Laying the Foundation for Successful AAPACs

Moral Purpose Think of three people that you know, either personally or from history, who you consider to be authentic leaders. Describe these leaders. Authentic leaders anchor their practice in: ideas, values, and commitments exhibit distinctive qualities of style and substance, and can be trusted to be morally diligent in advancing the enterprises they lead. Think of three persons they know, either personally or from history, who they consider to be authentic leaders. Then have them describe these leaders. Chances are your respondents will mention integrity, reliability, moral excellence, a sense of purpose, firmness of conviction, steadiness, and unique qualities of style and substance that differentiate the leaders they choose from others. Key in this list of characteristics is the importance of substance, distinctive qualities, and moral underpinnings. Authentic leaders anchor their practice in ideas, values, and commitments, exhibit distinctive qualities of style and sub-stance, and can be trusted to be morally diligent in advancing the enterprises they lead. Authentic leaders, in other words, display character, and character is the defining characteristic of authentic leadership.

Moral Purpose: Acting with the intention of making a positive difference in the lives of the people that it affects. -Michael Fullan What is it? What is yours? Every leader, to be effective, must have a moral purpose. Moral purpose should be involved in both the process and the end result. It involves different ideas and cultures that people in an organization bring to the community. Clarify your own moral purpose as it relates to your work with families: What is my moral purpose? What actions do I take to realize this moral purpose? How do I help others clarify their moral purpose? Am I making progress in realizing my moral purpose with students?

Developing your AAPAC’s Vision Statement A VISION STATEMENT describes the organization as it would appear in a future state … the team’s destination. Once the destination is determined, the plan to get there becomes easier to develop.

The Logistics: How to Increase the Involvement of Multicultural Families in School Questions to Consider: How should multicultural partnership activities be designed? What is a planning committee and who should be on it? Which elements contribute to successful multicultural partnerships? How can the community contribute to multicultural activities? How can a planning committee prevent obstacles in order to increase the involvement of multicultural families? Partnerships become culturally grounded when they are of the people, by the people, and for the people. It just won’t work to guess at the local cultures; essentialize and fix in place cultural knowledge; or reduce culture to food, festivals, and faces shaded gray on worksheets. From Creating Welcoming Schools, Jo Beth Allen Transforming Schools Through Culturally Grounded Partnerships, Page 155.

Air Line Elementary School Covenant of Teaching and Learning Students learn best when they have: A Active learning opportunities I Interesting and meaningful curricula and individual instruction R Responsibility and choices L Learning environments that are positive I Instruction that challenges and supports all students N Networks with families and community E Enthusiastic and engaged families Air Line Elementary School Covenant of Teaching and Learning King and Goodwin (2002) suggested that schools write a mission statement and goals that express its “commitment to meaningful and culturally responsive parent involvement”. Example: A tiny rural school in Hart County, Georgia…teachers didn’t just write a mission statement and share it with families; they involved parents and students in the writing of the school’s “Covenant of Teaching and Learning.” Through class meetings, students interviewing parents, and something akin to a town-hall meeting, all stakeholders talked about what was important to them. They came up with the idea of making the covenant not only a living document but a walking one as well – they created a T-shirt featuring the school’s name as an acronym of their shared commitment – (indicated on the slide). From Creating Welcoming Schools, Jo Beth Allen, pages 155 - 156.

Next Steps

What will I Do with this information? It’s Now Up to You! You’ve read and talked. You’ve shared funds of knowledge. Perhaps you have disagreed, laughed and cried. You have heard and respected a differing viewpoint. Your partnership has begun. What are all of you – families, educators, community members, and students going to do to make your learning community the inclusive and welcoming family you want it to be? What will you design that is unique to your community? How will you stay on track? How will you know if you are making a difference in student’s learning? From Creating Welcoming Schools, Jo Beth Allen, page 162.

My Most Memorable Recognition Reflect on the times when someone has personally recognized and rewarded you for outstanding performance – the times when someone showed you genuine appreciation for what you accomplished. What made the recognition so memorable? Complete, return and report on April 25, 2018.