EDLD+614+School+and+Community+Relations

= **Reflection Journal** =

** What do you want for your children? **

 * Teacher response: For my students, personally I would love for them to grow stronger academically and be confident with achieving their academic goals. I hope my students will begin to notice and be aware of their own reading behaviors, strengths and weaknesses and what actions they can try to support themselves. I want them to be personally motivated to reach their individual goals, experience the joy in learning and literacy, and just know how fun reading and math can be! I know I have succeeded when they are captivated by an author or story, a new genre or subject area and seek out literature on these areas – they want to read for their own personal interest and inquiry.

> (Too many of my students have been shaken by the school system. They feel as though they are “bad at reading” or “bad at math”. Even if academics is something that they always struggle with, I want them to feel like they can achieve academic success.)
 * Teacher response: I want my students to feel like they are capable of achieving academic success. I want them to have the confidence to try, and the confidence to enjoy learning.

> I would also like a safe environment in the school. With a child who is in a school that has had series of bomb threats, perhaps schools should be more aware of who is in the school building at all times. I have walked through my child’s school many times after school, unassisted and no one asked who I was.
 * Parent Response: Of course I want the best education possible, i.e. a positive classroom setting, available materials such computers, books, apps for iPads, a variety of class choices for senior high that are geared toward likes/career/college, and teachers that are willing to go the extra mile if they see a student struggling by contacting the parents or counselor to see about getting extra help for all students, not just those eligible for grant funded programs.

> > For my grandchildren I would love for them to have the best of both of these worlds. Not to be a number on a scale, but a person whose ideas are accepted, encouraged and challenged – and that they are taught to go the extra mile and not just get by – and will be prepared for what lies ahead instead of feeling dormant when they get their high school diplomas. > > Oh, and world peace – JUST KIDDING!!! Well, not really, but you know. ..
 * Parent response: When I was raising my child, she was a private school student through the 6th grade. I loved that the discipline, respect and genuine concern for people we encouraged was reinforced by them – however, the academics were lacking (availability of materials/technology, etc.) When she moved to the public school system, I feel she got more academically (there were actual computer labs at her new school and a mandated gifted program), but the other areas were lacking. It wasn’t a win-win for us and was a hard adjustment for her. When she hit high school – it seemed as though the brighter kids were left to fend for themselves – it was a “get by” attitude (I felt) by the school since she didn’t need any kind of special instruction. There were some great teachers – but there were a lot of lousy ones, too.


 * Principal Response: I want to be the avenue where the community wants something more for their students instead of it being a top down dictate. Overall, we would say we want the students to be prepared to make a dent in the world after they graduate. That dent would be defined as improving the world in some way by their contribution. In addition, we would want the students to able to compete in a world without borders and boundaries. This world includes complex communications, expert thinking, with a strong technological component. Along with a skill set to problem solve, be tolerant of other cultures and always be willing to learn.

**September 1, 2015 Class Quick Write:**
A Powerful Learning Experience I Had As a School Age Child... In 7th grade in Tupelo, Mississippi, I had an Honors English class with Mrs. Montgomery. The class involved daily writing and is the singular experience for which I credit my ability to write well, both as far as clear and concise content as well as impeccable grammar. At a time long before the idea of block scheduling, we were assigned to this class for 60 or 90 minutes per day...I can't quite recall...and we wrote and revised and got detailed feedback and I grew tremendously as a writer during that school year. I learned skills in that class that I have relied on ever since.

by Mavis G. Sanders and Steven B. Sheldon
(Any phrases/sentences quoted directly from the book are in italics below. My thoughts/notes are in regular font.)

** Chapter 1: Policy, Theory, and Research on School, Family, and Community Partnerships **
p. 9 distinguishes between two forms of parent involvement: //one revolving around school choice and the other focusing on improving home-school relationships//

p. 10 defines Title I requirements and the incorporation of parent and community involvement activities by those schools receiving Title I funds

p. 11 Research on effective schools has consistently shown that these schools have positive school-home relationships. I can see why this would be true. It makes me wonder about the 90-90-90 schools discussed in LFS and whether a strong school-home link was a crucial part of the success of these schools.

p. 11 discusses the //need for school leaders to develop strong relationships with families and community members.// As a teacher, I have not given as much thought to the need for the school leaders to have the family connection as much as the teachers. Community, yes, I see that as more of the responsibility of the school leader.

p. 11 //environments of literacy// - the information about literacy in this section was not new information for me but is always good to hear again. I agree with everything the authors have included about the disparity of knowledge between those students who come from a good home environment and those who do not. Sadly, many of the children who enter school at a disadvantage never catch up.

p. 12 Storybook reading is a fun and effective means of encouraging parent involvement. Plus, the level of vocabulary that children are exposed to in storybooks is higher than what they would hear watching tv or even having a conversation with someone.

p. 13 //Parents who are assisted to be effectively involved in reading-related activities conduct more and better literacy-focused interactions...Parents with low incomes and less formal education, who may have weaker reading skills than more economically advantaged parents, can effectively support their children's reading and education.// This finding was encouraging to me and gives me a news lens through which to view the parent involvement activities that we have previously offered for parents of Title I students.

p. 14 I found the study on this page to be interesting. Specifically, //emergent literacy skills predicted children'ts reading achievement at the end of first grade, whereas receptive language skills predicted reading achievement in the third grade//. It's an important distinction. One that may only be interesting to a reading specialist, but maybe that is why it stood out for me in the reading!

p. 15 use of college students as volunteer reading tutors...great idea!

p. 15-16 Parents report less involvement in their child's education beginning in the upper elementary grades and it continues to decline in secondary settings.

p. 16 It is still rare, however, for secondary schools to have well-designed interventions to assist families in interacting with their teens on homework or coursework in specific subjects.

p. 16 Greenleaf, Schoenbach - reference in this section to literacy learning for adolescents and older - It was way cool to see these two researchers referenced in this book since I have worked for them over the past four years.

p. 16-17 //Schools that communicated more often with students' families tended to have students who gained more on their reading achievement tests than did schools that did not maintain strong communication practices.// I wonder if this includes digital communication. With everything posted on the school website and homework, grades, etc. posted so I can access them daily, use of the REMIND app by individual teachers, and twitter feeds from each of the schools my children attend, I feel like I can keep fairly abreast of what is going on in the schools despite my children's reticence to talk about school once they get home.

p. 17 This section discusses the effects in math and the special importance of //school-family partnerships in math since parents socialize their children in ways that significantly affect their children's self-perceptions of ability and achievement in math//.

p. 18 //Students performed better and continued further in mathmeatics if they participated in parent-child discussions about school and if their parents were active volunteers at the school or members of the PTA or PTO//. My experience with PTO was of a group of mothers who were mostly stay-at-home parents and not of low socio-economic status so I wonder how much this study is actually about parental involvement across racial groups or if it is a stronger statement about socio-economics.

p. 18 The second full paragraph discusses the fact that there is //ample evidence that families need help interacting with their children around math//. There are many quality resources available through the use of technology which would help ease the burden on individual schools.

p. 18 The third full paragraph one strategy called interactive homework. I really liked this idea though I have some trepidation about assigning interactive homework for all students. Some could be at a distinct disadvantage if they would have difficulty finding an adult with whom to collaborate on their homework.

