Chapter 7 School-Based Programs

1. Chapter 7School-Based Programs Perry C. Hanavan, Au.D.

2. It Takes an Entire Village to Educate a Child Society requires an educated citizenry Parents want their children to develop into productive intelligent, mentally healthy young adults Schools want to provide an environment that facilitates and teaches children to become fully functioning young adults

3. Schools must do more than encourage parents: • Recognize the strengths of families • Recognize the stresses affecting many families • Recognize other community agencies that offer resources for students • Explore different models that reach out to families • Inclusion of parent-school support in pre-service classes, knowledge of resources and parent programs by teachers and administrators

4. Seven Levels of Parent Involvement • Active partner and educational leader at home and at school • Decision maker • Advocate for the school • Actively involved as volunteer or paid employee • Liaison between school and home to support homework • Supporter of the educational goals of the school • Recipient of education and support

5. Issues and Concerns • Parent-school cooperation in the education of the classroom • Power and decision making • Advocacy • Parent education and strengthening families • Family literacy • Comprehensive programs to meet the needs of all family members • Empowerment of families

6. Six Types of Involvement • Parenting – help parents with skills and understanding of child development • Communicating – about children’s progress • Volunteering – flexible schedules, options • Learning at home – provide information to help parents provide learning environments • Decision making – include parents in process • Collaborating with community – integrate services and resources of the community with school to strengthen families, school programs, student’s development

7. Research on Involvement • Students – even in middle school and high school – want their parents to be more involved to be available for guidance and knowledge about the schools • If schools invest in practices that involve families, then parents respond, many parents who might not have otherwise become involved • Teachers who involve parents tend not to stereotype families

8. Comer Three Principles • Consensus • Collaboration • No-blame provides a climate in which parents, children, and schools can thrive

9. Consensus Collaboration No-blame Parent Team Involves parents at every level of school activity School Planning and Management Team Plans and coordinates School activities Student and Staff Support Team Addresses schoolwide prevention issues; Manages individual student cases • Comprehensive School Plan • Curriculum, instruction, and assessment • Sharing of information between • school and community Assessment and Modification Periodic assessment creates new information and identifies new opportunities; permits orderly change or adjustment Staff Development Created by need identified in goals of the Comprehensive school plan Relationships Child and Adolescent Growth Along the Six Developmental Pathways

10. Middle & Secondary Schools • Parents seem to reduce involvement after elementary • Communication needs to be: • Immediate, • Frequent • Meaningful • Positive

11. Davies 5 for Collaborating

12. Early Childhood Programs • Head Start • Minnesota Early Childhood Family Education Program

13. Child Health Services & Schools • Brookline Early Education Project (BEEP)

14. School-Based Parent Involvement • League of Schools • Parents in Touch • Dial-a-Teacher • Homework Hotline • Parent Line/Communicator • TIPS teacher involve parents • The Parent Focus Series • Work-site Seminars • Parent Advisory Council • Nooners

16. U.S. Department of Education • Family and School collaborative efforts • families

17. Helping Parents Work with Children • Arts and crafts • Read together • Publishing • Games • Backyard science • Front yard business • Listening center • Music center • Communicate • Homemaking activities

18. Helping Parents Work with Children • Take a walk • Visit the library • Visit a store • Explore museums • Visit historical buildings • Visit the airport, bus stations, subways, etc. • Virtual tours on the Web

19. Reaching Reticent Parents • Immigrant and refugee families • Single parents working • Two parents working

20. Reaching Reticent Parents • Families are stressed • Feel out of their element at school • May not realize importance of involvement in their child’s education • Feel there are ulterior motives • Teachers do not know parent’s interests, abilities and strengths

21. Parent Education for Teens • About 1 million teenagers become pregnant yearly • 1 in 3 have abortions • One in seven miscarry • More than half give birth • ¼ are married • 1/3 have a stable relationship • Factors • Poverty, low performance, grew up in single parent home, more apt to drop out of school

22. Family Resource Centers • Families have primary responsibility for children’s development and well-being • Healthy families are the foundation of a healthy society • Families operate as part of a total system • The systems and institutions upon which families rely for support must assist families’ efforts to effectively raise their children

24. Family Literacy • More than 23 million men and women in the U.S. are illiterate • Another 45 million have skills at or below the ninth grade level • Also hinders their children’s ability National Center for Family Literacy

25. Teachers • Are you aware of all the resources in your school and community to help families? • List five resources available in your community • Do you focus on the child or the family? • How will you do this? • What are your family goals?