eco

nd

Ro

ad

blo

ck t

o

Par

en

t En

gage

me

nt:

Stu

de

nt

Be

hav

ior

O

bje

ctiv

es:

Par

tici

pan

ts w

ill in

vest

igat

e th

e b

ehav

iors

th

at c

an in

terf

ere

wit

h r

elat

ion

ship

s w

ith

stu

de

nts

an

d p

aren

ts.

P

arti

cip

ants

will

un

der

stan

d t

he

“wh

ys”

of

mis

beh

avio

r an

d h

ow

to

res

po

nd

.

A

ctiv

itie

s:

C

om

ple

te v

isu

aliz

atio

n e

xerc

ise

o

n b

ehav

iors

th

at in

terf

ere

wit

h

lear

nin

g.

R

ead

art

icle

“Lo

oki

ng

at

Beh

avio

r th

rou

gh t

he

Eyes

of

Ou

r St

ud

ents

”.

U

se t

he

Co

nti

nu

um

Dia

logu

e

pro

toco

l to

exa

min

e b

ehav

ior

bel

iefs

.

Do

cum

ent

new

idea

s an

d

acti

viti

es f

or

enga

gin

g p

aren

ts.

*Th

e te

rm “

par

ent”

rep

rese

nts

an

y ad

ult

wh

o is

se

rvin

g in

th

e ca

pac

ity

of

cust

od

ian

fo

r th

e ch

ild.

Mo

du

les

1-6

are

to

be

com

ple

ted

by

Jan

uar

y 3

0.

1

Mo

du

le 7

M

od

ule

8

Mo

du

le 9

M

od

ule

10

U

sin

g al

l th

e F

un

ctio

ns

in t

he

TLE

O

bje

ctiv

es:

P

arti

cip

ants

will

be

able

to

acc

ess

and

u

tiliz

e th

e Te

ach

ing

and

Lea

rnin

g Ex

chan

ge

as a

PA

C (

pla

nn

ing,

co

mm

un

icat

ion

an

d

acco

un

tab

ility

) to

ol w

ith

par

en

ts a

nd

st

ud

ents

. A

ctiv

itie

s:

P

ract

ice

usi

ng

the

follo

win

g fe

atu

res

in t

he

TLE:

sta

nd

ard

s p

rofi

le p

age,

Per

son

al

Lear

nin

g P

lan

s, u

nit

pla

n a

nd

less

on

pla

n

crea

tio

n, a

nd

gra

deb

oo

k.

Par

en

t Ex

pe

ctat

ion

s: A

De

mo

nst

rati

on

o

f Tw

o-W

ay C

om

mu

nic

atio

n

Ob

ject

ive

s:

P

arti

cip

ants

will

ide

nti

fy t

he

sch

oo

l’s

curr

ent

exp

ecta

tio

ns

for

fam

ilie

s as

w

ell a

s fa

mili

es’

exp

ecta

tio

ns

of

the

sch

oo

l.

P

arti

cip

ants

will

ref

ine

exp

ecta

tio

ns

in

ord

er t

o s

up

po

rt a

co

llab

ora

tive

p

artn

ersh

ip.

Par

tici

pan

ts w

ill d

eve

lop

a p

roce

ss t

o

ensu

re p

aren

ts p

rovi

de

feed

bac

k o

n

exp

ecta

tio

ns.

Par

tici

pan

ts w

ill a

nal

yze

the

be

ne

fits

o

f h

om

e vi

sits

.

Act

ivit

ies:

Bra

inst

orm

idea

s re

late

d t

o t

he

sch

oo

l’s c

urr

ent

exp

ecta

tio

ns

of

fam

ilies

.

U

se t

he

Aff

init

y M

ap

pin

g p

roto

col t

o

refi

ne

exp

ecta

tio

ns

to s

up

po

rt a

p

artn

ersh

ip.

B

rain

sto

rm h

ow

to

invo

lve

par

ents

in

the

dec

isio

n m

akin

g o

f ex

pec

tati

on

s.

R

ead

“Te

ach

ers

Fin

d H

om

e V

isit

s H

elp

in

th

e C

lass

roo

m”

to g

ener

ate

ne

w

idea

s fo

r o

ur

par

ent-

sch

oo

l p

artn

ersh

ips.

Do

cum

ent

new

idea

s an

d a

ctiv

itie

s fo

r en

gagi

ng

par

ents

. .

It T

ake

s M

ore

th

an a

Vill

age

: A

C

olla

bo

rati

ve P

are

nt–

Teac

he

r M

od

ule

**

Par

ents

are

invi

ted

to

att

end

th

is m

od

ule

. O

bje

ctiv

es:

P

arti

cip

ants

will

dis

cove

r th

e co

ntr

ibu

tio

ns

and

ass

ets

of

each

mem

ber

of

the

sch

oo

l co

mm

un

ity.

Par

tici

pan

ts w

ill b

rain

sto

rm p

oss

ible

ac

tivi

ties

fo

r se

lect

par

tner

ship

go

als.

A

ctiv

itie

s:

E

nga

ge in

th

e C

om

pa

ss P

oin

ts p

roto

col t

o

lear

n o

f ea

ch c

olle

agu

e’s

pre

fere

nce

s fo

r gr

ou

p w

ork

.

R

ead

“Su

gges

tio

ns

for

the

PSP

P”

to

gen

era

te n

ew id

eas

for

ou

r p

aren

t-sc

ho

ol

par

tner

ship

s

U

se t

he

Car

ou

sel b

rain

sto

rm a

nd

th

e D

OV

E b

rain

sto

rmin

g n

orm

s to

iden

tify

id

eas

and

act

ivit

ies

for

the

PSP

P.

De

velo

pin

g, F

inal

izin

g an

d S

har

ing

a P

lan

to

St

ren

gth

en

Yo

ur

Par

en

t-Sc

ho

ol P

artn

ers

hip

s **

Par

ents

are

invi

ted

to

att

end

th

is m

od

ule

. O

bje

ctiv

es:

P

arti

cip

ants

will

eva

luat

e an

d p

rio

riti

ze t

he

iden

tifi

ed

str

uct

ure

s, c

on

dit

ion

s, a

nd

pro

cess

es t

hat

co

uld

incr

ease

par

en

tal e

nga

gem

ent

and

ch

oo

se a

go

al t

eam

.

In g

oal

tea

ms,

par

tici

pan

ts w

ill t

ran

slat

e th

eir

goal

s an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

into

a f

inal

ize

d P

aren

t-Sc

ho

ol

Par

tner

ship

Pla

n a

nd

a p

aren

t-fr

ien

dly

ve

rsio

n o

f th

e P

SPP

usi

ng

the

PSP

P t

emp

late

.

Act

ivit

ies:

R

evie

w b

rain

sto

rm c

har

ts t

o e

valu

ate

and

p

rio

riti

ze g

oal

tea

m a

ctiv

itie

s.

Fin

aliz

e th

e P

are

nt-

Sch

oo

l Par

tne

rsh

ip P

lan

(P

SPP

) u

sin

g th

e P

SPP

tem

pla

te w

ith

act

ion

ste

ps,

ev

ide

nce

, an

d a

tim

elin

e.

Cre

ate

a sc

ho

ol-

wid

e ca

len

dar

inco

rpo

rati

ng

acti

on

ste

ps

fro

m a

ll go

al t

eam

s.

Wit

h p

are

nt

inp

ut,

cre

ate

a co

mm

un

icat

ion

st

rate

gy f

or

de

sign

ing

and

sh

arin

g th

e p

lan

wit

h

fam

ilies

an

d d

ete

rmin

e a

kick

off

act

ivit

y fo

r A

ugu

st.

*Th

e te

rm “

par

ent”

rep

rese

nts

an

y ad

ult

wh

o is

se

rvin

g in

th

e ca

pac

ity

of

cust

od

ian

fo

r th

e ch

ild.

Mo

du

les

7-1

0 a

re t

o b

e co

mp

lete

d b

y th

e e

nd

of

the

sch

oo

l yea

r.

2

Module 1 Agenda

Looking Within: Understanding the Purpose of Parent–School Partnerships

Success Partners Vision: To establish and maintain a school culture that ensures increased student achievement through parent-school partnerships Parent-School Partnership Plan Goals:

1. Establishing a Parent-Friendly School Environment 2. Ensuring Two-Way Communication 3. Eliminating Roadblocks to Engagement 4. Recognizing Excellence and Improvement of all Stakeholders

Objectives: Participants will begin to develop a school and classroom culture that embraces parent engagement. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the Success Partners overview and the Parent-School Partnership Plan goals. School will send a letter home to families introducing Success Partners.

Norms: Acknowledge one another as equals. Assume goodwill.

Speak and listen from the heart. Trust the process. Be present.

Expect it to be messy at times. Monitor equity of participation. Have fun.