p. 19 //School climate - the tone or atmosphere of a school - has been associated with leadership style, sense of community, expectations for students, an ethos of caring, and a variety of student outcomes//. The courses that I have been taking towards my principal certification have all emphasized the role of the school leader in creating the tone/atmosphere of the school. This is no small task but one of supreme importance for every principal. Due to the nature of my job, I am in a wide number of schools and districts in a given school year. It is really interesting how quickly one can gauge the culture of a school upon entering and interacting with a few people.

p. 19 Effects on science indicate that socio-economics continue to play a role between the have's and have not's in terms of school achievement. On a positive note, //parent education and home environment helped compensate for the risk of low science achievement associated with lower family income//.

p. 20 //Home-school connections are recognized as an important strategy to increase student attendance//.

p. 21 The section on effects on student behavior was much as I expected it to be. In summary, //many educators understand the relationship between students' family life and school behavior, and many schools include improved student behavior as an important goal and focus of the partnership program efforts//.

p. 22 //Students whose parents and family members are more involved in their schooling have been shown to have higher levels of school engagement and achievement motivation//. This study's findings was also not a surprise to me.

p. 23 // Important take-away from the chapter: Because many families face significant barriers to involvement that arise from job constraints, time and income limitations, limited knowledge of the school system, or language and cultural differences, schools need to adopt an organized approach to school, family, and community partnerships that explicitly addresses these challenges //.

p. 24 //Through principal leadership, schools can develop strong programs of school, family, and community partnerships and create and sustain cultures of academic achievement and success//.

p. 27 //Studies show that students more successfully transitioned into middle school and high school, measured by grades and test scores, when they had family members who more frequently discussed and monitored their schoolwork//.

Bottom line is that the more involved a parent is in a child's education, the more likely that student is to have a successful, positive experience.

** Chapter 2: Reculturing Schools for School, Family, and Community Partnerships **
p. 2//5 ...school crossing guards play critical roles within children's social networks.// This was interesting to read about as I had never really thought about the role of a crossing guard in children's lives other than to get them to school and home safely.

p. 27-28 Reading about Epstein's six types of family and community involvement was helpful prior to having the answering the questions on the Epstein Inventory about our own district. It is certainly a comprehensive list of questions/considerations.

p. 28-29 //Studies suggest that schools perform better when leadership is more dispersed...// This statement supports the theory of "power with" espoused by Follett and that we read about in EDLD 610.

p. 29 The factors influencing the quality of school, family, and community partnerships in discussed on this page and the authors identify which rest with family, students, and schools. I think they fail to acknowledge that all of them actually rest with schools since schools and the work that teachers and students need to do are ultimately the ones impacted positively or negatively by each factor.

p. 31 //Schools, with time, can develop cultures that challenge norms of isolation, autonomy, and contr//ol. //However, doing so requires conviction, persistence, and strong leadership.// Changing a culture of a school is no small task and is, in large part, defined by the people working within a system. Somehow, people must be moved to change or the people need to be replaced in order to change an existing culture.

p. 31 Swap's Four Models of Home-School Interaction are outlined on this page. Of these models, the Curriculum Enrichment Model and the Partnership Model seem to be the only two of the four that should be occurring in schools. I would imagine, though, that most schools would fall into the School-to-Home category.

p. 32 //...within urban contexts, greater power is possessed by school authorities than by students' parents and communities...// The authors gave a brief answer about why they believe this to be true. I would have been interested to investigate that idea a bit further.

p. 34 //They described relational trust as emerging from individuals' judgments of others' behaviors in comparison to their beliefs about how they should act Every interaction between family members and school staff, therefore, is an opportunity to develop or erode trust.// Trust is tenuous. You have to work so hard to get it sometimes and then the slightest breach of confidence, even if unintentional, can destroy what you've worked so hard to build. Principals as school leaders must build trust with staff, students, parents, and the community. It is no small task.

p. 35 //Parents are focused on and likely to advocate for what is best for their children, not necessarily for what is best for all children within a classroom, grade level, or school.// It is the responsibility of the principal to help resolve such conflicts and ensure equity among all students.

p. 36 //School faculty and staff should be provided professional development on how to share information clearly, listen actively and carefully, and collaboratively define problems and possible solutions to maximize the effectiveness of these discussions.// One of my responsibilities in my role is to plan and often provide professional development for our Act 89 staff and administration and staff in the nonpublic schools. I confess I have not planned much around the idea of effective communication. We have had many discussions about how to engage parents more effectively but not about the nuts and bolts of how to communicate.

** Chapter 3: Fathers and School, Family, and Community Partnerships **
The first thing I'm thinking about in reading the title of this chapter is a reflection on my own father's lack of involvement in my life so he certainly was not involved with my schooling on a day-to-day basis, going to school events, meeting teachers, etc. With my experiences in mind, I will read this chapter with curiosity about the impacts of not having fathers involved, how to involve them more, and how to best meet the needs of children who don't have a male role model in their lives. On page 45, a statistic is provided which asserts that //approximately three-quarters of all children under the age of eighteen live with their biological father, stepfather, adopted father, or some other significant male in their household.// Programs sponsored by schools for fathers and their children can be quite painful for those students whose fathers are absent from their lives. Keeping children's emotional well-being in mind while tackling this issue is very important.

p. 44 //When we think about how parenting affects child development, mothers generally receive the credit and blame for children's educational and developmental outcomes.// This is so true. During my teaching experience, there has rarely been an instance in which I see a father's signature on the daily folder on a consistent basis. I sometimes get to see the fathers at parent-teacher conferences but those are still heavily weighted on the side of the mothers. Even if both parents are there, it is usually the mother who is doing the talking about homework routines and difficulties or successes their children are having.

p. 44 I was surprised to read how little research has been conducted on involvement of fathers in children's education.

p. 45 I agree with the discussion about the need to develop activities that are suitable for fathers with diverse educational backgrounds but think that the same could certainly be said for mothers. There doesn't seem to be a need to distinguish between mothers and fathers on this point.

p. 45 Schools in which there are high numbers of students living in single-parent situations have an additional burden beyond just trying to get fathers more involved due to the complexity that might exist in these instances.

p. 46 //Fathers spend most of their time with their children talking and engaging in play.// It takes a village to raise a child. It's important that children have an adult who talks and plays with them. I understand the point the author is making about the benefits of having fathers be more involved in educational aspects and am not arguing with that. But when I read this statement, I thought about the many needs of children and the incredibly difficult job of two parents or one parent to provide all that children need developmentally.

p. 47 //Fathers' involvement and mothers' involvement at age seven independently predicted educational attainment at age twenty.// Wow! We have no time to waste when you think about what is happening with first and second graders determining the educational path into adulthood.

Pages 48-50 describe guidelines for developing partnerships efforts to involve fathers and some considerations to think about when involving fathers. The four factors are a good way of framing thought around the planning of a father involvement initiative.

p. 49-50 The authors acknowledge the limited resources of schools and discuss how to address resistance to an initiative like this when many other needs tug at the funds of a school. I would venture to guess that not many father involvement initiatives end up in the school improvement plan and have money earmarked for it. Title I funds can provide some assistance for those schools participating in Title I. That doesn't mean that a school can't or shouldn't pursue father involvement events. I'm just thinking that most school improvement plans address parent involvement in its list of priorities before father involvement.

p. 55 I love the idea of partnering with an organization like Lowe's to get fathers involved. I may be stealing this idea!

