Linking School-Family Collaboration to School Improvement Anne T. Henderson Annenberg Institute for School Reform

Today’s Themes  Clear and shared focus – Including families as partners in improving student outcomes  High levels of collaboration – Linking family engagement to improving student learning  Frequent monitoring of teaching and learning – Closing the circle of accountability  Supportive learning environment – Supporting learning at home and in the community  High levels of family/community involvement – Building close and trusting relationships

Goals for our Session  Understanding why Parent Engagement is Essential to Student Achievement  Discussing Quality Indicators and Examples of Good Practice  Applying Lessons Learned to Your Settings

What is the Point? A Renewed Vision of Family Engagement in Learning

NAEP 2009/US Achievement % ProficientMathReading Grade 439%33% Grade 834%33%

NAEP/ID 2009 Achievement % ProficientMathReading Grade 446%38% Grade 846%35%

Children in Poverty/2010 Of the 73 million children in the United States: ▶ 42% live in low-income families. ▶ 21% live in poor families Of the 412,000 Children in Idaho: ▶ 48% live in low-income families National Center for Children in Poverty,

Poverty and Education are Related  84% ID children in low-income families whose parents do not have a high school degree  69% ID children in low-income families whose parents do have a high school degree  37% ID children in low-income families whose parents have at least some college National Center for Children in Poverty,

Is there a Link between Family- School Partnerships and Student Achievement?

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

If Parents are Involved, Students from All Backgrounds Tend To:  Earn higher grades and test scores  Enroll in higher-level programs  Be promoted and earn credits  Adapt well to school and attend regularly  Have better social skills and behavior  Graduate and go on to higher education

When families are involved at home and at school -- Children do better in school, and the schools get better. Overall Finding:

Parent and community involvement that is designed to improve student learning has a greater impact on achievement. Big Story: Link to Learning

How Will the Activity/Program:  Help parents understand what their children are learning and doing in class?  Promote high standards for student work?  Help parents assist children at home?  Promote discussion about improving student progress?  Help families understand good teaching?

Big Story: Advocacy is Protective The more families can be advocates for children and support their progress, the better their children do, and the longer they stay, in school.

Big Story: All Families Contribute Families of all back- grounds are involved at home: Talk about school Help plan for higher education Keep focused on learning and homework. Encourage their children

Beyond the Bake Sale The Essential Guide to Family- School Partnerships Anne T. Henderson, Karen L. Mapp, Vivian R. Johnson and Don Davies The New Press, 2007

Big Story: High-Performing Schools Have a Joining Process  Welcoming  Honoring  Connecting Mapp, K.L Having their say: Parents describe why and how they are engaged in their children's learning. School Community Journal, Volume 13, Number 1

The Joining Process Welcoming Honoring Connecting Mapp, K.L Having their say: Parents describe why and how they are engaged in their children's learning. School Community Journal, Volume 13, Number 1

Three Key Questions What should I do? How parents develop their job description as a parent Can I do it? How confident parents feel about their ability to help their children Will I be welcome? Whether parents feel invited-both by their children and school staff Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler, 2005

Organizing Schools for Improvement  Long-term study of Chicago schools found five essential supports for school improvement  Without all five, schools were substantially less likely to make gains.  Strong family and community ties made it 40% more likely that students would make significant math and reading gains. Anthony S. Bryk et al, (2010) Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago (Chicago: University of Chicago Press)

Organizing Schools for Improvement Leadership Instructional Guidance Teacher Capacity School Climate Parent-School- Community Ties

Family Engagement: Reframing the Work Individual ResponsibilityShared Responsibility Deficit-Based/AdversarialStrength-Based/Collaborative Random Acts Systemic Program Add-On Integrated ComplianceOwnership One-Time ProjectContinuous Improvement

Impact of Systematic Parent Outreach Students’ reading and math scores improved 40-50% faster when teachers: met with families face-to-face sent materials on ways to help their child at home telephoned routinely about progress Westat and Policy Studies Associates, 2001

Keys to Powerful Partnerships  Building Relationships: A steady focus on developing trust and respect among all members of the school community is linked to higher performance  Linking to Learning: When parent and community involvement is focused on student learning, effect on achievement is maximized

Critique your Current Programs  What’s linked directly to what students are learning and doing in class right now? L  What builds relationships between families and teachers? R  What is general information or something we’ve always done? G

Design or Tweak a Program  Design a family event that: links to learning and to data on student outcomes welcomes and honors families asks parents what they’d like to know more about.  Place your key ideas onto a poster sheet. You may use pictures/words/symbols. What will get your ideas across to others?

Remember… If you want to go fast, go it alone. If you want to go far, go with others.