WHAT WHO HOW LONG Welcome and Agenda Review Facilitators 10 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Staff Survey on Parent Engagement Facilitators and Staff 5 minutes ACTIVITY 2: Review beliefs about parent involvement in education. Staff 15 minutes

(Block Party protocol with quotes) ACTIVITY 3: Review and refine Norms (community agreements). Facilitators and Staff 5 minutes ACTIVITY 4: Use Jigsaw to discuss “Giving Families Back Their Power”. Facilitators and Staff 25 minutes

Next meeting

3

Success Partners Overview

During Year 1, schools will:

Experience 10 Success Partners modules delivered by school-based facilitators, working closely with

their Office of Student Learning coordinator, who will provide ongoing support to the schools. As a

result of working through the modules, schools will:

Create, strengthen or revitalize a school culture of parent- school partnerships Develop a Parent-School Partnership Plan

Begin using and working with the Teaching and Learning Exchange

During Year 2, schools will:

Experience 5 Success Partners modules delivered by school-based facilitators, working closely with their

Office of Student Learning coordinator, who will provide ongoing support to the schools. As a result of

working through the modules, schools will:

Nurture and sustain a school culture of powerful parent-school partnerships

Execute, study and refine their Parent-School Partnership Plan

Celebrate and share the successes of their Parent-School Partnership Plan Implement the Teaching and Learning Exchange

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Sample Parent Intro Letter to Success Partners

Dear (Insert School Name) Parents,

We have exciting news that we want to share with you!

Research tells us that when parents are involved in their students’ learning, the social skills and academic achievement of those students can improve.

Because we believe in this, we have joined the Success Partners network. What is Success Partners?

• A group of 400 private schools across the state of Florida working and learning together

Goals:

• To improve student achievement through increased parent engagement

• To develop our school-wide Parent-School Partnership Plan with your input

• To meet regularly to discuss how we can best form partnerships between you and your school

Your voice is critical to our success as a school and to your students’ success, so you will receive invitations to attend some of these meetings.

As part of our Success Partners program, we will also begin using an exciting online program called The Teaching and Learning Exchange (TLE), which will allow you to monitor your child’s progress throughout the school year and to easily communicate with the teacher. The TLE enables and empowers parents to be advocates for their children’s learning through the use of clear interventions that the teacher, parent, and student will agree upon in order to maximize your child’s success.

We need an accurate email address in order for you to access the TLE and to partner with your child’s teacher. Please check with the front office to make sure that the email address we have on file for you is correct.

Thank you and feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

(Administrator)

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Four “A”s Text Protocol Worksheet Adapted from the National School Reform Faculty (www.nsrfharmony.org)

The group reads the text silently, highlighting it and making notes in response to these four questions:

1. What do you Agree with in the text?

2. What do you want to Argue with in the text?

3. What parts of the text do you want to Aspire to?

4. What Additional thoughts do you have about this text?

In a round, have each member answer the first question, using page numbers to cite the text to which they are referring.

Either continue in rounds or facilitate an open conversation in which the group talks about the text in light of each of the remaining “A”s, taking them one at a time – what do people want to argue with and aspire to in the text, and what additional thoughts do they have about the text? Try to move seamlessly from one “A” to the next, giving each “A” enough time for full exploration.

End the session with an open discussion framed around a question such as: What does this mean for our work with students?

Debrief the text experience.

AGREE WITH ARGUE WITH

ASPIRE TO ADD. THOUGHTS

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http://www.nsrfharmony.org/

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Module 2 Agenda

Thinking Differently About Parental Engagement

Success Partners Vision: To establish and maintain a school culture that ensures increased student achievement through parent-school partnerships

Parent-School Partnership Plan Goals:


Objectives: Participants will evaluate the purpose of previous parent activities. Participants will reflect on their current and past beliefs and actions related to parental engagement. Participants will obtain a common language for understanding the levels of parent engagement and understand the difference between

engagement and involvement.




WHAT WHO HOW LONG Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review Facilitators 5 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Read aloud “I Can’t Understand Why Facilitators 5 minutes Johnny Won’t Do His Homework” to elicit teachers’ beliefs. ACTIVITY 2: Evaluate current and past school partnership activities. Facilitator and Staff 15 minutes ACTIVITY 3: Understanding the different levels of parent engagement Facilitator and Staff 10 minutes (Use Parent Engagement rubric.) ACTIVITY 4: Read article “The Difference between Parent Facilitator and Staff 10 minutes Engagement and Parent Involvement”. ACTIVITY 5: Document new ideas & activities for engaging parents Facilitator and Staff 5 minutes

Next meeting_________________

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I Can’t Understand Why Johnny Won’t Do His Homework: Reflections of a First Year Teacher

As my grade level team gathered at their self-proclaimed table in the revered Seminole Swamp Teacher’s Lounge, I took

my seat and prepared for what was always entertaining conversations. As a first year teacher, I had quickly learned that

it was much wiser to basically just listen, nod, and grunt agreement than to jump into the fray. Anyway, I was just a first

year teacher, what did I know?!

Conversations often mirrored the beliefs of the staff, and a first year teacher who listened with an open mind could

learn a lot about a teacher’s behaviors by listening to his or her thoughts and beliefs. Today the conversations ranged

from the new teacher evaluation to the way we would dismiss when it was a rainy day to weekend plans. As the

conversations ebbed, our team leader put down her fork and muttered to anyone listening, “I just don’t get it. I just

can’t seem to come up with a consequence to make Johnny do his homework.” She went on to lament, “He just doesn’t

care, and neither does that mother of his. I’ve emailed that parent 100 times, and she never answers. When I had the

parent conference, she brought some friend who did all the talking. I don’t think that mom was even listening to me.

And to top it off, she had three kids with her, and boy, were they distracting!”

Several teachers commiserated with her and remarked, “Yeah, some parents here at Seminole Swamp just don’t care.

They think that because they’re paying, it’s up to us to do all the teaching. Why, half of them don’t even get their

mandatory volunteer hours done.” Another teacher chimed in, “When I had Johnny, I would make him miss PE to finish

his homework, and most of the time he just put his head down and did nothing. I even told that mother that she better

make sure his algebra homework was done and done right.”

Another teacher added, “I give a zero for every homework assignment not turned in, and that works for most of my

students. But for some, they just end up failing the course.”

Listening quietly, I thought back to our pre-planning, when the principal had been very clear that it was the “Seminole

Swamp” tradition to give homework every night in every subject. He had reminded us that homework should build

character, extend learning, and involve parents in their kids’ lessons. Was the homework that we were assigning

accomplishing those goals?

Daring to enter the conversation, I gathered my courage and challenged my colleagues with a simple thought, “Maybe

we should rethink homework at Seminole Swamp.” After several moments of silence, our team leader looked at me and

said, “We all had to do homework every night and look how well we all turned out.”

Or had we, I wondered?

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Parent Engagement Activities Evaluation Tool

Use a check mark to indicate which category represents the main purpose of each Parent Engagement activity.

Activities Built relationships

For fun Tradition at the

school

Raised money

Increased student

academic achievement

Other

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Parent Engagement Rubric

Significant Engagement - This is a parent who:

readily responds to the needs of their child at school

is available to talk with the teacher

offers suggestions and works closely with all school personnel to ensure the success of their child

sees learning as more than what occurs within the school day

attends school events

*This is not necessarily the parent who simply volunteers regularly, but rather is the parent who demonstrates that they

will do whatever it takes for their child to learn.

Moderate Engagement - This is a parent who:

sporadically responds to the needs of their child at school

is hesitant to offer suggestions or to work closely with school personnel to ensure the success of their child

returns most phone calls and emails

*The teacher often must make several attempts to reach the parent. However, the parent does demonstrate a sincere

desire to help with the learning of their child.

Minimal Engagement - This is a parent who:

responds to the needs of their child in a manner that often leaves the teacher frustrated

rarely returns phone calls and emails without considerable prompting

does not demonstrate a consistent observable desire to help with the learning of their child

rarely offers suggestions and is hesitant to work with school personnel to ensure the success of their child

*The teacher must often make several attempts using different means of communication to reach the parent.

Unproductive Engagement – This is a parent who: may volunteer often, but whose volunteerism does not contribute to student achievement

has difficulty allowing the student to take responsibility for their own learning (e.g., constantly brings in

homework the child has left at home or makes excuses for poor performance)

directs rather than collaborates

No Engagement – This is a parent who: does not respond to the needs of their child at school

does not return phone calls and emails even when the teacher makes numerous communication attempts

through different means

does not demonstrate an observable desire to help with the learning of their child

offers no suggestions and refuses to work with school personnel to ensure the success of their child

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The Difference between Parent "Involvement" & Parent "Engagement"

Larry Ferlazzo is an award-winning English and Social Studies teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California.

I wanted to share a few of my thoughts on building trust between teachers and parents.