//When we think about how parenting affects child development, mothers generally receive the credit and blame for children's educational and developmental outcomes.// ||< This is so true. During my teaching experience, there has rarely been an instance in which I see a father's signature on the daily folder on a consistent basis. I sometimes get to see the fathers at parent-teacher conferences but those are still heavily weighted on the side of the mothers. Even if both parents are there, it is usually the mother who is doing the talking about homework routines and difficulties or successes their children are having. || //...school outreach to involve fathers should be inclusive of all types of fathers and other important male role models in students' lives.// || The first thing I thought about in reading the title of this chapter was a reflection on my own father's lack of involvement in my life so he certainly was not involved with my schooling on a day-to-day basis, going to school events, meeting teachers, etc. He wouldn't have been there for any special father/student event either. || // Schools in which there are high numbers of students living in single-parent situations have an additional burden beyond just trying to get fathers more involved due to the complexity that might exist in these instances. // || On page 45, a statistic is provided which asserts that //approximately three-quarters of all children under the age of eighteen live with their biological father, stepfather, adopted father, or some other significant male in their household.// That leaves 25% of students who do not have a male role model of any kind in their household. Programs sponsored by schools for fathers and their children can be quite painful for those students whose fathers are absent from their lives. Keeping children's emotional well-being in mind while tackling this issue is very important. || //Fathers' involvement and mothers' involvement at age seven independently predicted educational attainment at age twenty.// || Wow! We have no time to waste when you think about what is happening with first and second graders determining the educational path into adulthood. || //Principal leadership is needed to ensure that outreach to fathers occurs and that it is well planned; informed by research, best practice, and the needs of the school and its families; inclusive of mothers; and responsive to fathers' interests and concerns.// || Thanks to the authors for summarizing the chapter in one sentence! ||
 * The chart below is an example of the VIPs/MVP that may be generated by a reading of Chapter 3. My group will be presenting this protocol for our discussion of Chapter 3 as assigned for our group. Instructions for the protocol: ** [[file:VIP_MVP.doc]]
 * ~ Page Number ||~ Statement from Book ||~ Thought, Question, Comment ||
 * = 44 || VIP
 * = 45 || VIP
 * = 45 || VIP
 * = 47 || VIP
 * = 56 || MVP

** Chapter 4: Families of Children With Disabilities and School, Family, and Community Partnerships **
p, 60 //To realize the full promise of this legislation and its subsequent reauthorizations, schools must not only create learning environments that support the individual needs of these diverse learners but also work collaboratively with their families//. This chapter is all about family partnerships and the nuances of those relationships when the child has learning disabilities. In the case of diverse learners, engaging the families in meaningful and supportive ways is even more critical in order to address the unique needs that these families have.

p. 61 //...the schools most likely to take initiatives to foster greater involvement of families of students with special needs shared several characteristics, including high levels of teacher (both general and special educators) participation in professional development on parent involvement//. I can appreciate the value of this statement. However, I have been involved in delivering professional development for the LIU for about eight years. There is very little incentive for offering professional development opportunities in the area of parental involvement. Not enough schools indicate interest in this area to warrant professional development in these areas. I am not negating the importance but am, instead, suggesting that when districts prioritize their professional development needs, parental involvement does not make the short list.

p. 62 //...the greatest levels of dissatisfaction were reported by parents of students with emotional disturbances//. This fact was a bit troubling for me to read. As a parent of a child with special needs, I know well the struggles that these families experience. However, my son's condition is fairly concrete in relation to a student with emotional disturbances so my heart goes out to families that are dealing with these kinds of difficulties. With my other two sons, if there has been an issue at school, they are often able to work through it themselves. Similarly, if they have had a teacher, for example, who is less than stellar, I might just tell the boys that they need to tolerate it and stick it out for the school year. For a child with special needs, sticking it out may not be possible. It can be trying for a parent of such a child to know when to contact the school because it sometimes feels as though I'm being the squeaky wheel and I don't want it taken out on my son in a negative way.

p. 62 //...middle-income and wealthier families were less satisfied with schools' communication efforts//. The authors did not expand on the reasons for this finding. It would have been interesting to know a bit more, for example, whether or not parents in these schools were receiving electronic communications. I wonder if a lack of electronic communication would be a reason for middle-income and wealthier families to report being less satisfied with communications from their children's schools.

p. 63-65 Box 4.2 //In Pam's Words// is a poignant and personal reminder that each child with a learning disability has unique needs and experiences. The families of the child have a range of reactions and experiences as well and schools need to be mindful of the very difficult circumstances with which they are dealing.

p. 66 Of importance, the communication strategies employed by the case schools shared three common features: communications were informative, caring, and creative. I am going to share this with our nonpublic schools staff! I think it's a great way to think about how we communicate with families and a quick check to make sure our communication is as effective as it can be.

p. 70 On this page, the authors describe several strategies for increasing parent involvement in IEP meetings. While I do not participate (professionally, anyway) in IEP meetings, I think they are good strategies to keep in mind for any meeting situation with or without parents (conferences, SST meetings, etc.).

p. 72-73 The story on these two pages about a parent who observed her son at school doing tasks that he was not doing at home and she was not aware he was capable of, was interesting and a great example of why school-home communication is especially important for families of children with disabilities. Holding her son accountable for these tasks at home can be a big help to her but is also good for the child in that he is being pushed to higher and higher expectations. Parents and teachers need to be on the same page in order to maximize a student's growth.

p. 73 //Back-to-School nights should include opportunities for families to meet all grade-level teachers and staff, including special educators and assistants//. This statement hit home for me in thinking about the itinerant staff that the program I work in has. Oftentimes, these teachers can feel like outsiders in the schools in which they work, depending on the culture of the school and the degree to which that school has included our LIU teachers. In some cases, the specialists do not even have their own space in which to teach and literally use closets, hallways, nurse's office, etc. The school may or may not welcome them to attend events like Back-to-School nights, let alone provide for a special time for the parents to meet with LIU specialists who may be working with students in the school.

p. 75 //As IDEA currently exists, school-family relationships are based on procedure, not partnership//. It is essential that schools emphasize kindness and empathy in the procedure or true partnership will never be achieved.

** Chapter 5: Family Literacy: The Roles of School Libraries and Public Libraries **
p. 71 //Because librarians work with the entire community, and network with other local community entities, they are well positioned to help facilitate family literacy.// I have worked extensively with local librarians in collaborative efforts to engage parents and families and I have definitely found this statement to be true. They are well-connected and truly committed to advancing family literacy.

p. 73 //Head Start, Even Start, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), and Title I all exemplify federal literacy programs that incorporate family involvement.// I have difficulty with the word //exemplify// in this sentence. True, these programs are federally funded and include a family involvement requirement. However, my experience with Title I and other federally funded programs are that they are cumbersome, time-consuming, and less than cost-efficient to execute the provisions of the laws.

p. 74 I visited the website referenced on this page, the National Center for Family Literacy, and found it to be a great resource! The name of the organization and website has changed since the publication of the book. The new website is: @http://www.familieslearning.org/.

p. 76 //Because the public library is not constrained by a school philosophy, it can offer a greater variety of materials to match the leisure and recreational interests of a diverse population//. Public school libraries can appeal to the interests of students and help with the always difficult motivation of struggling readers. There is no replacement for motivation like letting students choose what they want to read rather than what a teacher and a curriculum tell them they have to read!

