HE’E Special Meeting
June 19, 2013
The Learning Coalition Office, 841 Bishop St. Suite 301
9:00-11:00am
Agenda
Objective: To arrive at ten things schools and families can do, with examples, to help promote family-school partnerships. This will serve as a “tool kit” for schools to use.
Attendees: Mike Wooten (Learning 1st), Susan Emley (PPS), Ivalee Sinclair (SEAC), Vanessa Ott, Gordon Miyamoto (DOE), Meg McCormick (Learning 1st), Jennifer Dang (DOE), Kimberly Kepner-Sybournmy (Innovative Educational Counseling), Wendy Nakasone (US Army), Christina Simmons (PACT), Kimberly Canepa (Junior Achievement), June Kawamura (PCNC), Val Damato (PCNC), Galen Cook (Learning 1st), Anna Luzania (Learning 1st), Matt Pollard (Learning 1st), Kevin Traynor (UH College of Ed), Kathy Bryant (HE’E), Susan Rocco (SPIN), Tom Smith (Children’s Community Council), Cheri Nakamura (HE’E), Lauren Baer (TLC)
9:00-9:10 Welcome
9:10-10:00 Discussion
10:00-10:30 Prioritization
10:30-10:50 Consensus
10:50-11:00 Closing
Family School Partnership Actions
WELCOMING FAMILIES
1. Parents, guardians, and visitors are welcomed and greeted promptly by office staff, teachers and administrators when coming into the school office or classrooms. (Administrator)
- Aloha training provided understand what is to be expected. Language training also provided, for example, saying hello in different languages
- Have a welcome space with chairs to wait
- Have informational posters in different languages as needed
- Use English Language Learner School Home Assistants (ELL SHAs) to welcome families, share cultural perspectives and community connections
- Principals, staff, teachers regularly meet and greet families outside the classrooms, front office, and where students are dropped off
2. The school and classrooms are open to families for observation and visits when their children are present. (Teacher, Administrator)
- Mrs. W puts in her syllabus that she will open her class to family members with 24 hour notice
3. Post biographies and photos of school staff on bulletin boards where parents are able to view, i.e. pick up areas, website, classrooms (Administrator)
COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY
1. Communication is critical to family-school partnerships. Focus on obtaining current family contact information at the beginning of each semester. (Administrator)
- School hosts a “mandatory” meeting(s) at the beginning and middle of the year to welcome families and share the school’s philosophies and long-term goals and objectives and invite families to participate in the development of school plans.
- Have food if possible to incentivize families to attend and identify other incentives that encourage to bring their parents to meetings (extra credit, class recognition for highest turnout, first to lunch, etc.)
- Partner with school booster/parent group(s) to support meeting
- Consider hosting multiple meetings at different times to insure that all are able to attend
- Make efforts for translation to facilitate communication with English language learning families.
- Distribute contact forms to obtain up-to-date information and to determine the best method of communication for individual families.
- Gather cell phone numbers and ask permission for teachers to text
- Consider a school Twitter account to share school information; encourage students and families to “follow” the school. Focus on a “tweet” a day
- Consider starting a Facebook page for school
- Consider using emergency card in a more strategic way, by identifying a way to update through digitizing and cloud sharing i.e. Google docs, and by allowing teachers to add questions
- Follow up with targeted outreach to families that don’t attend mandatory meeting(s).
- School hosts a workshop on how to use online grading system.
- Provides a glossary of terms for report card in multiple languages
- School hosts “Transition Meetings” when students are ready to graduate and move up to the next school
- Feeder school students and parents visit new school while upper grade schools visit the feeder schools to meet with students and parents
- Consider having meetings during evenings
- Consider a summer orientation meeting to discuss academics, clubs and sports
2. The school has a process for reaching out to and engaging all families, including staying connected with and re-engaging families of students who are at risk of academic failure (Teacher)
- Within 24 hours after an issue arises, student is put in touch with a counselor who can advise on appropriate interventions
- Teachers make phone calls and send texts, emails and notes on progress on positive actions at least every month especially for struggling students
- Set up intervals for communication student progress with parents, i.e. 1,2,3x a week
- Determine an efficient and effective software to communication with parents, i.e. Jupiter Grades
- Hold parent teacher conferences with a variety of time choices, at least twice a year. Conferences should be student led and teachers should show a portfolio of the student’s work
SUPPORTING SUCCESS
1. Families and community partners are invited to contribute to school success by sharing their special interests talents and or cultural backgrounds (PCNC)
- Parent familiar with IT can help assist with maintenance of school website
2. Provide supports for families so that they can help support their children to succeed (Administrator)
- Designate a space for a family community center with educational resource. Provide community, family and students free access to computers fax and copy machines
- Provide list of activities families can do at home to support learning
3. Celebrate with families the success of students and teachers in a variety of ways throughout the year. (Teacher)
- School recognizes national honor society students at assembly and on website
- Teachers text brief words of recognition to individual parents when students accomplish something in school (simple: John’s oral presentation today was excellent, I noticed Mary helping her classmates today, great job! Nice 3 point shot in the basketball game last night, etc.)
- Consider 3:1 ratio—for every negative comment be sure to communicate 3 positive things
- Host a separate open house for each grade level, open classrooms, showcase school groups, resources, have a variety of sign up opportunities for events
- Visibly post school performance on state tests, recruit family comments, provide Q&A sessions and plan for improvement
SPEAKING UP FOR EVERY CHILD
1. Offer conflict resolution information/classes to help parents, teachers and administrators learn effective ways to resolve conflicts at school and at home (Administrator)
2. School actively recruits and trains parent and community volunteers to support the teachers and staff in outreach and family engagement. (PCNC)
- Work with local church groups to find translators or share information about school activities, events and information
SHARED DECISION MAKING
1. Schools survey families regularly (in appropriate languages and formats) to determine their satisfaction level regarding how well family voices are being heard and how their input affects and improves the school (Administrator)
- Administrative staff uses texting to poll parents on satisfaction
2. Create an organization structure/system to hear families’ opinions on big decisions and changes. School invites input and has established means and processes to do so. (Administrator)
PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITY
1. Schools work with their complex schools and community partners to share information and support families with the transitions from early education to elementary, elementary to middle, and middle to high school. (CAS)
- Partner with community organizations like Family Hui, Parents for Public Schools (PPS) which supports transition workshops
2. Show the partnership between school and family through visual representations of the family’s engagement with their children’s learning experience throughout the year, in addition to cultural holidays or festivals (Teacher)
- Display photos of parents/relatives who contribute to the functioning of the school as volunteers, liaisons, interpreters, traffic control monitors, drivers, snack makers, etc.
- Display photos or children’s drawings of parents and other family members or community members working with students after school in support of the children’s effort to do their school work, as well as, extracurricular activities