I think I can best contribute to the discussion by highlighting what I see as the difference between parent involvement and parent engagement. Though there can be a positive result from both, I believe the most trust can be developed through engagement. Simply put, parent involvement is often more of a "doing to," while engagement is a "doing with." With involvement, schools tend to lead with their mouth -- generally telling parents what they should be doing. Engagement, on the other hand, has schools leading with their ears. By listening to parents' ideas, and by eliciting from them what they have found works best with their children, we can develop a more genuine partnership that is helpful to young people. I have gained great insight over the years about becoming a more effective teacher by asking parents a simple question: "Can you please tell me about the times in your child's life that he/she has seemed to be learning the most and working hard in school, and what you think their teacher was doing at that time to encourage it?"

Another example of this kind of difference is what I call the focus on communication, which is often one-way, that is a hallmark of parent involvement. Schools across the country emphasize sending sheets of information home (which often do not arrive or, if they do, can be in a language that parents don't understand) and using automated phone calls. Engagement tries to utilize two-way conversation, through efforts like making home visits and phone calls that don't necessarily only happen when there's a problem with a child.

"Parent academies" are increasing in popularity across the country, where schools organize classes for parents where they are trained about how schools work. At schools where involvement takes the lead, the curriculum for these classes is often pre-determined by the school and classes are led and taught by school staff. Compare that to the parent academy at our school that regularly attracts one hundred participants. Parents work with Elisa Gonzalez, our parent coordinator, to identify topics that should be covered -- which might or might not be focused on the school (for example, the citizenship process was one recent topic) -- run the meetings, and "own" the entire project.

During my nineteen year community organizing career, we often talked about the difference between "irritation" and "agitation" – we irritate people when we challenge them to do something about what we are interested in, while we agitate people when we challenge them to act on their interest. Involvement often leans toward "irritation" -- schools might have a pre-determined, and limited, list of ways they want parents to help, such as making copies, organizing bake sales, etc. Engagement, instead, looks through the lens of "agitation."

For example, during one home visit I made to an immigrant family, the father went on at length about how thrilled he was at our use of the Internet at school to help his daughter learn English, and how he wished he could afford a computer and Web connection at his house so the entire family could learn, too. Instead of just listening politely and leaving (and forgetting), or going back to see if our school could organize such a program for parents, I asked him if he knew other parents who felt the same and if he would be willing to organize a meeting of them to see if there might be something we could do together. He agreed, and then parents worked with our school to develop a project that provided free home computers and Internet service to immigrant families. It was later named the most effective use of technology to teach reading in the world by the International Reading Association.

Another important difference, I'd like to suggest, is that there is a tendency with involvement to focus solely on improving what goes on within the four walls of the school while, in engagement, there is recognition that the school must be participating as an institution in neighborhood-wide improvement efforts.

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Mai Xi Lee is an Assistant Principal at Luther Burbank High School. She is co-coordinator of the Parent University program at LBHS, which aims to promote parents' understanding of higher education and connects parents to the educational system.

First and foremost, we don't "make" parents do anything they don't want to do. The notion that we should "make" or force someone to do something implies some hierarchy of power, where we are higher on the hierarchy and they, the parents, are lower than us. This premise will not result in a positive reaction from parents and only further obstructs any relationship we hope to foster and nurture with our parents. Parents are teaching partners and should be embraced as such. Teaching partners work in a symbiotic relationship based on mutual respect, trust, and consistent communication. When we as teaching professionals acknowledge and accept this relationship, we'll be better prepared to support all students and families in any learning capacity.

Armed with the understanding that we are teaching partners, dialoguing with parents should be quite simplistic and seamless. Like any partnership, we create a shared vision, establish common goals and expectations, and foster trust and confidence by engaging in regular communication. We do all this at the beginning of the partnership and continue to work at it throughout the duration of the relationship.

For teachers and parents, home visits at the beginning of the school year can serve as the first mechanism for establishing a foundation for a positive relationship. Periodic check-ins to parents, via phone calls, notes, and follow-up home visits will help to build trust and strengthen the teaching partnership. Parents will listen to a teacher if they are connected to that teacher and feel as if they, too, have been heard. Again, the teaching partnership is based on mutual respect and trust. People instinctively listen to those they respect and trust.

When we do, however, get into a situation where we can't get the parent to hear our perspectives as teachers, then it's time for some self-examination about why that is the case. This self-inquiry begins with some basic questions: Do you, the teacher, have a relationship with the parents, aside from the fact that their child is in your classroom? What mechanisms have been put into place to foster a relationship? What is your level of engagement with the parent? Have you talked to this parent before? When you did converse, was the call about a positive thing or did it focus on negative attributes only? If the answers reveal limited contact, engagement, and positive conversations, then you may want to approach the parent from a different angle. Conducting a parent teacher home visit may be the first critical step to establishing some relationship. Continuing to foster that relationship will necessitate a new perspective about what it means to be heard as a teacher and how to connect with parents who may know more about their child than you do as their teacher.

Katy Ridnouer is the author of two books written as tools for teachers: Managing Your Classroom with Heart: A Guide for Nurturing Adolescent Learners and Everyday Engagement: Making Students and Parents Your Partners in Learning. Since 1993, she has taught in public and private schools, teaching students ranging in ages from 5 to 55.

Just as any teacher worth his teaching certificate knows that he can't make a student learn, each teacher needs to be aware that she can't make a parent listen to her. Instead, we teachers need to work at creating opportunities for parents to become thirsty for a relationship with teachers just as we work to create opportunities for creating a thirst for learning in our students. For the students, the pools of knowledge and accomplishment will quench this thirst; for parents, the establishment of trust and a partnership will quench their thirst. Teachers build trust between parents and themselves on Day 1 when each student has a 100%, A-plus average and each parent has a smile on his or her face. Students and parents alike might have concerns about the school year, but deep- down, there is a bud of hope that this year a teacher will succeed at connecting the curriculum to the "real" life of students.

Start to build trust and a partnership with your students' parents at the beginning of the school year by assigning each parent the "In one million words or less..." homework assignment. Offer these directions:

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"In one million words or less, tell me about your child. You may email me or send me a handwritten note; either way, help me meet your child's needs by sharing your child's story."

Beware: The parents are going to be nervous, but they will also be excited that a teacher cares so much that she would take her time to read what parents have to say about her students. Some parents will not complete the assignment. Other parents will send you a dissertation-sized document.

Each parent, even the one who doesn't do her homework, will receive the message that you care about your students because you have begun the school year with an act of compassion with the goal to bridge understanding and build relationships through shared knowledge. This knowledge builds trust, so when a teacher calls or emails with a concern later in the school year, chances are good that parents will respond with a willing, open ear instead of a defensive, closed one.

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ENGAGEMENT INVOLVEMENT

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Module 2 Ideas for the Parent-School Partnership Plan



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Module 3 Agenda

Utilizing and Celebrating Our Parents’ Strengths and Assets through the

Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) Success Partners Vision: To establish and maintain a school culture that ensures increased student achievement through parent-school partnerships Parent-School Partnership Plan Goals:


Objectives: Participants will learn about a variety of Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) programs.




WHAT WHO HOW LONG Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review Facilitators 5 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Investigating SEM Using a Body Biography Facilitators and Staff 30 minutes

Watch SEM video – “A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships”

Read “Celebrating Parents through a SEM” article ACTIVITY 2: Developing a process to implement a SEM program Facilitators and Staff 10 minutes ACTIVITY 3: Document new ideas and activities for engaging parents Facilitators 5 minutes

Next meeting_________________

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Celebrating Parents through a Schoolwide Enrichment Model

Parents are our most valuable asset in education; however, they are frequently under-utilized. Often times, interactions

only include informal and formal conversations about their child’s learning before, during (e.g., conferences), or after

school (e.g., social events where students are performing or fund-raising dinners occur). Rarely do we put the parents

center stage by capitalizing on their knowledge, skills and talents to enrich children’s learning and academic growth.

One way parents’ special skill sets can be utilized and celebrated is through orchestrating a Schoolwide Enrichment

Model (SEM). Using their talents, parents can create learning activities that are challenging, relevant and interesting to

children and allow them to be creative and develop their own unique gifted behaviors. Consequently, student

motivation increases, resulting in higher achievement levels and reduced behavior issues. These types of activities can

be infused into the general education program; ensure that we meet NCLB (No Child Left Bored); relate education to the

real world of work and productivity; and encourage students to take charge of their own learning so they can become

successful and contributing members of society.

Listed below are examples of the many strengths and assets parents can bring to the educational environment:

Tortilla making Track and field events What the stock market is and how it works. Designing rollercoasters

American Sign Language (ASL) Building bridges Gardening Woodworking

Jewelry making Hatching chicken eggs Fashion design Fixing automobiles

Mandarin/Chinese language learning Making environmentally friendly cleaning products

Writing your own graphic novel Baking Drama production Cooking a nutritious meal

The Romanian culture Beautician Hand-sewing a scarf Outdoor survival skills

Dinner etiquette Banking Pottery – hand building/wheel Astronomy – star identification Learning how to design an App Surfing

Building and flying kites Marine Life Farming Bike racing

Painting like Monet The art of writing poetry Building a rocket Zookeeping Publishing a book Knitting a hat

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Developing a SEM Process

Step 1: Gather information on parents’ interests and hobbies through an Interest Inventory.

o You will be sending a copy of this home with each of your students to gather this information prior to

our next module.