p. 76 // Because the public library is not constrained by a school philosophy, it can offer a greater variety of materials to match the leisure and recreational interests of a diverse population. // Public libraries are also not as subject to objections by parents who want to ban certain books from school libraries. I categorically disagree with most of the books on banned books lists being prohibited from getting in the hands of our students. When we ban __Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.__, for example, because a girl is talking about getting her period, we are prohibiting students from learning about real life, not protecting them from questionable content.

p. 76 //The library is usually open during the evenings and on weekends.// Schools are not, typically. For some parents, trying to attend an event during the work week is impossible so libraries are an invaluable resource where time and accessibility is concerned.

p. 77 talks about the frequency with which school librarians direct students to the public library for a book the school does not have. Of course, the opposite nearly never happens. Public libraries, though, often have lending agreements with other public libraries. Why wouldn't it be possible for school libraries (who have had to deal with dwindling funds) to be able to be a part of this lending system among libraries?

p. 85 //When parents benefit from a library's family literacy programs, they can model positive behavior and help teach their children more effectively at home and at school. The entire family becomes empowered.//

** Chapter 6: Families Living in Poverty and School, Family, and Community Partnerships **
p.91-92 The statistics regarding poverty in the United States are staggering. One in six children living in poverty. That doesn't necessarily translate to one in six children in each classroom living in poverty. The schools in which I teach are fairly affluent, poverty is minimal. But that means that to get to an average of one in six living in poverty, there are schools where the poverty rate is shockingly high.

p.93 //When schools and other community organizations view low-income families in their complexity, focusing realistically on their strengths and resources as well as their weaknesses and needs, families are more likely to receive services and supports that enhance their capacity to function effectively as primary caregivers. yet, there are a variety of societal and personal factors that make it challenging for some school personnel to view poor families this way.// When one has not been a victim of poverty himself/herself, it is difficult to put yourself in the shoes of someone who is living at poverty level, to understand the complexities of the situation and to know what to do to help. Schools can consider doing poverty simulations as a form of professional development to build empathy and capacity to deal with families of poverty.

p. 94 //...our visits to their homes introduced us to another side of the picture - the side that spoke of families' expressions of love and responsibility for their children. What we learned was that school personnel really knew very little about the families they described in the most derogatory terms.// It was disturbing to read this quote because it is true and also because the stereotypes we hold are so unfair.

p. 95 This section of the book introduces the idea of employing parent liaisons in an effort to promote home-school collaboration. I think this is a great idea for schools with the means of supporting such a position but I'm thinking that in smaller districts and/or those with less resources, the principal may be the one responsible for wearing that hat.

p. 96 //Due to lack of experience and professional development, many teachers - regardless of age and ethnicity - do no have the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to effectively communicate and partner with low-income families.// If this is true, then why have we not addressed the idea in pre-service teacher training, in-district professional development, initiatives by the state and federal government, and/or all of the above? I guess Title I and other similar federal government mandates have tried to address the issue of economically disadvantaged students but the immense amount of bureaucratic waste involved means most of the funds don't actually go to the improvement of instruction and opportunity for those students.

p. 98 The educator's account of an incident with a parent in Box 6.1 was a poignant reminder of the bias that each of us carry and that sometimes emerges even without us realizing it. I have experienced my own fair share of reminders of bias and stereotypes though I consider myself a caring and compassionate person. It takes constant vigilance to hold our own stereotypes at bay and not let them negatively influence our interactions with others. I have never intentionally said or done something in a biased manner, but I think biases do emerge for all of us at times.

p. 99 //Schools can also work with a variety of community partners to provide a multitude of needed resources for low-income families.// Table 6.1 outlines community partners divided among the activity foci of student centered, family centered, and school centered. Reading through that list made me very thankful that I live in the country I do. For all our woes, we are truly a compassionate country and there are so many wonderful service organizations that one can turn to for help in a time of crisis.

p. 101 The story in Box 6.2 was a creative way to address a need in Frederick Law Olmsted School. The idea of parents volunteering their time to provide the after-school enrichment program is a creative solution with a very minimal charge of $10 for six weeks.

p. 103 //Many poor families are without personal transportation and have to make several stops by public transportation or walking to access health and dental care, attend school-based activities, and receive housing and food assistance.// The truth is, anyone who has never been in poverty cannot fully fathom the difficulties of being poor. Oftentimes, the things that middle-income and higher families do quickly on a daily basis, can be very time consuming and disproportionately costly for low-income families because they do not have the same means and access that these other families have. It can be absolutely exhausting to be poor and/or living paycheck to paycheck. That takes a toll on the health of individuals and families living in such situations.

p. 104 //How well a school leader is able to meet the school PR challenges will depend in large part on his or her ability to communicate - communicate to inform and develop high morale among staff members, communicate to build a team with families focused on the education of their children, and communicate to develop public support within the community and among elected leaders.// This statement embodies one of my fears of being a school leader. Certainly a lot of weight rests on a principal's ability to communicate and connect with a variety of people and groups and I hope to do the job justice.

** Chapter 7: Evaluating Programs of School, Family, and Community Partnerships **
p, 110 //A good evaluation can help determine the effectiveness of a program, document that a program's goals have been met, provide information about the implementation of a program, and illustrate areas where a program can improve.// The Act 89 program at the LIU conducts a survey annually to assess the program. School principals are asked to complete the comprehensive questionnaire. It is administered in the form of a Google survey so that the data is easily collected and analyzed. I would have to investigate what "coding the data" means, as referenced in this chapter since an explanation is not provided.

p. 110-111 Why choose a logic model or a theory of change framework? The author presents those two options for evaluation and explains each separately but doesn't make clear to me why to choose one over the other. (Addressed briefly on p. 116.)

p. 110-115 Two types of evaluation processes are presented in this chapter: logic model and theory of change framework. I normally lean in the direction of a concrete-sequential thinker so the logic model, leading me to assume that the logic model would be more appealing to the manner in which I would prefer to approach such an evaluation. However, after reading the explanations of both and thinking about the change process, I surprised myself by coming to the conclusion that the theory of change framework and the graphic organizer provided for that type would be more in line with the way I would like to approach this type of question. I like the idea of designating a long term goal first and backward planning to determine the preconditions and assumptions.

p. 113 There are four "If - Then" statements on this page as part of logic models and they all sound very logical. However, I think a principal's job must embody some measure of creativity and innovation beyond logic to ask, "What if?"

p. 117 Based on the explanations of the three types of evaluations, program processes, program outcomes, and program impact, I think that the program in which I work would benefit most from a program processes evaluation.

p. 117 Logic models or theories of change frameworks are conducted first and used to determine what needs to be measured in a program evaluation.

p. 119 Most often, impact evaluations are conducted by a third party individual or group external to the organization implementing the program. Realistically, I can't see most school districts making the investment of having a third party involved in a district evaluation. I wonder how often that might happen.

p. 119 Two types of data collection were included in the chapter: surveys and one-on-one interviewing. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Typically, we use surveys due to the breadth of physical territory our program covers. One-on-one interviews would be quite time-consuming. Are there other options besides these two? It seems like they each represent an extreme. (The chart on the next page is helpful and does present some additional options.)

p, 121 Results of a program evaluation should be presented to and discussed by colleagues and program staff. In our program, we do not do a good enough job of this. We often share highlights of the information in a presentation. Rarely is there discussion around the results by the staff.

