School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 467 082 PS 030 545 AUTHOR Epstein, Joyce L.; Sanders, Mavis G.; Simon, Beth S.; Salinas, Karen Clark; Jansorn, Natalie Rodriguez; Van Voorhis, Frances L. TITLE School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action. Second Edition. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.; Disney Learning Partnership, Burbank, CA.; DeWitt Wallace/Reader's Digest Fund, Pleasantville, NY. ISBN ISBN-0-7619-7666-3 PUB DATE 2002-00-00 NOTE 434p.; For the first edition, see ED 415 003. AVAILABLE FROM Corwin Press, Inc., A Sage Publications Company, 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 ($34.95). Tel: 805-499-9734; Fax: 805-499-5323; Web site: http:/ /www.corwinpress.com. PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Guides - Non-Classroom (055) -- Tests/Questionnaires (160) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MFOl Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS DESCRIPTORS Community Action; *Community Involvement; *Educational Improvement; Elementary Secondary Education; Family School Relationship; Leadership Training; *Parent Participation; *Parent School Relationship; *Partnerships in Education; Program Development; *School Community Relationship IDENTIFIERS *Action Plans ABSTRACT Despite strong agreement on the importance of parent involvement, most schools, districts, and states still need help in developing comprehensive programs of school, family, and community partnerships. This revised handbook translates lessons learned over 20 years of research and fieldwork into practical solutions for program development. The book presents a research-based framework and field-tested tools to help leaders understand six types of family and community involvement; create an Action Team for Partnerships; plan and implement family and community involvement activities to reach school goals for student success; mobilize community resources; encourage progress; evaluate resul'ts; and continue to improve plans, practices, and programs over time. Chapter 1 summarizes the theory and research on which the handbook is based. Chapter 2 provides examples illustrating how the approach works in various schools and communities. Chapter 3 provides guidance in organizing an effective Action Team for Partnerships. Chapter 4 supplies materials to help workshop leaders prepare workshops for educators, parents, and community partners. Chapter 5 supplies charts and diagrams that can be used as transparencies and handouts in presentations and workshops. Chapter 6 summarizes research and practical approaches to family and community involvement in secondary schools. Chapter 7 outlines state and district leadership activities to increase expertise on school, family, and community partnerships. Chapter 8 describes two partnership approaches as part of the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) approach. Chapter 9 includes tools for developing long-term goals, writing action plans, conducting evaluations, and assessing partnership progress. Chapter 10 shows how to join other schools, districts, and states in the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University to Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. obtain information and assistance. Chapters 1, 6, and 8 contain references. (KB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 1 I School, Family, and Community Partnerships CENTER (ERIC) DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL IN This document has been reproduced as MICROFICHE ONLY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Y received from the person or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality I I Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent offlclal OERI positiofi-or poticy--- --_ - I-- -_ -_ Your Handbook for Action School, Family, and Community Partnerships Second Edition 3 School, Family, and Communiky Partnerships I Your Handbook for Action Second Edition Joyce b. Epstein, Mavis G. Sanders, Beth S. Simon, Karen Clark Salinas, Natalie Rodriguez Jansorn, Frances L.Van Voorhis CORWIN PRESS, INC. A Sage Publications Company ' Thousand Oaks, California ._I i.:. 4 Copyright 0 2002 by Corwin Press, Inc. All rights reserved. When forms and sample documents are included, their use is autho- rized only by educators, local school sites, and/or noncommercial entities who have pur- chased the book. Except for that usage, no part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information: Corwin Press, Inc. A Sage Publications Company 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 www.corwinpress.com Sage Publications Ltd. 6 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4PU United Kingdom Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd. M-32 Market Greater Kailash I New Delhi 110 048 India Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action / Joyce L. Epstein ... [et a1.1.