Step 2: Organize the information about parents’ interests gathered by grade level. Think about which

hobbies/interest would appeal to certain grade levels.

Step 3: Decide if you are going to begin the enrichment with one grade level, two grade levels, or your entire

school. Decide what day of the week, time of the day, and how long the enrichment program will be offered

(e.g., Friday mornings from 8:30 -9:30 for 8 weeks). It’s always good to start small first.

Step 4: Once grade levels and interests are confirmed, send a flyer home with the students in the grade level the

enrichment program is going to be offered. **Make sure you include a place to sign up for their first, second,

and third choices.**

Step 5: Contact parents with the number of students enrolled in their course as well as the logistics of the

program.

Step 6: Implement your plan for the period of time allotted.

Step 7: Celebrate students’ creations from each of the enrichment classes.

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Module 4 Sample Parent Invitation Letter

[Insert School Name and letterhead]

Dear Parents,

We need your help in making our school environment more inviting! Please join us for our next staff learning

session called “Examining Our School Environment”. Using the lens of an anthropologist (people who study

communities), we will take a walk around our school, visiting the locations that our parents visit every day to

discover what messages we are sending about what our school values. We will also brainstorm activities for

our Parent-School Partnership Plan.

Child care will be provided if needed.

Date:

Time:

Location:

Please RSVP to:

We look forward to working with you!

(Name of School)

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Parent Interest Inventory

Student’s Name:_______________________________ Student Grade Level:____________________________

Parent/Caregiver Name:_________________________ Profession/Career/Job(s): _______________________

Phone: (cell)___________________________________ (work)_______________________________________ My hobbies are: __________________________________________________________________________________________

I can play and/or teach these sports:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Circle any area in which you have a special talent or ability: Carpentry Computer Skills Music Dance Foreign Language Swimming Drawing/Art Electricity Nature/Survival Skills Drama/Acting Sports Sewing Cooking/Baking Music/Singing Gardening Crafts Exercise Film/Video Fishing Mechanics Photography Writing Other _________________

I am willing to donate my time as a parent volunteer in an enrichment program by sharing an interest, hobby, or occupation with a small group of children.

Check one: Yes______ No______

If Yes: When? Day(s) of the Week_______________________________ Time(s) of the Day ________________

Describe projects you have done or other activities you have completed that may explain why you choose

that area as your special talent or ability.

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Module 3 Ideas for the Parent School Partnership Plan



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Module 4 Agenda

Examining Our School Environment Success Partners Vision: To establish and maintain a school culture that ensures increased student achievement through parent-school partnerships Parent-School Partnership Plan Goals:


Objectives: Participants will gain an awareness of the structures in their school environment related to parental engagement and the messages

these send to parents. Participants will learn the power behind actively listening to and speaking with parents, colleagues and students.




WHAT WHO HOW LONG

Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review Facilitators 5 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Visit Our School – Anthropological Dig Facilitators and Staff 25 minutes ACTIVITY 2: Pair Communication Protocol All Staff 8 minutes ACTIVITY 3: Read School Environment article All Staff 7 minutes ACTIVITY 4: Document new ideas and activities for engaging parents All Staff 5 minutes ACTIVITY 5: Parent Survey on Parent Engagement All Staff 5 minutes

Next meeting_________________

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VISIT OUR SCHOOL

What evidence do we see of a welcoming environment in the following areas?

1. Two -way Communication with parents and families:

2. Opportunities for parents to learn how to help their child learn and grow (academically, socially, behaviorally, spiritually):

3. Information about services/resources available in the community:

4. Recognition of students, parents, faculty accomplishments:

5. Important school dates to remember:

6. Messaging and products that indicate that the school values the parent as having the ultimate responsibility in the education of their children:

FINALLY: If we were Martians from outer space that had just landed in your school and knew nothing about it, what would we say is most important to your school by the things we discover?

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What Does Our School Environment Say to Families?

Compiled from Success Partners schools

The school will establish and maintain a physical and social environment that ensures the parent has a significant role in the learning of their children.

Physical Environment:

1. Evaluate the first point of contact with parents: the front office. Do we have an Open Door Policy? Does the

front office really welcome parents? Do an Extreme Makeover based upon findings.

2. Apply a fresh coat of paint to the walls of the hallway and office that is warm and inviting.

3. Establish permanent signage that welcomes parents and provides them with directions to front office and

parking.

4. Develop a process for making home visits.

5. Have monthly opportunities to include parents in school events including:

a. Donuts for Dad/Muffin for Mom where children read with the parent (or caring adult) b. Career Day c. Open House d. Game Nights e. Family Field Day – parents participate with their students in the activities (parent/student 3 legged race,

water balloon toss, family sack relay) 6. Develop a process for parents to join students for field trips or a “Take Your Parent to School Day”. 7. Host celebrations and start traditions that reflect the cultural diversity of the school community. 8. Post a large sign in the school lobby with a strong message to the families that your school stands behind and

change the background to keep it “fresh”. (e.g., “God’s law places the authority and responsibility for the education of children in the hands of the family.” Deuteronomy 6:7 “Thank you for choosing (insert name of school) as your partner in education!” OR “We believe the parent is the primary educator, and we thank you for choosing us to partner with you!”)

9. Develop a mandatory volunteer hour program that considers the working parent. 10. Institute a “parent writing project” where parents are asked to write a story about their child, about their

favorite family tradition, or how they came to name their child in “a million words or less”. These written stories are posted throughout the school for everyone to enjoy.

11. Develop a process for selecting monthly assignments that will be turned into the Principal and displayed. 12. Create a new space in your school that parents can be in charge of maintaining: a nook for coffee and donuts

with fliers on school events to encourage parents to stay and chat when they drop off their children or a garden that parents can cultivate with their children outside of school hours.

13. Have doggie biscuits on hand to give to pups if they are in the car with the parents.

14. Place a white board outside that thanks a parent for something specific each and every day.

15. Dedicate a bulletin board to parents that provides timely information.

Virtual Environment:

1. Use the Caregiver Responsibilities section of the Teaching and Learning Exchange to show parents what they can do to help their children succeed academically.

2. Use Khan Academy regularly. Offer rewards to children (i.e., no uniform pass, etc.) whose parents discuss their Khan Academy progress with their teachers.

3. Create a Parent-Teacher Online Forum to share important news and to allow parents to post any questions or concerns.

4. Check the usage of the school’s website- Are parents really using it? Why or why not?

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Sample Anthropological Dig Parent Letter

Date Dear (insert name of school) Parents,

We are in the process of implementing the Step Up For Students professional development initiative,

Success Partners, to help us improve our parent-school partnerships. This week we investigated how our

school does or doesn’t promote a parent-friendly environment. The staff and parents who attended spent

about 20 minutes walking around the campus and discovered the following elements of our environment

that could be improved:

(List here what was discovered during the dig.) We plan to address many of these findings in our developing Parent-School Partnership Plan (PSPP), which

will be completed by the end of this year. The purpose of this plan is to find ways to better partner with you,

our most valuable asset, for increased student achievement! We welcome any additional input based on our findings. Please contact (insert name of person to contact

about this list) at (insert phone number and email address) to provide your feedback. We are excited to

make the changes necessary to establish a school environment that is inviting and engaging!

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

(Your School)

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Module 5 Agenda

One Roadblock to Parent Engagement: Homework



Objectives: Participants will address current homework policies and their impact on parent partnerships and engagement.




WHAT WHO HOW LONG

Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review Facilitator 5 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Do Your Kids Work a Second Shift? Facilitator and Staff 5 minutes

ACTIVITY 2: Continuum Dialogue Protocol on Homework Beliefs Facilitator and Staff 10 minutes

ACTIVITY 3: Investigating homework ideas using Snowball Facilitator and Staff 20 minutes NOTE: To see more homework articles, go to:

https://www.stepupforstudents.org/income-based-scholarship/for-schools/facilitator-information

ACTIVITY 4: Document new ideas and activities for engaging parents Facilitators 5 minutes Next meeting_________________

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https://www.stepupforstudents.org/income-based-scholarship/for-schools/facilitator-information




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Module 6 Agenda

A Second Roadblock to Parent Engagement: Student Behavior



Objectives: Participants will investigate the behaviors that can interfere with relationships with students and parents. Participants will understand the “whys” of misbehavior and how to respond so as to eliminate and not exacerbate the behavior.