**__Leadership for Family and Community Involvement__ by Paul D. Houston, Alan M. Blankenstein, and Robert Cole**
(Any phrases/sentences quoted directly from the book are in italics below. My thoughts/notes are in regular font.)

** Chapter 3: Sharing the Dream: Engaging Families as Partners in Supporting Student Success **
p. 33-34 The chapter begins with a scenario describing one principal's campaign for reducing the incidence of obesity among the school's students. What follows the scenario is an account of all the assumptions made by the principal which have the potential to derail a well-intentioned plan with worthwhile goals. Reading this really helped me to stop and wonder about how many similarly well-intentioned plans I may engage in that have unintentioned negative side effects. Any situation in which the school comes across to parents as assuming superiority has the potential to do irreparable damage.

p. 34 //Family involvement is often thought of simplistically as helping with homework, attending parent-teacher conferences, or volunteering in the classroom. More than 30 years of research tells us that it is so much more than that.// While educators may be thinking of family involvement in ways that go way beyond the points listed in this sentence, I don't think that most parents have gotten that message. I would venture to guess that most parents who are helping their children with homework and attending parent-teacher conferences and volunteering in the classroom believe that they are highly involved in their children's educational development.

p. 36 As I read about the four approaches that schools take in engaging students and thought about which type I would describe our program in the LIU, I realized that we have a long way to go towards reaching a point that we are truly engaging parents rather than simply involving them. Due to the nature of the nonpublic schools program and the itinerant nature of the specialists we deploy to those schools, we experience many challenges to involving parents that school districts and other school entities do not have to combat. We have a brainstorming meeting for approaching parent involvement in new and creative ways coming up on September 29th. I'm excited to see what possibilities we come up with and hope that we can move towards the //partnership// schools described in __Beyond the Bake Sale.__

p. 37 //...sometimes [teachers and school administrators] view family members as adversaries rather than as partners. School leaders who are serious about family engagement need to be clear about their own philosophical and cultural grounding in this respect//. I agree. It can be difficult at times to put aside our own beliefs and experiences and work with parents for the best outcomes for all. I can't say that I view parents as adversaries necessarily but I do get frustrated with parents who don't provide the supports for their children at home that they need in order to be successful in school. Family engagement from the standpoint of the schools is essential, but schools also really need parents to be proactive and supportive partners for student success.

p. 38-39 These pages list ten truths about parent involvement. As I was reading, I highlighted #5 (Parent involvement is an ongoing process, not a series of events.) and #10 (Parents are more likely to become involved when...) as the two most important in the list in my opinion. I was surprised to read in the following paragraph that the authors described these same points as the two that stand out as //factors in creating long-lasting, positive relationships between schools and students' families//! i was simply reading with my own school situations in mind but this coincidence confirmed that these may be the two factors that I should keep most present in my mind.

p. 39 In this section, the authors discuss national PTA standards and mentioned an implementation guide. I looked up the guide online and am glad I did. It looks like a great resource to help my program in our planning for parent engagement. It is arranged by standards and includes action steps and resources for addressing each standard.

p. 43 //A parent can be involved by attending meetings, but the relationship is not likely to move to the level of collaboration until engagement happens//. This distinction between //involvement// and //engagement// is more than a matter of semantics. Engagement is the ultimate goal and I would go further to emphasize, with semantics in mind, that we should aim to move beyond //parent// engagement and focus on //family// engagement.

p. 43 //The most effective family-school partnerships occur when schools have created a welcoming climate where trusting relationships between parents and teachers are developed and where meaningful, two-way communication is focused on student success//. Easy for them to say, so difficult to accomplish! I don't disagree that trusting relationships and communication are essential to support effective partnerships. The authors take it one more step and add the true engagement brings families into leadership roles. In my experience as a parent of three boys, I have had varied leadership roles as a parent at both the school (PTA President) and district (SIP parent liaison and Parent Advisory Council member) levels. Mostly, the same small number of parent representatives are present at all of these types of activities. So, it is important for schools to be mindful of finding ways to involve all manner of parents, reflective of the diversity in the schools.

p. 46 //When everyone works together, they are more likely to learn, understand, and implement the necessary services for any given child//. This statement is used in the chapter in the context of working with the parents of a child with a disability. Certainly, working together in these situations is paramount to avoid the worst case scenario, legal action. However, this thought can be as effectively applied in any instance involving schools and parents.

No particular page, just a general reflection on the chapter: My heart goes out to those parents who very much want to be involved in meaningful ways in their children's schools, but are hampered by work schedules, school schedules and demands of their own, illness or disability, being caregivers of their own parents, etc. There is an unending list of reasons why parents might not be able to attend school events and schools need to keep these parents in mind. We can't assume that parents are not attending school functions because they don't want to or because they don't deem it important.

** Chapter 6: Balancing Your Communication Ledger: Using Audits to involve Communities and Build Support for Schools **
p. 88 //Communication programming should be judged on exactly what people// did //as a result of being exposed to it. In other words, to be effective, school communication needs to generate both information// and //involvement. It needs to build both understanding// and //prompt action.// A tall order to be sure.

p. 89 The idea of a communication audit is introduced in this chapter. I am interested in learning about what this is and how to conduct such an audit without the use of a third party (who will charge a fee to conduct it). Thankfully, I'm reading this prior to completing a communication audit for this course!

p. 88 The authors cite the National School Public Relations Association (www.nspra.org) as a possible third party resource for conducting communication audits. I visited their website to see if I could find an example of a communication audit report in hopes that it would inform the audit I need to write for this course. Thankfully, we are only required to turn in a one page document. The sample I looked at was 88 pages!

p. 89 //The challenge is this: How might a school system, with limited human and fiscal capital, hope to boost involvement and bolster its communication effectiveness? Here is one good solution: the communication audit.// From what I've been reading about communication audits in preparation for our classroom assignment, hiring a third party to conduct the audit can be quite expensive so this may not be an option for every school district.

p. 91 //...it is key to the success of the communication effort to understand how communication flows across the district - both internally and externally.// Although the book is focused on school district audits, I imagine these types of audits can be conducted in other educational entities and in areas outside education. I would be interested in seeing the results of a communication audit on an institution like the Lincoln Intermediate Unit where the communication internally and externally can be quite complex given the size and function of the organization.

p. p. 91 This page discusses the kinds of information that should be gathered during a communication audit. Much of the information is quantitative and could be collected fairly easily. However, the qualitative information, such as the culture and perceptions of the district could be more challenging to determine. I wonder what kinds of tools that providers of communication audits use to collect such information.

p. 92 //...an audit is a powerful way to position the superintendent as a "listening leader" and shift the culture to one that is more communication-centered.// I have seen an example of this occur myself and would absolutely agree with the authors that the process can place the superintendent in the position of a listening leader. A neighboring school district hired a new superintendent and he conducted his own communication audit of the school district. The results were that he gathered much critical information about his new district and did indeed, become a leader in the district whom people trusted as a listener.

p. 96 //It is best to conduct a communication audit during the actual school year and at a time when there aren't many hot issues or controversies.// I can see the value in the wisdom of choosing the timing wisely for a communication audit. For some districts, it may be challenging to find a time when there aren't controversies that may interfere with the process. Indeed, some controversies may provide the reason for conducting a communication audit in the first place.

p. 99 //...keeping the process transparent and involving everyone in the process is the best antidote to any skepticism.// Careful attention to the choice of focus groups and member representation within those groups seems to be a critical piece of setting up the communication audit process if it is going to be a successful one.

p. 104 the following comment in the book by Rochelle Cancienne-Touchard, also speaks to the above comment about choosing focus groups wisely. //If you want to get the most bang for your buck, involve those individuals in your focus groups who might not be your biggest fans but are your biggest critics.//

**Book Notes and Reflections:**
=**__The New Principal's Fieldbook: Strategies for Success__**= =**by Pam Robbins and Harvey Alvy**=

(Any phrases/sentences quoted directly from the book are in italics below. My thoughts/notes are in regular font.)

