In this Issue: 

·      NEW! Leadership Development Conferences for Fall 2007

·      California Family Involvement Day - First Annual!

·      Nell Soto Parent/Teacher Involvement Grants Available

·      Nipping Bias in the Bud 

·       What is Public Engagement?

·       Advocating Adequacy

·      Teaching Parents English Helps Principal Improve Student Scores

Parent Involvement Training Conferences

In collaboration with the California Department of Education, the California Parent Center continues to provide its award winning two-day Leadership Development Conference that addresses how to build and strengthen School-Family-Community Partnerships. The conferences are based on Dr. Joyce Epstein’s research-based framework for building strong partnerships.  The conference is recommended for participants from all schools, and is especially designed for Program Improvement districts and schools.

UPCOMING CONFERENCE DATES/LOCATIONS

CONFERENCE TOPICS

Sample Conference Topics Include:  (1) Reaching out to under involved parents; (2) Setting up an effective action team to plan partnership activities that meet the NCLB Act parent involvement requirements; (3) Identifying strengths of culturally diverse school communities to build parent leadership; (4) Creating a welcoming school environment; (5) Building successful partnership strategies at elementary, middle and high school levels to increase student achievement; and (6) Finding funds to support partnership and literacy activities. Visit the Center’s web site Conferences and Training Opportunities page for the program description, workshop content, and registration form.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY INVOLVEMENT DAY - FIRST ANNUAL!

SAVE THE DATE – November 15, 2007

The California Alliance for School, Family and Community Partnerships invites you to participate in the:

First Annual
CALIFORNIA FAMILY INVOLVEMENT DAY
November 15, 2007

What is California Family Involvement Day?
California Family Involvement Day is part of an effort initially promoted on a national level by the Department of Education. It has been adopted by other groups across the country including the National Coalition of Parent Involvement in Education and Project Appleseed. Its purpose is to welcome parents (guardians and other family members) as partners with schools in educating children. It is a recognition and celebration of the important roles families play in their children’s school success across the grades.

How will California Family Involvement Day be celebrated?
The California Alliance for School, Family and Community Partnerships (a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting family involvement in education) will kick off the 2007 celebration on November 15 in partnership with the Sacramento Unified School District. All school districts and schools are invited to mark the day in a variety of ways including: board of education proclamations celebrating family involvement, hosting welcoming events at districts and schools for families to meet school staff and get information about school programs and services, inviting parents to join school volunteer activities, distributing parent pledges and other activities that promote school-family partnerships.

Who should participate?
School boards, district and school staff, parent leaders, PTAs and other parent organizations, District Advisory Councils, School Site Councils, English Learner Advisory Committees, Special Education and GATE Advisory Committees, family literacy programs, child development /preschool programs and faith-based organizations are encouraged to reach out to families on November 15 with the message that families are important partners in the education of children.

By September 1, 2007, the California Alliance for School, Family and Community Partnerships will have a Planning Guide, sample parent pledge and other resources which can be easily downloaded by participants. Please visit their web site or the California Parent Center’s web site for more information in September.

NELL SOTO PARENT/TEACHER INVOLVEMENT GRANTS AVAILABLE

The California Department of Education (CDE) is pleased to announce the release of round three of the request for application (due on October 15, 2007) for the Nell Soto Parent/Teacher Involvement Program for fiscal years 2006-2009. The 2006-07 State Budget Act included a one-time allocation of $15 million.

The purpose of this program is to provide awards to schools in which a majority of teachers and families agree to participate in home visits and/or community-based meetings in order to strengthen the communication between schools and parents as a means of improving academic achievement.

Eligible applicants include any school or direct-funded charter school that maintains kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12 inclusive and that is ranked in the bottom five deciles of the Academic Performance Index (API), based on 2005-06 assessment data, as well as the California School for the Deaf, or the California School for the Blind. To access the RFA, please go to:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r16/nellsotorfa07.asp

NIPPING BIAS IN THE BUD

Some preschools are using a special program to teach their students, before prejudices take hold, to respect cultural, racial and religious diversity, reports Carla Rivera in the Los Angeles Times. Sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League's Miller Early Childhood Initiative, "A World of Difference Institute", is one of the few anti-bias programs specifically for preschoolers, drawing on research showing that children begin to perceive differences and attach negative or positive values to them as early as age 3.