WHAT WHO HOW LONG

Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review Facilitator 5 minutes

ACTIVITY 1: Visualization exercise on behaviors that interfere with learning Facilitator and Staff 10 minutes

ACTIVITY 2: “Looking at Behavior through the Eyes of Our Students” Facilitator and Staff 20 minutes

ACTIVITY 3: Inside Outside Circle Protocol on Behavior Beliefs Facilitator and Staff 10 minutes

ACTIVITY 4: Document new ideas and activities for engaging parents Facilitators 5 minutes OPTIONAL HOMEWORK:

o Use the behavior tally chart found on PAGE 55 in the PARTICIPANT HANDBOOK. Next meeting_________________

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Responding to Our Children’s Behavior

Incident

Recall a recent behavior issue that interfered with learning.

‘Quick Write’ the details of the event.

How did the actions of the child make you feel?

Child's response to your action

Your Response

What action did you take?

Alternative Action

What could you have done differently?

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Looking at Behavior through the Eyes of our Students

Four types of goals that motivates children’s misbehaviors:

• Attention getting

• Power and control

• Revenge

• Helplessness or inadequacy How does a teacher understand the goal of the misbehaving child?

• If the teacher feels annoyed, then the child’s goal is attention getting. • If the teacher feels beaten, threatened or intimidated, then the child’s goal is power. • If the teacher feels hurt, then the child’s goal is revenge. • If the teacher feels incapable, then the child’s goal is helplessness.

Another way to identify the goal of the misbehavior is to observe the student’s reaction to being corrected:

If Students Then Their Goal is

Stop the misbehavior and then repeat it Attention getting

Refuse to stop or increase the misbehavior Power

Become violent or hostile Revenge

Refuse to cooperate, participate or interact Inadequacy

Praise vs. Encouragement

Many behaviorists believe that encouragement is more important than any other aspect of student discipline because a misbehaving child is a discouraged child. Encouragement corresponds to children’s goals. Children seek approval, and encouragement is a legitimate way to do it. Encouragement focuses on effort rather than achievement, so it provides positive feedback to children who are trying hard but may be unsuccessful. Encouragement motivates individuals to continue trying. Praise is very different from encouragement. It focuses on the level of achievement.

Praise

1. Praise is a reward given for a completed achievement 2. Praise tells students they have satisfied the demands of others 3. Praise is patronizing. The person who praises has a superior position. 4. Praise stimulates competition 5. Praise stimulates selfishness

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Encouragement

1. Encouragement is an acknowledgement of an effort 2. Encouragement helps students evaluate their own performance 3. Encouragement is a message between equals. 4. Encouragement stimulates cooperation 5. Encouragement stimulates helpfulness

Natural/logical consequences and the process of encouragement are the most

useful techniques for preventing discipline problems. Examples of Logical Consequences vs. Punishment

• If a student writes on the walls of the school,

The teacher may keep her after school (punishment) The teacher may ask the student to clean the walls (logical consequence)

• If a student damages classroom materials, The teacher may send a note to the student’s parents (punishment) The teacher may prevent the student’s use of classroom materials until he chooses to use them properly (logical consequence)

• If a student is late for the class, The teacher may keep her after school (punishment) The teacher may ask the student to wait at the door until she receives a signal that her late arrival will no longer disturb the class (logical consequence)

Suggestions to address a child’s goal for misbehaving

A t t e nt i on g e t t i ng Attention is the most common goal for most of the young children. Children who seek excessive attention are often annoying in class. They distract their teachers by showing off, being lazy, being disruptive, asking special favors, needing extra help on assignments, asking irrelevant questions, throwing things around the room, crying, or having an overly desire to please. They seem to function appropriately only as long as they have their teachers’ approval. They “act out” to become the center of attention. When asked to stop, they will comply but will start again later. Giving attention to attention seeking children does not necessarily improve their behavior. When attention is given in response to children’s “attention-seeking” misbehavior, the misbehavior increases, as it reinforces “attention-seeking” misbehavior. A student who seeks attention should not receive it when he acts out. To give attention to the student for inappropriate behavior would not solve the problem, instead would get the situation worse.

Instead, the teacher might use some techniques such as:

• Minimizing the attention: ignore the behavior,

52

http://www.metu.edu.tr/~e133376/project/The%20Social%20Discipline%20Model%20of%20Rudolf%20Dreikurs.htm

• Legitimizing the behavior: have the whole class to join in the behavior.

• Doing the unexpected: turning out the lights, changing the voice, playing a musical sound.

• Distracting the student: ask a direct question.

• Noticing appropriate behavior: thank the students; write well-behaved students’ names on the board.

• Privately, talk with the student about the behavior. A conversation might start with, “Could it be that

you want me to pay attention to you?

Power and control

When children fail to gain all the attention they seek, they often engage in a power struggle with parents and

teachers. Teachers should avoid putting pressure on these children to make them behave appropriately

because such pressure usually leads to a power competition. Teachers never win these power competitions.

Children win because society expects adults to behave in a responsible, moral way. However, children can cry,

argue, contradict, lie, be stubborn, and disobedient. Adults are expected to be honest, trusting, loving, and

helpful. Here, the child repetitively does actions to make him the center of attention. When asked to stop, he

becomes defiant, and increases his negative behavior and challenges the adult.

Instead, the teacher might use some techniques such as:

• Give the student choices ( i.e. “You can wear the blue T-shirt or the red T-shirt”

• Avoid power struggles

• Give the student opportunities to “be in charge” or assume responsibility

• Withdraw as the authority figure, (i.e. Acknowledging that the behavior is unacceptable and then

asking the student for suggestions to resolve the problem)

• Involve the student in the decision-making process

• Privately confront the behavior, “Could it be that you want to prove that nobody can make you do

anything?” or “I can’t make you do your work? What do you think I should do”?

R ev e n g e

This is a goal for the student who feels unable to gain attention or power. He believes that others have

deliberately tried to hurt them and attempts to get even. He is convinced that nobody likes him. He believes

that “If I’m hurting, then I have the right to hurt others.” He hurts others physically or psychologically. He

hits, kicks others or destroys their property. A revenge-seeking child is very difficult to help. Teachers must

realize that he hurts others because he feels hurt. Causing him more pain will only provoke more revenge

seeking behaviors. It is probable that this student appears unloving and uncaring and is very hard to “warm up

to”. But this is exactly what he needs- to feel cared for.

The teacher might use some techniques with power and revenge students such as:

• Refusing the fight

53

• Changing the subject

• Set up situations that allows the student to exhibit talents and strengths

• Realize that students who seek revenge will reject efforts to help them. Be persistent and patient

• Using time out

• Establishing clear logical consequences.

• Confront the behavior, “Could it be that you want to hurt me (or others)”?

H e l p l e s s ne s s or I n a d e q ua c y

The student operating with this goal is the most pathetic. He has given up on the possibility of being a member

of the group. This child wishes not to be seen, to be left alone, rejects social contact, and refuses to try most

educational demands.

The teacher might use some techniques such as:

• Providing tutoring

• Avoiding criticism

• Making mistakes okay

• Model think-alouds (i.e. The teacher might say, “This is a difficult task for me, but I am going to try

it, it is just fine if I don’t get it right”)

• Building confidence

• Acknowledging effort, privately

Suggestions for Encouraging Students

• Always speak in positive terms, never be negative • Encourage self-reflection, “How did working hard on that task make you feel?” • Be democratic rather than autocratic or permissive in the classroom procedures and social interactions

with students • Encourage students to strive for improvement, not perfection • Emphasize student strengths while minimizing weaknesses. • Help students learn from mistakes, which are valuable in learning • Encourage independence and the assumption of responsibility • Show faith in students; offer them help in overcoming the obstacles. • Encourage students to help each other • Be optimistic and enthusiastic – a positive outlook is contagious. • Use encouraging remarks such as, “you have improved”, can I help you?”

54

Date

Time Period

Class

Date

Time Period

Class

Date

Time Period

Class

Date

Time Period

Class

Date

Time Period

Class

Date

Time Period

Class

Date

Time Period

Class

Date

Time Period

Class

Date

Time Period

Behavior Recognition Tally Sheet Negative Positive

Class

55




56

***You must bring your laptop/iPad and your Facilitator/Participant Handbook to the module.***

MODULE 7: Using all the Functions in the TLE

Module 7 Agenda Success Partners Vision: To establish and maintain a school culture that ensures increased student achievement through parent-school partnerships Parent-School Partnership Plan Goals:


Objectives: Participants will access and utilize the Teaching and Learning Exchange as a PAC (planning, communication and accountability) tool with

parents and students.




WHAT WHO HOW LONG Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review OSL Coordinator 5 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Learning All the Functionality of the TLE Facilitators and Staff 90 minutes See page 58 in the PARTICIPANT HANDBOOK to view the current features of the TLE. Next meeting______________

YOUR OSL COORDINATOR WILL FACILITATE

THIS MODULE. DATE/TIME/LOCATION TBD

57

Revised 5/2015

The Teaching and Learning Exchange (TLE) is a free web-based application designed to support teaching, learning, communication and accountability for administrators, teachers, parents/guardians and students.