**Chapter 4: Developing Professional Learning Communities for a Productive Journey**
p. 70 //"To a certain extent, a school leader's effectiveness in creating a culture of sustained change will be determined by the leaders he or she leaves behind."// I always want to work for someone who is selfless enough to grow the leaders around him/her rather than being so intent on building one's own ego and resume.

p. 74 ...//collaboration among colleagues is the only way to take on the complex challenges of life in the classroom.// I don't think there's ever been a time when really successful teaching occurred in isolation. Even one room schoolhouses took collaboration albeit with older students helping the teacher to teach the younger students. As our world has gotten more complicated and the demands on teachers more numerous, collaboration is essential.

p. 74 There is a list on this page of things that must be in place for a professional learning community to thrive. There is one that I would add there and that is the establishment of group norms. I have found norms to be very helpful in PLCs and similar situations.

p. 74 While collaboration is cited on this page as essential for successful teaching these days, the author goes on the acknowledge that working alone continues to be the predominant tactic and lists reasons why. All the reasons listed are legitimate but it is the job of the school leader to remove these barriers as much as possible.

p. 75 //In schools that placed the intellectual quality of student learning at the center of their restructuring efforts, the language of student learning became the focus of daily discourse.// I like the wording of this sentence and I like the message as well. It's about having high expectations for all students and believing that all students can learn.

p. 76 //Recognize that it will take time to develop a professional learning community - a minimum of three to five years.// How often do schools actually stick with something this long to find out if it will work or not? All stakeholders, including district staff, community, school board, parents, etc. need to understand this statistic and be willing to be patient when changes are instituted.

p. 77 //Tangible support is conveyed when the principal attends training with teachers...// I have been involved in providing professional development for many years. I agree that tangible support is essential. The most successful trainings I have been a part of are those trainings when principals attend (and participate) along with the teachers. I do some training and consulting work for a company out of California and cohorts of teachers who attend these trainings are required to have an administrator attend with them.

p. 78 //Collaboration tends to emerge as staff members move from relationships characterized by congeniality to cooperation and then to collegiality.// This reminds me of a continuum I have used with teachers during co-teaching trainings created by a psychologist named Bruce Tuckman. The stages of group development that he describes are Forming - Storming - Norming - Performing.

p. 79 The Mail Call activity described on this page is one that I want to remember to try. It could be adapted a number of ways and I like the idea of the medium risk involved.

p. 80 //Finding the time for collaboration is one of the biggest challenges associated with the development of a professional learning community.// Finding enough time is a constant nemesis for most people, I'd bet. Principals cannot add more hours to the day (and even then it probably wouldn't be enough) so it becomes essential to take some things off the plates of teachers if we are to truly be committed to the time involved in conducting PLCs and the work that needs to occur there.

**Chapter 12: Parents and the Greater Community: Partnering for Student Success**
p. 239-240 Much of what we have read so far starts out with citing the research on parent involvement. This chapter instead cites the standards from the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium. The standards are steeped in research, of course, which lends tremendous weight to the argument that schools should work hard at engaging families.

p. 240 I believe this is the second source we have read that has referenced Joyce Epstein (and possibly all of them will by the time we have finished them). It is nice to know that her work is so well respected and often consulted since we will be using her Inventory of Present Practices of School, Family, and Community Partnerships in our Project Based Learning assignment.

p. 243 I really liked the idea presented on this page in regards to how one school addressed the problem of parent attendance at conferences when the conference times conflicted with work hours. The school worked with a poultry processing plant in which many of the parents worked to set up space at the plant to hold conferences and then the teachers came to the parents instead of vice versa. I don't think that would work for the program I am in at the LIU, but I do think it would work tremendously well for the school district that my own children attend since the town has a few major employers who each have a strong record of being extremely supportive of the district and students.

p. 244 This page talks about schools as full-service organizations and how partnering with community-based organizations can help ease the social work burden of schools. The old adage is true: //it takes a village to raise a child//. Schools alone cannot help students succeed without the assistance of many and varied stakeholders. I am interested in having this discussion with the district on which I am conducting the cultural scan analysis to learn with community organizations with which the school has collaborated.

p. 244-246 The list of community-based organizations on these three pages will hopefully prove helpful in the Cultural Scan project and help me to brainstorm places that the school district I am investigating might be soliciting for assistance.

p. 246 //Every high School in Wisconsin is required to implement a technical training program with one of the state's 16 technical colleges. A statewide apprenticeship program offers work-based learning. Students can attend institutions of higher education while in high school and can receive both high school and college credit//. I am a big fan of apprenticeship programs. The idea of a statewide effort is especially interesting to me. While it may seem like PA has an inordinate amount of school districts with 500, there are states like Texas and California which have over 1,000. In fact, PA is about in the middle of the list. Hawaii has the least, only one district for the state. Regardless of the number of districts, it makes sense to me that some efforts are statewide rather than district-wide so as to maximize student opportunities and experiences available.

p. 246 The authors suggest that schools hold Open Houses for families, businesses, fire, police, emergency workers, community-based organizations, and the media in order to showcase the school. Ideally, this sounds like a good idea to me but I wonder how many, in actuality would participate in the open houses.

p. 247 Similarly, every time I read Saturday morning anything, I can't help but wonder how many families would actually participate. Maybe I am just too cynical. if so, I hope that I work with others who can encourage me to be less so! However, I can't help but picture the movie, The Breakfast Club, each time I read the suggestion about using Saturday mornings to do anything instructionally at school with the exception of Saturday mornings that have been used (the past two winters) to help seniors get all their days in so that they can graduate on time when snow days have threatened to infringe on graduation plans.

pl 248 This page briefly mentions the need to have fire, police and medical personnel involved in looking over a school and preparing for a crisis. These entities should certainly be involved in writing a crisis plan for the school. I'm sure their advice would be invaluable. It's a shame we have to think that way these days but it is true and always better to be prepared and never have to use the plan than to need it and not have one.

p. 249 Effective educational leadership sometimes involves taking calculated risks [during a crisis]... This quote is indicative of one of my fears in relation to attaining a leadership position. I had the same reservations throughout my reading of the book, __Columbine__. What if? What if the unthinkable happens and I am the principal? No amount of preparation can equip a principal with the readiness to respond in a crisis situation. At that point, individuals are reacting with their gut. I can only pray that if I am ever, God forbid, involved in such a situation, I am able to find the strength to react appropriately and minimize the negative impact of the catastrophe.

Write about a community leader in your school or home community. Share the impact this individual is having on your neighborhood or school.
There is an individual in my community who has been a tireless volunteer and I very much admire her commitment to the school. She works and has children but somehow finds the time to be a consistent and dependable volunteer through the PTO and any time individual teachers are in need of an extra pair of hands in the classroom or a chaperone on a field trip, etc.

