PARTICIPANT COMMENTS

LEADERSHIP TRAINING CONFERENCE

FOR FAMILY SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Orange County Office of Education

June 14 - 25, 2004

COMMENTS FROM SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS

Principal

The materials are outstanding. Speakers followed materials, kept to the topic and kept to the time schedule. This was one of the most valuable conferences I have attended. I am so happy that I brought a staff/parent team.

Counselor

I liked:

1) Prizes, coffee, and food

2) Location and space

3) Organized binder and detailed agenda

4) INFO! INFO! I can utilize this training immediately to plan for the year.

COMMENTS FROM PARENTS AND VOLUNTEERS

Parent Volunteer
The session on fundraising (was) excellent!
I learned a lot from the session "Preparing Parents to Take Leadership Roles "

Title I Parent Representative
I liked all the great ideas. Thank you.

PTO President

Your materials are wonderful! There is not a page in the book that will be tossed aside by me or my organization. I am now looking forward to training my other board members on being positive and effective leaders! Thank you so much! This was a positive experience!

COMMENTS FROM TEACHERS AND SCHOOL PROFESSIONALS

Resource Teacher
This is one of the best training workshops I’ve attended in a long while.

Teacher

I absolutely loved the presentation about involving dad in a child’s education. This is the first time I attended a conference where this was done. I think this message needs to be spread. Dads need to know how much they are needed and how important they are for their children to be successful.

Teacher

The materials were excellent – everything was practical and I know I will use them. I got many terrific ideas and I am looking forward to sharing the information with my colleagues. Thanks!

Teacher and School Site Council Member

I liked the following conference segments:

· Epstein’s Six Types of Involvement and how to link them to school improvement goals.

· Building effective action teams at schools.

· Making six-month and one year plans for partnerships to support the single plan for student achievement.

· Finding funds to support your partnership programs.

Teacher

I loved the information presented at the “Getting Started in Middle and High School Levels.” It is practical and real.” I can adapt it and use it.

COMMENTS FROM PARENT FACILITATORS AND OUTRECH COORDINATORS

Outreach Consultant

I really enjoyed the application activity of the Keys of Parent Involvement. It gave us the hands-on opportunity required to be effective.

Title I Coordinator

I found the following to be helpful: the useful forms to be sent out to leaders, the Ideas for fundraising. I liked the presentation (style) of speakers.

Volunteer Liaison/Trainer

The presenters were outstanding. I will definitely bring back to our school “The Keys to Successful School, Family and Community Partnerships” as well as the engine that drives all actions: “ABC” – Attitude, Behavior, Communication. I enjoyed these sessions tremendously! Overall, thank you for the binder and contents. It will be a useful tool for me. Well informed today!

1) Parenting

2) Communicating

3) Volunteering

4) Learning at Home

5) Decision Making

6) Collaborating with the Community

Parent Education Specialist

(I liked hearing) new ideas to add to what I already know – perhaps feeling validated in what I have used with parents over time. Feeling renewed about continuing my work with, and on behalf of, parents.

Community Liaison

The conference was fast, lots of useful information. What I liked the most was the practical ideas.

Bilingual Resource

I thought the conference was good. I have a lot of ideas I can’t wait to do something with. Thanks for the info.

Family Coordinator

I was impressed with organization and flow of the conference. The information and speakers were very informative.

School Community Coordinator

The breakout session “Getting Started at Elementary School Level” was a very good presentation.

Coordinator

I loved the opportunity to add to the information I have. I have learned a lot of new techniques and strategies. The workshops were TOO short. This could have been a week-long institute. Thank you all so much!

Parent Liaison

Both days were very informative, I’m getting a lot of good ideas for my school. This (information) is going to be very helpful in moving parents to participate more actively in their children’s education.

Community Service Worker

“Getting started at the Middle School High School Level” was interactive, entertaining, fun and informative

Senior Community Relation Specialist

I enjoyed the conference and it was very beneficial for me. I learned a lot about fundraisers and how to generate money from the community. Also, how a school unit must treat all parents with respect - like they are a family member.

Instructional Assistant/Parent Volunteer

I am a parent volunteer at my school, also, part of the staff (Instructional Assistant). To me, this conference helped me a lot to understand better the concept (of) “Parent Involvement.” Not only that, but also the ways to promote it, and get the best out of it for the benefit of the students, school and the whole community.

Title I Coordinator

The ideas for different types of parent involvement were valuable.

Community Service Worker

I liked the (segment) “Knowing Where to Look: Finding Funds to Support Your Partnership Programs”.