Current Features

Personal Learning Plans (PLP): A collaborative framework for the parent and teacher to:

o Identify student assets, strengths, interests, and concerns o Discuss expectations and responsibilities for learning and behavior o Identify instructional strategies and accommodations at school and at home o Document academic, social, emotional, and behavioral goals o Access exemplary instructional strategies and caregiver resources to support student mastery

Standards: Teachers and administrators can utilize the system to:

o Scope and sequence when to introduce new material o Indicate the current status of each instructional standard as students move towards mastery o Access English Language Arts and Mathematics Florida standards or their own selected standards o Upload custom standards in any subject area o Track progress of each student’s level of mastery of the established standards o Access exemplary lessons, videos, assessments, and resources connected to ELA and Math standards

Unit Planner, Lesson Planner, and Gradebook: Teachers can use these features to:

o Record objectives or select individualized standards for each grading period o Provide parents online access 24/7 to view assignments and access current grade information o Automatically send student grades to the Personal Learning Plans to indicate progress

Attendance Tracking and Lunch Counts

o Gives teachers and administrators the ability to track daily class attendance o Provides teachers the ability to record student lunch choices o Ability to print attendance and lunch reports for both teachers and administrators

Report Cards

o Customizable grading periods and final class grade calculations

o Standards-based grade justification o Fully customizable printed or electronic report cards available

Free Support

o Online documentation is provided for all users

o How-to videos available 24/7

o One-on-one training available with your coordinator by request o Live webinars with Q&A sessions provided at no charge

o Email support through your coordinator

58




59

Module 8 Agenda

Parent Expectations: A Demonstration of Two-Way Communication



Objectives: Participants will identify the school’s current expectations for families as well as families’ expectations of the school. Participants will refine expectations in order to support a collaborative partnership. Participants will develop a process to ensure parents provide feedback on expectations. Participants will analyze the benefits on home visits




WHAT WHO HOW LONG Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review Facilitators 3 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Identify the school’s current expectations of families. Facilitators and Staff 10 minutes ACTIVITY 2: Refine family expectations (Affinity Mapping protocol). Staff 20 minutes ACTIVITY 3: Finalize family expectations Staff 20 minutes and brainstorm how to involve parents. ACTIVITY 4: Read “Teachers Find Home Visits Help All Staff 10 minutes in the Classroom” article. ACTIVITY 5: Document new ideas and activities for engaging parents. Facilitators and Staff 5 minutes

Next meeting______________

60

DO

VE B

rainsto

rmin

g

Defer judgm

ent on anyone else’s ideas.

Opt for the unusual and creative.

Generate a V

ast number of ideas.

Expand on the ideas by "piggy backing" on

someone else

’s idea.

61

Tampa Adventist Academy- Parent as Our Partners Expectations “Working Together to Soar Above the Rest to Achieve the Best through Jesus Christ”

As a parent I believe it is important to send my child to school prepared to learn by:

Providing my child healthy meals including fruits and vegetables Getting my child to class on time every day Making sure my child has their supplies every day Making sure my child gets at least 7-9 hours of sleep every night Letting my child know that I love them and that they can be successful

As a parent I believe it is important to support religious education and practice by:

Attending church regularly with my family Being a disciple of Christ as an example for my child Spending time with my child in prayer Applying the weekly memory verses to our daily lives

As a parent I believe it is important to be my child’s biggest advocate by:

Setting the expectations of graduation, careers and college- talking about this regularly with my child Being enthusiastic about schoolwork/homework Leaving positive messages for my child Expressing an interest in my child’s schoolwork Attending school events Encouraging positive feelings about school Speaking positively about school

As a parent I believe it is important to stay in touch with my child’s teachers and the school by:

Contacting the teachers if I have questions, concerns ideas, suggestions Contacting school when my child is sick or will be absent Giving teachers feedback about how they are doing Reading our newsletter- letting the school know what I would like to see in the Newsletter Checking the back pack daily Signing and returning all papers If I have a concern, I’ll start first with the teacher and work together to resolve it privately Communicating any changes my child may be experiencing Sharing interesting facts about my family with us Checking & responding to the student planner daily

As a parent I believe it is important to help teachers help my child be successful by:

Being a partner & ally with all school staff Checking homework every night Reading with my child regularly Having age appropriate books & magazines at home for my child to read Making sure my child sees me reading Limiting the amount of time my child watches TV & engages in video games Encouraging my child to spend time engaged in physical activities Knowing what my child is doing after school Asking specific questions about what my child is learning in school Taking my child to the library regularly Encouraging my child to do their best Teaching my child respect and manners

As a parent I believe it is important to let my child know that I value education and will be very involved in their learning by:

Visiting my child’s classrooms Attending the school functions (Celebrations, Assemblies, Parent meetings Attending Parent-Teacher Conferences Establishing a daily homework routine – a calm, quiet, well lit area; turn off the TV, cell phones, electronic games Modeling learning at home Volunteering at and for the school

62

Page 67

As a p

aren

t I be

lieve

it is imp

ortan

t to se

nd

my ch

ild to

scho

ol p

rep

ared

to le

arn b

y:

A D

Pro

vidin

g m

y child

hea

lthy m

eals in

clud

ing

fruits a

nd

vegeta

bles

A D

Gettin

g m

y child

to cla

ss on

time every d

ay

A

D M

akin

g su

re my ch

ild h

as th

eir sup

plies every d

ay

A

D M

akin

g su

re my ch

ild g

ets at lea

st 7 h

ou

rs of sleep

every nig

ht

A

D Lettin

g m

y child

know

tha

t I love th

em a

nd

tha

t they ca

n b

e successfu

l

As a p

aren

t I be

lieve

it is imp

ortan

t to su

pp

ort re

ligiou

s ed

ucatio

n an

d p

ractice b

y:

A D

Atten

din

g ch

urch

regu

larly w

ith m

y fam

ily

A D

Bein

g a

discip

le of C

hrist a

s an

exam

ple fo

r my ch

ild

A

D Sp

end

ing

time w

ith m

y child

in p

rayer

A

D A

pp

lying

the w

eekly mem

ory verses to

ou

r da

ily lives

C

om

men

ts: _

_

_

_

I p

lan

to en

roll b

y child

at St. P

eter Cla

ver Ca

tho

lic Scho

ol fo

r the 2

01

2-1

3

scho

ol yea

r.

St.P

eter Clav

er Cath

olic S

chool

“

Pa

rents m

ake T

HE

differen

ce…”

Dea

r Pa

rents,

St. Peter C

laver C

ath

olic Sch

oo

l is pa

rticipa

ting

in a

state w

ide p

ilot to

develo

p stro

ng

pa

rent-sch

oo

l pa

rtnersh

ips. A

s part o

f tha

t pilot w

e

are revisitin

g the ro

les and resp

on

sibilities of everyo

ne w

ho

is invo

lved

in th

e success o

f ou

r studen

ts. We kn

ow

tha

t you

are the m

ost

imp

orta

nt p

erson

in the life o

f ou

r stud

ents! A

ttached

you

will see a

dra

ft of th

e “Pa

rent Expecta

tion

s”. We n

eed yo

ur in

pu

t! Plea

se pla

ce

a ch

eck in eith

er the “A

” (ag

ree) or D

(disa

gree)” co

lum

n a

fter each

statem

ent to

ind

icate a

greemen

t/ disa

greem

ent. Feel free to p

rovid

e

us a

ny w

ritten co

mm

ents. O

ur P

aren

t Pa

rtner Expecta

tion

s will be

featu

red in

ou

r Pa

rents a

s Pa

rtners p

rog

ram

tha

t will b

egin

in th

e fall

of 2

012

! P

lease retu

rn th

e form

by Th

ursd

ay, M

ay 31

st. All stu

den

ts return

ing

this fo

rm w

ill pa

rticipa

te in a

“dress d

ow

n” d

ay o

n Frid

ay, Ju

ne 1

st.

Ag

ain

, tha

nk yo

u fo

r you

r feedb

ack a

nd

sup

po

rt!

St. Peter C

laver C

ath

olic Sch

oo

l Staff

I do

no

t pla

n to

return

to St. P

eter Cla

ver Ca

tho

lic Scho

ol fo

r the 2

01

2-1

3

scho

ol yea

r.

I h

ave rea

d a

nd

un

dersta

nd

the P

aren

t Expecta

tion

s for St. P

eter Cla

ver Ca

tho

lic

Scho

ol

Sig

ned

.

