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Friday, August 29th, 2008

Family-School-Community Partnerships: Powerful Support for Student Success

On Wednesday, August 27, 2008, The Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Public Welfare, in partnership with the Center for Schools and Communities, offered a one-hour, live, online professional development opportunity entitled, “Family-School-Community Partnerships: Powerful Support for Student Success” with presenter Karen Shanoski, Family-School-Community Partnership Project Manager with the Pennsylvania Parent Information and Resource Center (PA PIRC).

The session provided ways that families can be effectively engaged with their child’s education and how family-school-community partnerships create a powerful support for student success.

The presenter, Karen Shanoski, is a Family-School-Community Partnership Project Manager with the PA PIRC. Her current work focuses on family-school-community partnerships with an emphasis on effective family engagement. Ms. Shanoski is the recent recipient of the prestigious 2008 Patrick F. Toole Kudos Award, an annual award that recognizes a full-time Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit staff member for achievement, dedication and service to schools, children and the community at large.

 

Session Slides (PDF format)

View the recorded online presentation

In order to view these recorded presentations, you must have the Elluminate Live! Java application downloaded to your personal computer. There is no cost to download the software. To configure your computer, visit the Elluminate support page at: http://www.elluminate.com/support/

 

 

Newest Publication from the Harvard Family Research Project

Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) has just released a new double issue of their periodical The Evaluation Exchange including a section highlighting PIRCs and their role as leaders in the family involvement field.  The issue, titled "Building the Future of Family Involvement", examines the current state of and future directions for the family involvement field in research, policy, and practice. Featuring innovative initiatives, new evaluation approaches and findings, and interviews with field leaders, the issue is designed to spark conversation about where the field is today and where it needs to go in the future.  Take a look at this publication as well as other resources from HFRP by going to Family Involvement and Publications and Resources.

 

 

Spring, 2008 Newsletter (English and Spanish)

PA PIRC is pleased to provide you with the Spring issue of the PA PIRC quarterly newsletter. This newsletter is intended to provide useful information to parents, educators and administrators. Each issue will contain information about early childhood education, No Child Left Behind, Family-School-Community Partnerships, dates of upcoming events and other pertinent information. Please share this newsletter with others.

 

New PA PIRC Brochure

We are pleased to report that PA PIRC has a new descriptive brochure. The brochure describes the services provided to parents, schools and communities. One or more copies may be ordered by calling the PA PIRC office at 717-763-1661 ext. 101.

 

Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind Flyer for Parents, School Staff and Community Representatives

The Pennsylvania Parent Information and Resource Center (PA PIRC) developed information about the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB) which includes its major principles, important elements, and roles and responsibilities for parents, school staff and community representatives. This flyer simply and succinctly outlines the requirements of NCLB as well as the responsibilities of schools and parents under the legislation. Read the text of the flyer and download the flyer.

 

 

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Parent Involvement

The evidence is beyond dispute. When parents are actively involved in the education of their children, children do better in school and student achievement increases. A January, 2003 report from the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement reveals that families make critical contributions to student achievement from pre-school through high school; when parents are involved at home, children do better and stay in school longer, and when a critical mass of parents is involved the whole school improves.

For the first time in history of federal education legislation, parent involvement is defined as the “participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring that parents (Title IX General Provisions, Part A Sec 9101):

  • Play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning
  • Are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education
  • Are full partners in their child’s education

 

Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act known as No Child Left Behind is beginning the reauthorization process. The links below list some of the calls for changes in the legislation:

Pennsylvania Department of Education

Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

National Education Association’s (NEA)

Pennsylvania Association of Federal Program Coordinators (PAFPC)