A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Appendix A

Profiles of Successful Partnerships

• Atenville Elementary School in Harts, West Virginia

• Cane Run Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky

• Rodney B. Cox Elementary School in Dade City, Florida

• Ferguson Elementary School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Hueco Elementary School in El Paso, Texas

• Wendell-Phillips Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School in Kansas City, Missouri

A seventh profile describes a school program--Roosevelt High School in Dallas, Texas--that is part of a statewide initiative to develop strong community-based constituencies of parents, teachers, and community leaders as a strategy to increase student achievement in low-income areas throughout the state.

Two profiles (the Buffalo Parent Center in Buffalo, New York, and the Parent Resource Center in Stockton, California) describe centers that provide services and activities for families districtwide, helping students and parents alike gain the skills and motivation they need to stay involved with their local schools.

The remaining profile describes the districtwide parent involvement program offered by Maine's School Administration District #3. Appendix B includes a summary of all 20 programs included in the Idea Book.

Although success in school-family partnerships rarely comes easily, research shows that what families do to help their children learn contributes greatly to student success in school. The following profiles illustrate how some schools and districts are breaking down the barriers to family involvement in schools. While all have experienced some success in building and nurturing family involvement, solutions to one problem often raise new challenges. School staff as well as parents in all of these programs recognize the need for continued attention to and improvement in the school-family partnership.

Each of the following profiles first provides an overview of the program as well as school and/or district background information. The profiles then present the particular strategies that are bringing families and schools together in support of student learning.

Drawing on interviews with school principals, teachers, and parents, the strategies include:

• overcoming time and resource constraints;

• providing information and training to parents and school staff;

• restructuring schools to support family involvement;

• bridging school-family differences; and

• tapping external supports for school-family partnerships.

Finally, the profiles include each school's or program's evidence of success in strengthening the school-family partnership, both in terms of increasing the numbers of parents participating in activities and improving student performance.
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[References]

[Atenville Elementary School]