63

Page 68

As

a p

are

nt

I be

lieve

it is

imp

ort

ant

to b

e m

y ch

ild’s

big

gest

ad

voca

te b

y:

As

a p

are

nt

I be

lieve

it is

imp

ort

ant

to b

e a

par

tner

wit

h t

he

sch

oo

l sta

ff in

th

e s

ucc

ess

of

my

child

by:

A

D

Rew

ard

ing

eff

ort

, dili

gen

ce a

nd

imp

rove

men

t

A

D

Set

tin

g t

he

exp

ecta

tio

ns

of

gra

du

ati

on

, ca

reer

s a

nd

co

lleg

e- t

alk

ing

ab

ou

t th

is r

egu

larl

y

wit

h m

y ch

ild

A

D

C

hec

kin

g h

om

ewo

rk e

very

nig

ht

A

D

R

ead

ing

wit

h m

y ch

ild r

egu

larl

y

A

D

B

ein

g e

nth

usi

ast

ic a

bou

t sc

ho

olw

ork

/ho

mew

ork

A

D

Ha

vin

g a

ge

ap

pro

pri

ate

bo

oks

& m

ag

azi

nes

at

ho

me

for

my

child

to

rea

d

A

D

L

eavi

ng

po

siti

ve m

essa

ges

fo

r m

y ch

ild

A

D

M

aki

ng

su

re m

y ch

ild s

ees

me

rea

din

g

A

D

E

xpre

ssin

g a

n in

tere

st in

my

child

’s s

cho

olw

ork

A

D

L

imit

ing

th

e a

mo

un

t o

f ti

me

my

child

wa

tch

es T

V &

en

ga

ges

in v

ideo

ga

mes

A

D

E

nco

ura

gin

g p

osi

tive

fee

ling

s a

bo

ut

sch

oo

l A

D

En

cou

rag

ing

my

child

to

sp

end

tim

e en

ga

ged

in p

hys

ica

l act

ivit

ies

A

D

S

pea

kin

g p

osi

tive

ly a

bou

t sc

ho

ol

A

D

K

no

win

g w

ha

t m

y ch

ild is

do

ing

aft

er s

cho

ol

A

D

Ask

ing

sp

ecif

ic q

ues

tio

ns

ab

ou

t w

ha

t m

y ch

ild is

lea

rnin

g in

sch

oo

l

As

a p

are

nt

I be

lieve

it is

imp

ort

ant

to s

tay

in t

ou

ch w

ith

my

child

’s t

eac

he

rs a

nd

th

e s

cho

ol b

y:

A

D

T

aki

ng

my

child

to

th

e lib

rary

reg

ula

rly

A

D

C

on

tact

ing

th

e te

ach

ers

if I

ha

ve q

ues

tio

ns,

co

nce

rns

idea

s, s

ug

ges

tio

ns

A

D

E

nco

ura

gin

g m

y ch

ild t

o d

o t

hei

r b

est

A

D

C

on

tact

ing

sch

oo

l wh

en m

y ch

ild is

sic

k o

r w

ill b

e a

bse

nt

A

D

T

each

ing

my

child

res

pec

t a

nd

ma

nn

ers

A

D

G

ivin

g t

each

ers

feed

ba

ck a

bo

ut

ho

w t

hey

are

do

ing

A

D

Rea

din

g o

ur

new

slet

ter-

lett

ing

th

e sc

ho

ol k

no

w w

ha

t I w

ould

like

to

see

in t

he

New

slet

ter

A

D

Ch

ecki

ng

th

e b

ack

pa

ck d

aily

A

D

S

pen

din

g q

ua

lity

tim

e to

get

her

as

a f

am

ily

As

a p

are

nt

I be

lieve

it is

imp

ort

ant

to le

t m

y ch

ild k

no

w t

hat

I va

lue

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

will

be

very

invo

lve

d in

th

eir

lear

nin

g b

y:

A

D

Sig

nin

g a

nd

ret

urn

ing

all

pa

per

s

A

D

Co

mm

un

ica

tin

g a

ny

cha

ng

es m

y ch

ild m

ay

be

exp

erie

nci

ng

A

D

Sh

ari

ng

inte

rest

ing

fa

cts

ab

ou

t m

y fa

mily

wit

h u

s

A

D

Ch

ecki

ng

& r

esp

on

din

g t

o t

he

stu

den

t p

lan

ner

da

ily

A

D

G

ivin

g t

o t

he

sch

oo

l a m

inim

um

of

10

ser

vice

ho

urs

A

D

V

isit

ing

my

child

’s c

lass

roo

ms

A

D

A

tten

din

g t

he

sch

oo

l fu

nct

ion

s (C

eleb

rati

on

s, A

ssem

blie

s, P

are

nt

mee

tin

gs

A

D

A

tten

din

g P

are

nt-

Tea

cher

Co

nfe

ren

ces

A

D

E

sta

blis

hin

g a

da

ily h

omew

ork

ro

uti

ne

– a

ca

lm, q

uie

t, w

ell l

it a

rea

; tu

rn o

ff t

he

TV, c

ell

ph

on

es, e

lect

ron

ic g

am

es

A

D

Mo

del

ing

lea

rnin

g a

t h

om

e

A

D

V

olu

nte

erin

g a

t a

nd

fo

r th

e sc

ho

ol

64



Dear Parents,

HELP US BRAINSTORM ACTIVITIES FOR OUR PARENT-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP PLAN! Please join us for our next

staff training session where parents and staff will put our heads together to come up with exciting activities to

meet our goal of creating partnerships between our school staff and our school families.

We will take part in a fun activity to learn about how we can work together in teamwork situations. We will

also learn about the partnerships that other schools have created, as well as brainstorm our own ideas for

next year. We need to hear from you! Please attend!


Date:

Time:

65

Teachers find home visits help in the classroom

By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Associated Press

Updated 12:16 pm, Monday, December 30, 2013

ST. LOUIS (AP) — In days gone by, a knock on the door by a teacher or school official used to mean a child was in trouble.

Not anymore, at least for parents and students at Clay Elementary School. The urban public school is one of more than

30 in the St. Louis area that sends teachers on home visits several times a year. Unlike home visit programs that focus on

truants and troublemakers, or efforts aimed exclusively at early childhood, the newer wave seeks to narrow the teacher-

parent divide while providing glimpses at the factors that shape student learning before and after the school

bells ring.

"I wish they had this when I had children in school," said Elmira Warren, a teacher's aide at Clay who has made home

visits to her students and their parents. "I was fearful of what the teachers thought, and of not knowing enough."

The nonprofit HOME WORKS! program is modeled after one in Sacramento, Calif., that over the past decade has since

spread to more than 300 schools in 13 states, with active programs in Washington, Denver, Seattle and St. Paul, Minn.

Program leaders say participation leads to better attendance, higher test scores, greater parental involvement and

fewer suspensions and expulsions, citing preliminary research of the newer program by the University of Missouri-St.

Louis and a series of external reviews in Sacramento over the past decade. Participation is voluntary, and teachers are

paid for their time.

"We've figured out a way for people to sit down outside the regular school and have the most important conversation

that needs to happen," said Carrie Rose, executive director of the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project in the California

capital.

The K-12 program began in 1999 as a faith-based community effort but quickly found support not only in the

Sacramento school district but also with local teachers unions. The National Education Association has also endorsed

teacher home visits, citing a "critical mass of research evidence" connecting high student achievement with involved

parents. No longer do parents only hear from teachers when there's a problem, or during brief school conferences that

leave little time to go beyond the surface.

"She knows how much the teachers care when she sees them at her home," said Mark Brown, whose 6-year-old

daughter Unafay attends Clay Elementary in north St. Louis.

A decade ago, Clay principal Donna Owens could barely attract 25 parents to meet their children's teachers even once at

a school with more than 320 students, with one notable exception: the Halloween candy giveaway. A recent HOME

WORKS! event at the 191-student school drew close to double that number of parents.

"Our parents feel much more comfortable coming to the school and being a part of it," Owens said. The Missouri

program, which began in St. Louis but now includes several schools 120 miles away in the college town of Columbia,

follows a template common to the other efforts. Participating schools must agree to involve at least half of their

teachers, and the educators work in pairs to ensure safety.

Program costs are often covered by foundation grants or borne by nonprofit supporters such as the Flamboyan

Foundation, which paid for the program in the District of Columbia. Rose estimated the program cost at $10,000

66

annually for elementary schools, and $15,000 to $20,000 for high schools. In Missouri, the first teacher visit comes in

late summer, with the second session in the fall. While the follow-up session focuses on academics, the initial meeting is

all about building a rapport, said Karen Kalish, a St. Louis philanthropist who founded HOME WORKS! in 2006.

"They go in as listeners and learners the first time," she said. "Just to get (parents) to start talking, to build their

relationship."

Each session is followed by an invitation to continue the conversation at school over a communal meal. Busy parents

who can't find the time or energy for such visits are told the school will also provide childcare and transportation if

needed. Teachers must spend at least 30 minutes on the first visit and 45 minutes the second time, though often those

minimums are exceeded.

"We want to do whatever we can to get them to come to school," Kalish said. "Something happens when parents see

their kids' school for the first time."

Selling overworked teachers on the benefits isn't always easy. At Flynn Park Elementary in the St. Louis suburb of

University City, teacher participation is down in the program's second year, said kindergarten teacher Debbie Kuster.

Some are simply too busy outside of school with their own families, she said. Others work second or even third jobs. And

some teachers — Kuster included — prefer to keep their professional distance, she said. "I'm uncomfortable going to the

house," she said. "For certain people, they're more comfortable in their own territory."

