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WHAT IS THE FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS
PROJECT?
The Family Partnerships Project purpose is to teach schools how to
integrate and institutionalize best practices of family involvement
into their academic and building goals. It seeks to create equal
and active partnerships between schools and families in order to
eliminate disproportionality and ensure that all students
succeed.
The
project is a collaborative effort led by the City of Seattle Office
for Education and the Seattle Public Schools Office for Community
Learning. It began in January 2002 by awarding mini-grants to
selected elementary, middle and high schools to work on integrated
family engagement plans. Funds from the City of Seattle of Seattle
Families and Education Levy, support this project.
Find
out which Seattle schools are Family Partnerships sites.
HOW DOES THE PROJECT
WORK?
- It
provides grants to schools that submit annual plans to integrate
family involvement into everyday school operations. 20 Seattle
schools are currently FP sites.
- It
provides free professional development opportunities for Seattle
schools’ staff and training for parents.
- It
provides all Seattle schools with on-site technical assistance and
consultation regarding family involvement and best
practices.
- It
serves as a resource, networking, and information center for all
Seattle schools and parents.
- It
creates and publishes parent involvement materials for educators,
parents and the community
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WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THIS
PROJECT?
Philosophy – The Family
Partnerships Project is based on the premise that family
involvement is not just another program being imposed on a school.
It is a way of thinking, acting, and doing daily business that
recognizes the central role that families play in children’s
education and the power of working as equal partners.
Framework- The Family Partnerships
Project is based on principles developed over years of research by
Dr. Joyce Epstein, director of the National Network of Partnership
Schools at Johns Hopkins University. The Seattle School District
was the first district in Washington to join the National Network.
According to Epstein’s research, the most effective methods
of family involvement in education can be grouped into six best
practices:
- Parenting
skills.
- Home-school
communication.
- Volunteering for
schools.
- Learning at
home.
- Sharing in school
decision-making.
- Forming collaborations
between schools and community organizations.
The
Family Partnerships Project encourages educators and families to
look for activities in these six areas that will promote student
learning.
School Action Teams - Establishing a project that
will eventually change the culture of the school cannot be the
labor of one individual alone. Family Partnership sites create
standing committees called School Action Teams. They are formed by
the School Principal, parents, staff, and community members and
meet regularly. The teams set family involvement goals and create
an annual Family Involvement Work Plan aligned
with the schools’ transformation plans and academic goals.
During the school year, team members guide the integration and
implementation of schools’ family involvement plan.
WHO
PARTICIPATES IN THIS PROJECT?
Schools - The Family Partnerships Project
initially allocated family involvement grants to 22 schools -- 16
Elementary Schools, 3 Middle Schools, 2 High Schools, and 1
Alternative High School. In the last 2 years, the project has added
3 new schools per year to a current total of 28. The project plans
to continue its annual expansion.
Community
Organizations - The project also funds innovative
collabortive projects between schools and community organizations
such as: The Parent Coaching Institute, the Fremont Public
Association, the Washington State PTA, Parent Effectiveness
Leadership Training, the Family Literacy Coalition, and
others.
Educators and school staff - Training
opportunities, conferences, and on-site consultation and translated
materials are available to all Seattle schools throughout the
school year.
Seattle
Families - Leadership, ESL, adult basic education and
other training opportunities are offered to families across the
city during the school year.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
- For students: better academic
performance, improved attendance, fewer discipline problems,
closure of achievement gap.
- For
parents: leadership in
decision-making, confidence about parenting, productive
conversations with children about curriculum, and interactions with
other parents at the school.
- For
teachers: more satisfying
parent-teacher conferences, better school-home communications,
deeper understanding of families and cultures, new approaches to
homework, and strengthened connections with the
community.
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WHY DO SEATTLE SCHOOLS NEED A
PROJECT LIKE THIS?
The best way to predict a student’s achievement is not
income or social status, but how well the family creates a home
environment that encourages learning, communicates high but
reasonable expectations, and becomes involved in their
child’s education. Since Seattle Schools are
committed to achievement for every child in every school, it makes
sense for the schools to partner with families, as well as the
other way around.
For some families and some educators, the idea of working together
is a new one. In the past, parents raised kids and teachers taught
them without much interaction among the adults. The Family
Partnerships Project helps staff and family members change old
attitudes, do their individual jobs as well as possible, and work
together smoothly to help students meet learning
standards.
WHAT DOES
THE RESEARCH SAY?
Studies of individual families show that what the family does to
support a child’s learning is more important to student
success than family income or education. This is true whether the
family is rich or poor, whether the parents finished high school or
not, or whether the child is in preschool or in the upper grades.
(Epstein,1991; Stevenson &Baker, 1987; Henderson and
Berla, 1994)
If no child is to be left behind, it means every American must
take a stand to get involved and change the culture and
expectations we have for every school. And the most important help
of all will be parents who care, who read with their children and
who are informed so they can get their child the very best
education possible. (Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of
Education)
Additional Research
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