Dust Off Your Old School-Parent Compact Linking School-Family Partnerships to Your School Improvement Plan Notes: George’s introduction… Connecticut State Department of Education

CSBE Position Statement on School-Family-Community Partnerships “Schools, families and communities all contribute to student success, and the best results come when all three work together as equal partners.” CSBE Position Statement on School-Family-Community Partnerships First edition was in 1997

A New Wave of Evidence: Family Engagement Can Have a Powerful Impact on Student Achievement By Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp www.sedl.org/connections 3

Compact: A written agreement of shared responsibility A catalyst for collaboration and better communication between school staff and parents …by translating goals for student achievement into shared ACTION statements USDE 1996

The Myths The Compact… must be signed by teachers and parents is a good place to teach parenting is the place to correct student behavior

Compacts are not present A Missed Opportunity One of the weakest areas of Title 1 Compliance (USDE 2008) As documented by the results of recent Title I monitoring activity, the need for technical assistance in this area remains substantial. (Federal Register, March 27, 2006,) Compacts are not present Not meaningful Not specific

Grade Level Compact Strategies STUDENT DATA District Improvement Plan School Improvement Plan School-Parent Compact Grade Level Compact Strategies DISTRICT SCHOOL GRADE CLASS HOME Parent-Teacher Conferences Home Learning

School Action Team for Partnerships Aligning Resources Budget Parent Workshops Staff Development Volunteers, Tutors and other Partners Title 1 Evaluation School-Parent Compact Grade Level Strategies School Action Team for Partnerships

What’s In a Compact? Essential Elements 1. What Teachers Should Do 2. What Parents Should Do 3. What Students Should Do 4. Communication About Student Progress 5. Activities to Develop Partnerships 6. Jointly Developed with Parents 7. Friendly format and Language

It’s All About the Conversations! Recruit parents to fun event -- then break into grade level groups with translators. Ask: How can the school help YOU support your children’s learning? Type up and circulate parents’ ideas. Teachers meet at each grade level to respond, draft compact/plan. Parents approve. “A great learning process. Parents are much more willing to do things than we thought.” Teacher in pilot project.

Quality Indicators Link actions to goals in SIP and to school data Connect activities for families to what students are learning and doing in class Include follow-up steps to support parents and students Consult with parents on communication strategies that work best for them Translate into families’ home languages

For Additional Information Judy Carson, Ph.D. Connecticut State Department of Education 25 Industrial Park Road Middletown, CT 06457 judy.carson@ct.gov 860-807-2122