Those who do connect with their students' families away from school describe a more collaborative approach to

learning, an environment of mutual respect and appreciation rather than top-down communication.

“A lot of parents were willing to share with us,” Warren said. “They saw we were parents ourselves. They let down their

guard.”

Fourth-grade teacher Cynthia Williams said her Clay Elementary Students learned to view her as more than just a two-

dimensional authority figure. "For some students, school and home are two different worlds," she said. "When you

create that bridge, it becomes cohesive." Kalish said the program also fosters parental accountability rather than a

reliance on schools to essentially serve as surrogate parents for six or seven hours each day.

While the Missouri program and affiliated efforts nationwide remain relatively small, she hopes to build enough

momentum to take the effort statewide, and envisions a broader effort that would elevate teacher home visits

alongside such programs as Teach for America or Parents as Teachers, which focuses on increasing child-rearing skills

through home visits for newborns and toddlers. "We've got the secret sauce," Kalish said. "We know what works.”

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Module 9 Agenda

It Takes More than a Village: A Collaborative Parent-Teacher Module



Objectives: Participants will discover the contributions and assets of each member of the school community. Participants will brainstorm possible activities for select partnership goals.




WHAT WHO HOW LONG Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review Facilitators 5 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Discovering the contributions & assets of each participant. All Staff and Parents 25 minutes (Compass Points protocol) ACTIVITY 2: Learning with and from each other All Staff and Parents 10 minutes Read “Suggestions for the PSPP” list ACTIVITY 3: Identifying structures, processes and activities to support All Staff and Parents 20 minutes an effective parent-school partnership (Carousel Brainstorm protocol). Next meeting_________________

Acting – ‘Let’s do it.’ Likes to act,

try things, plunge in.

Speculating – Likes to look at the big

picture and the possibilities before

acting.

Caring – likes to know that everyone’s feelings

have been taken into consideration and that

their voices have been heard before acting.

Paying Attention to detail- Likes to know the

‘who, what, when, where and why’ before

acting.

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Compass Points Questions

1. What are the strengths of your style? (4 adjectives)

2. What are the limitations of your style? (4 adjectives)

3. What style do you find most difficult to work with and why?

4. What do people from the other “directions” or styles need to know about you so you can work together effectively?

5. What do you value about the other three styles?

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Suggestions for the Parent-School Partnership Plan Compiled from Success Partners schools

Goal 1: Establishing a Parent-Friendly School Environment

Evaluate the first point of contact with parents: the front office. Do we have an Open Door Policy? Does the front office really

welcome parents? Do an Extreme Makeover based upon findings.

Establish permanent signage that welcomes parents and provides them with directions to front office and parking.

Have monthly opportunities to include parents in school events including:

o Donuts for Dad/Muffins for Mom where children read with the parent (or caring adult) o Career Day o Open House o Game Nights o Family Field Day – parents participate with their students in the activities (parent/student 3 legged race, water

balloon toss, family sack relay) Institute “coffee chats” where they invited families to come out to the school for coffee and just to talk with each other. This

informal setting had no predetermined agenda; rather, the topics of the conversations came from parents as they shared ideas, concerns and got to know each other.

Develop a process for parents to join students for field trips or a “Take Your Parent to School Day”.

Develop a mandatory volunteer hour program that considers the working parent.

Host celebrations and start traditions that reflect the cultural diversity of the school community.

Goal 2: Ensuring Two-Way Communication:

Have a Parent-School Partnership Plan Kick-Off celebration. Provide your parents with an overview of what your parent partnership will offer. Have Parent-School Partnership Pledges ready for all to sign!

Establish a school newsletter with a section for parent feedback.

Make phone calls.

Talk with parents during the car circle.

Schedule parent conference.

Provide every family with a “refrigerator calendar”. This calendar could have timely monthly information regarding the school and classroom activities.

Host a School Scavenger hunt. Families can be given a list of school areas that they will visit. They will engage in a simple but fun activity (i.e., find the gym and shoot three baskets, or find the media center and check out a book). The scavenger hunt culminates in the cafeteria with snacks and prizes for winners in various categories.

Goal 3: Eliminating Roadblocks to Engagement

Provide each child with an individualized Personal Learning Plan through the Teaching and Learning Exchange.

Host a parent meeting to introduce the Teaching and Learning Exchange.

Send home a “Getting to Know You” questionnaire that provides parents with the opportunity to tell you about their family.

Implement Khan Academy schoolwide for parents and students and host a Khan Night to explain how Khan Academy will

be used and to help parents register as coaches.

Provide relevant data to parents: academic scores, discipline, climate survey results, and school & student performance on

standardized assessments.

Provide information & specific strategies to parents to address content areas where a student needs support.

Provide parents with class expectations and grade level expectations for each grading period/semester/year.

Establish a tradition of parents doing a writing assignment (i.e. “How did you get your name?” or “What should a

teacher know about my child?”) and post their work for the children to read.

Develop an equitable homework system. (How does the school respond to the student who didn’t learn the concept at

school but now has to do homework with these concepts versus the student who just doesn’t complete the assignment?)

Put a system in place when students “can’t do” or “don’t understand” the homework.

Provide parents with a “model home environment” that supports learning at home (this could go in your newsletter).

Implement a process that requires parent participation in an authentic learning project such as the Schoolwide Enrichment

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Model.

Ask parents to identify their child’s learning style through a learning style inventory, or assess your students’ learning styles

and share tips based on that style with their parents.

Provide parents rubrics/anchor papers that will be used to assess student work.

Make home visits.

Offer to hold your conference with family members in other locations than the school. Coming to the school may be difficult for a parent for many reasons.

Identify the strengths and needs of families through surveys in order to utilize their strengths and meet their needs.

Host Family Literacy and Family Math Nights to educate both parents and students.

Create monthly Parent Parties with topics such as:

o “Understanding standardized test scores”

o “Helping my children learn at home and at school”

o “Making the home conducive to learning”

o “Preparing for a successful Parent-Teacher Conference”

Institute a “parent writing project” where parents are asked to write a story about their child, about their favorite family tradition, or how they came to name their child in “a million words or less”. These written stories are posted throughout the school for everyone to enjoy.

Goal 4: Recognizing Excellence and Improvement of all Stakeholders (parents, teachers, students, and administrators)

Publish student work using bulletin boards in hallways and in the front office. Allow students to select the work they want

displayed.

Display student writings with a student picture where students stand/wait, such as in the lobby, cafeteria, or library.

Highlight student work in the newsletter.

Honor and reinforce the “most improved” student as well as the “best”.

Create a process to select student(s) of the month with a rubric that allows multiple students who meet your

requirements to be the student of the month.

Share the rubric with parents so they understand how student(s) of the month are determined.

Reinforce other accomplishments monthly: music/art accomplishments, athletic accomplishments, or character traits.

Recognize parents who have worked hard with their children at home or helped the teacher.

Develop processes for making sure students and families receive positive phone calls (monthly?).

Develop processes (such as a FISH program [Family Involvement Service Hours]) to recognize parents with a Gold/Silver/Bronze standard for volunteering.

Recognize other parent achievements using the newsletter, assemblies, rolling TV announcements, or your marquee

outside.

Recognize a “family of the month” with a gift that the family could do together (a board game, family meal gift basket, movie

tickets).

Recognize families who consistently use Khan Academy or the TLE.

Host monthly assemblies to recognize student, staff, and parent accomplishments and contributions.

Host a Parent Appreciation Day.

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Dear Parents,

HELP US FINALIZE OUR PARENT-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP PLAN! Please join us for the last staff training session of

the year, where parents and staff will refine and decide how to share our Parent-School Partnership Plan. We

will be deciding which of the activities brainstormed at our last joint meeting will truly help us develop effective

partnerships.


Date:

Time:

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Module 10 Agenda

Developing, Finalizing and Sharing a Plan to Strengthen Your Parent-School

Partnerships

Success Partners Vision: To establish and maintain a school culture that ensures increased student achievement through parent-school partnerships Parent-School Partnership Plan Goals: 1. Establishing a Parent-Friendly School Environment 2. Ensuring Two-Way Communication 3. Eliminating Roadblocks to Engagement 4. Recognizing Excellence and Improvement of all Stakeholders

Objectives: Participants will evaluate and prioritize the identified structures, conditions, and processes that could increase parental engagement

and choose a goal team. In goal teams, participants will translate their goals and objectives into a finalized Parent-School Partnership Plan and a parent-

friendly version of the PSPP using the PSPP template.




WHAT WHO HOW LONG Welcome and Agenda/Norms Review Facilitators 5 minutes ACTIVITY 1: Goal Team Work Session: Refining Action Steps Goal Teams 60 minutes ACTIVITY 2: PSPP Next Steps Facilitator, Parents, Staff 10 minutes

Brainstorm ideas for informing all parents about the PSPP.

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Success Partners Participant Handbook...The Participant Handbook contains all the documents you will need to carry out the initiative, and therefore, this handbook will need to accompany

Documents