Now operating in 14 cities, the program trains teachers in strategies to confront prejudice and uses specially designed materials developed with the characters from "Sesame Street." The goal is to teach tolerance, respect and inclusion in a way that is geared to young minds. "We really wanted to focus on building the right foundations," said Lindsay Friedman of A World of Difference Institute. "We know that biases and stereotyping are seeping in even at this age, but this is meant to be a reventive approach, not as much countering negative messages as building positive ones."

One of the strongest aspects of the program is the outreach to parents, who also are encouraged to attend workshops and use the curriculum at home. Studies have shown that children learn social cues at an early age from their environment, the media, and especially from the behavior and words of caregivers and family members. About 85 percent of the brain develops during ages three to five, and impressions formed after age two are lasting, said Linda A. Santora of the Anti-Defamation League. One study found that 50 percent of children formed racial biases by age six, she said. (Public Education Network - July 26, 2007 )
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-bias16jul16,1,5597092.story?coll=la-news-learning

WHAT IS PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT?

Public engagement is a two-way communication between a school district and the community it serves. Although the most visible form of that communication may occur in meetings, public engagement is not about a single meeting or even a series of meetings. Nor is it about public relations, defending or seeking ratification for existing programs, or other strategies primarily aimed at shaping public opinion. Instead, according to the National School Boards Association, public engagement is an ongoing, collaborative process during which the school district works with the public to build understanding, guidance, and active support for the education of the children in its community. Public engagement also recognizes that society has changed in the way it does business and that school districts, as well as other governmental agencies, must change with it. The public wants high academic quality and accountability. Especially among parents and the business community, these factors translate into an active public voice in the goals, standards, and program choices that define the services that school systems provide. The need for that voice is usually strongest when the public believes the current product is not producing the academic results it wants. (Public Education Network - July 12, 2007 ) http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-1/student.htm

ADVOCATING ADEQUACY

The way California funds and runs its public schools could be in for major changes in the wake of "Getting Down to Facts," a 1,700-page set of reports commissioned by the governor and legislative leaders, funded by education foundations and released by Stanford University researchers earlier this year. California Schools magazine staff writer Carol Brydolf delves into the reports and updates the status of state's long-running wrangles over adequate funding, academic standards and administrative flexibility; she also reports on preliminary findings from the California School Boards Association's continuing efforts to survey local business, community and education leaders in search of a consensus on how to meet the state's need for educated workers and residents. (Public Education Network - July 12, 2007 )
http://www.csba.org/csmag/csMagStoryTemplate.cfm?id=172

TEACHING PARENTS ENGLISH HELPS PRINCIPAL IMPROVE STUDENT SCORES

Principal James Lujan's secret to success started small, with eight parents who wanted to learn English.Word got around among the Spanish speakers at Eugene Field Elementary School that the principal was the best English teacher in the South Valley neighborhood.

Lujan had to move his parent class to the cafeteria when it grew to 46. His adult students were so grateful, they tried to pay him. "No, no, no, I told them. Dedicate one hour back to your kid tonight. That will pay me," Lujan said. Connecting with parents and getting them involved in their children's learning is the rest of Lujan's secret. Lujan and his school were recognized on July 27 in a news conference on academic progress.

Eugene Field was among 11 district schools that made adequate yearly progress last year after two years of failing to reach the federally mandated goals for student achievement.District officials said they are spreading the successes of the 11 schools to others that are struggling. "We need to help all of them soar," Superintendent Beth Everitt said.

To reach the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act, each school community — parents, teachers, neighbors, businesses and community groups — must support teaching and learning, Everitt said. By 2014, each child should be proficient in reading and math, under the federal goal. "I'd like to see it met," Everitt said. "We want it to happen. "Everitt said parents are offered a variety of classes, GED preparation, computers and English as a second language at other schools where parent involvement has increased. Students in poverty schools are also offered tutoring free of charge, but more of them should take advantage of the help, she said. In the 2006-07 school year, 21,000 students were eligible for free tutoring, but only 18 percent signed up and only 1,200 completed tutoring.

This year, the district will mail out notices to families about tutoring instead of sending flyers home in backpacks. Next week, the new list of schools that made AYP and those that didn't during testing this spring will be released by the state Public Education Department. Albuquerque principals have received documents from the state for review. They can challenge the state data if they find errors, district officials said. The state has embargoed all information about the AYP designations until Aug. 1, when state Education Secretary Veronica Garcia plans a public announcement in Santa Fe.
Teaching parents English helps principal improve student scores (The Albuquerque Tribune - July 28, 2007 )

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