School Board Work Session Improving Student Achievement with the Support and Involvement of Families and the Community School Board Work Session

To be the top producer of successful students in the nation OCPS Vision To be the top producer of successful students in the nation OCPS Mission To lead our students to success with the support and involvement of families and the community Our vision in Orange County Public Schools is to be the top producer of successful students in the nation. As you can see, our mission recognizes that this will be accomplished with the support and involvement of families and the community. OCPS is the 10th largest district in the nation and navigation of such a large school system can be challenging. Survey data revealed that parents needed a centralized approach to access resources in order to support their children at home. We recognized that departments were working in silos to support parental involvement which led to duplication of efforts.

Parent Involvement: Data: A better predictor of academic success than test scores Boosts student achievement, attendance, and behavior Data: Two-thirds of parents surveyed said they wanted to be more involved in their child’s education, but didn’t know how Seventy percent of teachers believe their students would perform better in school if their parents were more involved Parent Involvement Researchers have found that: Parental involvement is a better indicator of academic success than test scores and it is well documented that this involvement boosts student achievement, attendance and behavior. We further recognize that while parents want to be more involved, they need help from us on how to do that The vast majority of teachers believe their students would perform better in school if their parents were more involved.

The OCPS Parent Academy started in 2013 with a 4-year implementation plan. This table outlines some of the challenges we faced , strategies for successful implementation and next steps moving into year 3. You are probably aware that Title I schools have a requirement to develop annual Parental Involvement Plans. My team was already working with 60% of the districts schools in the area of parenting ,so I was asked to lead the Parent Academy. Collaboration between multiple stakeholders helped to establish goals and to build on the idea that although Title I was taking the lead, this is a district-wide initiative. A challenge in most district, but especially in large ones, is the need to reduce silos. We had parenting programs across the board within Exceptional Education, Multilingual, School Choice, but we were not working together. Implementation of the Parent Academy has lead to increased organizational efficiency as we now partner on events and plan together with a wide range of departments. Strategies for implementation during year 1 included research of best practices in other large, urban districts, surveys of stakeholders, establishing goals or purpose for the academy. As for Next steps: Our standard format includes Parent Academies held on Saturdays from 8-noon. We also host virtual academies on key topics so parents may tune in from home. At this time, academies are held at area high schools, but we are expanding community and faith-based partnerships so that we can provide alternatives for families who can’t attend on Saturdays.

Year 1 Achievements Initial Planning Began Spring 2013 Year 1 Outcomes 150 Workshops on a wide variety of topics Financial Understanding, Digital Resources, New Florida Standards, Assessment and Accountability Parent Academy website Initial Planning Began Spring 2013 Districtwide Collaboration Parent and community involvement Planning for the Parent Academy began in Spring 2013 with district-wide collaboration and parent surveys. We held six events in 13-14. There were seven in 14-15. As you see in the sample programs, parents are able to select 3 sessions. The topics vary each month with some staples such as Financial Understanding, Assessment and Accountability, Digital Resources. At the end of each session, participants are asked to evaluate the session and to offer suggestions for improvement and/or topics of interest for future academies.

Community Partnerships NASA Education Florida Department of Education University of Central Florida Valencia State College Central Florida Educators Credit Union Girl Scouts Orange County Library System Orange County History Center myON Reader Jobs Partnership of Florida Orange County Drug Free Coalition Primary Care Access Network Florida Hospital Amerigroup Nemours BrightStart Catholic Charities Community partners are an important piece of this puzzle. They come to us at no charge and often serve as presenters but also provide information and materials to parents in the exhibit area.

Year 2 Achievements Provided seven Parent Academy events Implemented an on-line registration system Furnished online academic resources for families Implemented student academy sessions Launched Virtual Parent Academy trainings Increased participation by 24% In year 2 we: Streamlined the registration process Implemented a student academy to replace traditional childcare Launched the virtual academy As a result, we saw a 24% increase in parent participation.

Year 3 Priorities Provide seven Parent Academy events Host four Virtual Parent Academy trainings Host events in community centers, faith-based facilities, non-traditional locations Market strategically in selected attendance areas Increase collaboration with stakeholders Train school-level coordinators Year three kicked-off in September 2015 Emphasis this year will be on faith-based and community partners, marketing and increasing input from stake holders. We have established a Parent Advisory Committee which includes parents from each learning community. We are looking at several things: review of results for the year, looking at what we can do within the learning community to provide more direct support to schools, gaining parental perspective on the effectiveness of the academies and how we can link information received during the Saturday events to what is happening at the schools, within the communities and in individual homes.

VIRTUAL PARENT ACADEMY Date Topics Thursday, October 29, 2015 Supporting School Success Thursday, December 10, 2015 E-Parenting: Exploring OCPS Digital Resources Thursday, February 25, 2016 The New Florida Standards and Assessments Thursday, June 2, 2016 Resources for Preventing the Summer Slide Date Topics Thursday, October 29, 2015 Supporting School Success Thursday, December 10, 2015 E-Parenting: Exploring OCPS Digital Resources Thursday, February 25, 2016 The New Florida Standards and Assessments Thursday, June 2, 2016 Resources for Preventing the Summer Slide

This slide shows a comparison of year 1 and year 2 parent participation In your folder you will find totals for the first half of 15-16 To give you an idea of a typical event, here is a short clip taken from our first academy of the 15/16 year. 7,171 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_94PEw09K6g&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

Orange County Public Schools Parent Academy 407-317-3300 www Orange County Public Schools Parent Academy 407-317-3300 www.parentacademy.ocps.net Contact Information: Joy W. Taylor, Director Javonne Aponte, Sr. Administrator Title I Services Family and Community Outreach joy.taylor@ocps.net javonne.aponte@ocps.net 407-317-3200x2002855 407-317-3200x2002736 My contact information is located on the final page of the powerpoint. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions. Thank you for your time.