- 2nd ed. p. cm. Rev. ed. of School, family, and community partnerships / Joyce L. Epstein. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7619-7665-5 (c) - ISBN 0-7619-7666-3 (p) 1. Community and school-United States. 2. Home and school-United States. 3. School improvement programs-United States. I. Epstein, Joyce Levy. LC221 .E68 2002 371 J9’0973-dc21 2002003384 This book is printed on acid-free paper. 02 03 04 05 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Acquisitions Editor: Robb Clouse Editorial Assistant: Erin Buchanan Copy Editor: Toni Williams Production Editor: Diane S. Foster Typesetter/Designer: Larry K. Bramble Proofreader: Scott Oney Indexer: Teri Greenberg Cover Designer: Michael Dubowe Production Designer: Sandra Ng .. C.’ 5 Contents Acknowledgments viii About the Authors ix Introduction 1 1. A Comprehensive Framework 5 1.1. School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share 7 1.2. Community Involvement in School Improvement: The Little Extra That Makes a Big Difference 30 2. Using the Framework in Practice: Stories From the Field 41 School Stories: Examples of the Six Types of Involvement 41 Type 1-Parenting 44 Trpe 2-Communicating 47 Type 3-Volunteering 51 Type 4-Learning at Home 55 Type 5-Decision Making 59 Type 6-Collaborating With the Community 63 District Leadership Activities 67 State Leadership Activities 75 3. Taking an Action Team Approach 81 Organizing an Effective Action Team for Partnerships: Questions and Answers 84 What Tools Help an Action Team for Partnerships Conduct Its Activities 98 Ten Steps to Success in School, Family, and Community Partnerships 104 Checklist: Are You Ready? 105 Who Are the Members of the Action Team for Partnerships? 106 ATP Committee Structure and Leaders 107 First ATP Meeting of the School Year 108 Communication Ground Rules 109 What Do Successful Action Teams for Partnerships Do? 110 Annual Review of Team Processes 111 The ABCs of Action Team Leadership 112 '"' i,i. 6 Action Team Discussion on Meeting Key Challenges to Excellent Partnerships 119 Sample Pledges, Compacts, or Contracts 122 4. Conducting Workshops 127 Team-Training Workshop 129 End-of-Year Celebration Workshop 146 Workshop Evaluations 155 5. Selecting Materials for Presentations and Workshops 157 Transparencies and Handouts 158 What Do We Know From U.S. and International Studies of Partnerships? 161 What Does Research Say About the Development of Programs? 162 Theoretical Model of Overlapping Spheres of Influence 163 Keys to Successful Partnerships 165 Six Types of Involvement 166 Sample Practices 172 Challenges and Redefinitions 178 Expected Results 184 Partnerships for Results in Elementary Schools 190 Summary Charts for Six Types of Involvement: Practices, Challenges, Redefinitions, and Results 194 Structures of Action Teams for Partnerships 200 Members of the Action Team for Partnerships 202 Levels of Commitment to Partnerships 203 Understanding Levels of Commitment 204 Small Group Activities for Workshops 205 Workshop Warm-up: Are Two Heads Better Than One? 206 Starting Points: An Inventory of Present Practices 208 Jumping Hurdles 212 School Goals and Results of Partnerships 213 Get Ready for Action 214 How to Organize Your Action Team for Partnerships 215 6. Strengthening Partnership Programs in Middle and High Schools 217 Improving School, Family, and Community Partnerships in Middle and High Schools 220 Predictors and Effects of Family Involvement in High School 235 A Goal-Oriented Approach to Partnership Programs in Middle and High Schools 246 Partnerships for Results in Middle and High Schools 252 Why Partnerships Are Important in Middle and High Schools 258 Special Considerations for Middle and High Schools 259 -7 Transitions: Involving Families When Students Move to New Schools 260 7. Developing State and District leadership for Partnerships 263 State and District Leadership for School, Family, and Community Partnerships 267 State Leadership Roles 276 State Leadership Actions 277 State Leadership Checklist 278 Sample: State Leadership Plan for Partnerships 279 Template: States, Districts, and Organizations One-Year Leadership Plan for Partnerships 280 District Leadership Roles 281 District Leadership Actions 282 District Leadership Checklist 283 Sample: District Leadership Plan for Partnerships 284 What Do Facilitators Do? 285 Facilitators’ Tasks at the Start of the School Year 286 Summary of School Visits 287 Standards