October 27, 2015
// Presentation by Andrew Whalen from Neighbors United //

What conditions are preventing your students from learning?

During school:


 * Hunger
 * Learning disabilities
 * Bullying
 * Language gap
 * Cultural gap/gender roles

After school:


 * Poverty
 * Hopeless situations at home
 * Homelessness
 * Hunger
 * Moving frequently

How can we create involvement?

Create an inseparable link joining students/parents with help


 * Who are the active/passive participants in my school/community?
 * How can they help create conditions for learning and engagement?
 * How can I grow my team to include more mentors, volunteers and connected people?
 * Community leaders need to meet with school teachers, administration and others with shared vision

=**__The New Principal's Fieldbook: Strategies for Success__**=

=**by Pam Robbins and Harvey Alvy**= (Any phrases/sentences quoted directly from the book are in italics below. My thoughts/notes are in regular font.)

**Chapter 15: The Crucial First Steps on the Road to Success**
p. 276 //During quiet moments alone in a car or while reading at home, you will begin to shape ideas that will crystallize into a personal leadership vision - a vision that will enable you to be decisive when considering the interests of students and staff.// As I think about how my own vision of educational leadership has taken shape, it has been during quiet moments, often when I wasn't necessarily focused on the topic at all. The word "decisive" struck me when I read this sentence. I've read an awful lot about formulating a vision but hadn't really thought much about the other side, after having formed a vision and shared it, execution of a vision does, indeed, allow a leader to be more decisive in a harried moment when there is little time for deliberation.

p. 277 "Our companies can never be anything we do not want ourselves to be." I believe this is true to some extent, but in a large organization, it's possible for individual programs or factions of people to become less or different than what the organization as a whole has sought to be representative of.

p. 277 //Principals and teachers need to be creators and inventors.// I thought these were interesting words used to describe principals and teachers and probably a product of the change that technology has brought to the education world. We cannot teach or lead in the manner that we used to BG (Before Google). I would not describe myself as overly creative or as an inventor so this sentence caught my surprise. I can still be a good leader as I am not averse to change coming to a solution to a problem that is different than the way it has historically been handled. I think that is at the heart of what that statement was trying to convey. Also that we are facilitators of others learning.

p. 279 //The leader has to aggressively seek information throughout the organization.// The authors go on to suggest that the feedback received from colleagues is not always accurate. As such, I believe it is important to provide colleagues with a way of providing feedback that is anonymous in addition to the conversations we have face-to-face with staff.

p. 278 //New principals should not underestimate the power of an oral compliment.// Indeed, all principals should be mindful of letting staff know when they did a good job and it was noticed. Everyone likes to hear something positive from time to time rather than only getting feedback about something that could have been done better.

p. 278 //Principals should take advantage of each large gathering to remind teachers, parents, students, classified staff, and community stakeholders of the school's successes and what is valued.// Bad news travels fast. No one ever has to fuel that fire. Sometimes the principal has to work hard to get the positives about the school circulating. When there is a gathering of any kind, the principal has the opportunity to talk about the things the school is doing well.

p. 281 //There is no theme in this book related to leadership that is more important than human relations - the forging of quality relationships. Leadership is based on human relations.// This statement is not a surprise to me at all. Every book and article I have read about leadership that is worth reading, states this same idea in one form or another. People are the ones who are being led and so they are the most important commodity in the process.

p. 282 //When discussing the relationship between the central office and the schoolhouse we noted that language is sometimes problematic (e.g., certificated and noncertificated). One superintendent handles this issue by referring to all employees in the district as "staff." We do not have a solution to this issue.// First of all, I admire the authors for admitting they don't have an answer to the problem. Secondly, I have noticed that language can be critical, how one says something, and the body language involved, are all a part of the message communicated. One approach I have used is to be mindful of the number of times that I say, "I" and instead try to use "we" as often as possible.

p. 283 //Leading and Learning By Wandering Around (LLBWA), purposefully, is a critical principalship strategy to stay in touch with the school culture and to celebrate what is right about the school.// LLBWA will be one of the challenges of being a leader within the LIU structure. Our staff is spread out over three counties. It's not like being a principal in a building where he/she can leave his/her office and walk down the hall to see teachers in action. In the LIU programs, you have to know which schools itinerant teachers are in on a given day, and as a courtesy, make sure it is also OK with the building principal to stop by the school. Walk-throughs are a challenge in such a structure so most observations are planned ahead of time.

p. 284 //Advice for new principals: Don't become too enamored with your office.// A catchy way of keeping the above in mind.

** November 3, 2015 Quick-write **

 * What are your crucial first steps on the road to becoming a principal? **

Pending board approval this evening, I will be assuming my first administrative position on December 1st so this question has some immediacy for me. I am following in the footsteps of a director who was with the program for eight years and is much adored and respected by staff. My challenge will be those first few steps and establishing relationships from the beginning among a group who may not be wanting change.

Coordinator of Parent Involvement & Homeless Student Project, School District of Lancaster
School District of Lancaster = 11,307 students; 87.7% low-income Out of that population, about 900 are homeless (over the course of a school year) District-Wide Title I: required to set aside a certain percentage of funds for parent involvement 38 languages spoken in SDL State law requires that someone at every school district is assigned to deal with homeless issues. In larger school districts, can be a person’s singular responsibility. Parent Advisory Committee (PAC): tied into Title I guidelines; different from PTO group; develop parent leaders across the district; integral part of making decisions in the district; monthly meetings Parent Involvement Activities: SDL’s mission – to break the generational cycle of homelessness by keeping today’s homeless students in school through graduation and to provide the supports they need to graduate. Goal – help to ensure students are participating fully in school just like their non-homelessness peers McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act 2001 (Federal Law) definition: Students who qualify as homeless lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. SDL interfaces with nine different homeless shelters. Many kids are encouraged not to share that they are homeless due to fears of the parents of Children and Youth involvement. They may also be ashamed or embarrassed of the situation in which they are living. Supports: One thing they do not do is give money (paying rent, water bill, etc.) The federal grant funds cover salary of staff. 100% of the supports SDL provide comes from community partnerships.
 * Fall Parent Academy – transportation, food, babysitting, sessions in various topics all paid for with Title I funds
 * Dinner with District Leaders
 * Spring Parent Academy
 * 2nd Cup of Coffee – meet with parents off-site at a coffee shop; parents can come there to meet with district leadership
 * Ice cream social
 * Lunch with your child
 * Community of readers – weekly readers and share-a-book
 * Movie nights
 * Musical – students and parents showcasing their musical talents
 * Assist prompt enrollment
 * Connect homeless with school district services such as school nurse, counselor, school psychologist, Sp. Ed. Team, or social worker
 * Refer families to the appropriate community agencies
 * Organize community homeless task Force to coordinate services
 * Free lunch/breakfast
 * Uniforms
 * School supplies
 * Personal care items
 * Transportation
 * Bus passes to school
 * Haircuts, graduation cap/gown
 * Field trip fees
 * College application fees, etc.

** November 10, 2015 Quick-write **

 * Compose a list of information you already know about homeless. Generate 3-5 questions you would like to know about the homeless population. **

I am fairly familiar with homeless issues in our intermediate unit area as our homeless liaison, Sonia Pitzi, for the LIU is a member of the immediate program in which I work and so she gives us updates at each of our monthly meetings. Questions I have are: 1. How has the state budget impasse affected homeless programs? 2. How exactly is homeless defined? 3. What are the numbers of homeless students/families in this area?

** Class Opener Quick-write: **

 * Does your school or district policies and programs emphasize the values of performance, status, and extrinsic rewards; or do these policies recognize effort and growth? **

The specialists in the Act 89 program in which I work have gotten much better about using growth and effort as motivators for learning rather than extrinsic rewards. I did a presentation with the staff titled, "How to Grow Grit" during which we learned together about a growth mindset and the benefits of exerting effort in learning. Many still provide extrinsic motivation in the form of rewards, but at least growth and effort have become part of the conversation.

(Quick-write for Kami's presentation)

I am feeling fine with the seating change. It's nice to be at a table with some new faces (and a different view of the room!) I am also comfortable about the student-led conferences idea. I think getting students involved in a meaningful way in their own learning can be a powerful way of getting them to be more cognizant of their achievement and increase their intrinsic motivation to keep getting better.

Are We Motivating Students With Data? (ASCD)
p. 17 [Mr. Williams] asks students to take out their data binders to graph their own progress, reflect on their data, and determine action steps. This sounds like student goal setting. I have been doing some of that with my students so I'll be interested to see what this article has to say about helping students to set their own goals.

p. 18 A performance orientation means that goals are generally associated with negative student outcomes. Yikes! I need to keep reading to make sure that performance orientation isn't what I have unknowingly been doing with my students.

p. 18 A mastery orientation means students focus on developing new skills and improving their competence. Mastery orientation is associated with self-regulation, increased effort, autonomy, and the belief that effort will lead to academic success. I believe that what I have done with goal setting is not quite at the mastery orientation level so I hope the article goes into deeper detail to help me fine-tune my efforts at helping students set goals.

p. 18 short-term, self-referenced goals...are cited in the article as part of a mastery orientation. The goals I help students set aren't always self-referenced but I can see the benefits for that. This is also harder with younger students and students learning about goal-setting than it is with older students accustomed to setting and working towards goals.

p. 18 ...we found that many teachers set up performance-oriented classrooms that may actually have been demotivating for students. This is disappointing. Teachers in this situation probably thought they were doing students a service without any understanding that the goal-setting may have had an unintended outcome.

p. 18 In the section on this page about data-use practices supporting a performance orientation, the author talks about competition as a motivator. I have found that boys in particular (but not all boys and certainly not all girls) enjoy competition and find it motivating. However, I have never been in favor of posting classroom scores as a means of motivating students. I find that is far more humiliating than it is motivating.

p. 19 The data supporting a mastery orientation showed evidence of a learning perspective, growth-related information, individual level data shared privately, intangible rewards, involved the students in analysis, and were supportive of next steps. The areas that I need to improve to move towards more of a mastery orientation are focusing on growth-related information, helping students identify their weaknesses, and finding multiple ways to reteach the information.

p. 20 One-third of the instances of data-use practices observed by the authors were mixed - that is, a hybrid of mastery and performance practices. I suppose I fall into this category although I feel like what I have been doing with students goes beyond the superficial level described by the teacher using a "scan-cam" which I feel is more like having students grade their own papers than it is related to having students set their own goals for improvement.

p. 20 The environment in which teacher worked...greatly shaped how they used data with students. I can easily believe this. School leaders need to be key players in shaping the kind of behavior they would like to see in the teachers in the building. Expecting teachers to assist students in setting goals means that teachers need to be provided appropriate training for doing so and then leadership needs to follow-through on the expectation or the practice will fade away quickly.

p. 21 As I neared the end of the article, I was glad that my practice more closely aligned with the mastery orientation as the descriptors of that model most closely described a positive learning experience for children. On the last page of the article I read, "...the broader national and state accountability environment in the United States promotes a performance-based orientation." How disappointing, The authors had clearly tried to make a case for mastery orientation and then had to be honest about the system teachers are up against - all the accountability that emphasizes status measures and public information.

How to Share Data with Families (ASCD)(Educational Leadership November 2015)
p. 46 //A recent study found that students in a summer credit-recovery course whose parents received weekly, individualized communication were 41 percent less likely to fail the course.// I would so appreciate this kind of communication from my own children's teachers. I have two boys in middle school and one in high school. As they have progressed through the grades, parent communication has lessened dramatically. While I can go online and look at their grades and homework, homework is rarely posted and grades are more up-to-date with some teachers than with others. I don't want the communication to be burdensome for teachers, but I feel like I could stay more on top of things with grades and homework if there was more communication coming my way.

p. 47 //They [educators] promote connections among and between people, ideas, and settings//. This is the first of the attributes the Harvard Family Research Project says is needed for effective data-sharing. Educators have a lot of data about their students but it is only part of the picture. Parents/guardians also have a lot of information but not the quantitative kind that the schools have. Putting the two data sources together is critical to see the total picture.

p. 47 The second attribute is: //They [educators] put data in context//. Not all students are prepared to learn at the same rate or same moment in time. Take reading, for example, the language centers of boys' brains develop at a slower rate than girls, yet we are expecting all students to be ready to handle the same literacy demands in Kindergarten.

p. 47 The third attribute is: //They [educators] approach data-sharing as an ongoing process//. Educators are constantly gathering data. As a reading specialist, I don't always share all that data with parents but there is always ongoing data that can be appropriately shared.

p. 47 //Recognizing that data and data-sharing require responsible discretion. The data a school collects represent an actual child//. I have seen several situations recently in which I did not agree with the manner the data was being shared in a professional setting. Data about a child is sensitive and should only be shared with the professionals who are immediately impacting that child's education. I don't think there is any reason for mass emails containing all the names of students who failed the most recent Keystone Exam, for example.

p. 48 //Make data accessible, understandable, and actionable.// In my mind, this statement sums up the gist of the entire article and the focus schools should have on engaging parents with data.

p. 48 //Educators likely need training and professional development to expand their facility with data.// I find this to be very true for me. As resources like PVAAS and CDTs become more indispensable and more complicated, I think most teachers could benefit from learning how to read and interpret all the data. One other thing I struggle with data-wise, is connecting all the separate data sources/information to use it in conjunction in a meaningful manner.

p. 48 Access alone, however, is not enough. Families also need training to understand the data. Group trainings for families can be efficient and effective. The authors go on to give an example of a school that convenes all the parents from a classroom and goes over data analysis. I'm not sure how I feel about this example; I would need more information to make a decision. My concern is the inevitable comparing of data. In that situation, I would not want to find out my son had the lowest scores in the classroom. I only want to know he is working to the best of his ability and teachers are doing all they can to help him.

p. 48 //Address families' unique needs.// Along with this statement, it is necessary to first make an effort to know what families' unique needs are. I don't know that I have the answer about how to do that effectively yet from a school administrator position as it's difficult to know all the students and their families well. What I do know is that the ones who may most need to be reached aren't necessarily the one that the principal will be interacting with even if he/she makes himself/herself very visible and accessible at school drop-off/pick-up, evening events, etc.

p. 49 //By together creating learning goals and identifying resources specific to the student and family, educators and families become a team, and the home-school partnership is strengthened.// There is strength in numbers. A child can't have too many people who care about his/her success and are involved in the educational well-being of that child. This becomes no less important as children progress through higher levels of education. The needs may evolve but children can always benefit from caring adults demonstrating an interest in their lives.