Early Learning and LiteracyBuilding Partnerships That Matter

Catherine Thomas

Family Engagement Coordinator

Cuyahoga County Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Starting Point

catherine.thomas@starting-point.org

Marsha Greenfeld

Senior Program Facilitator

National Network of Partnership Schools

mgreenfeld@jhu.edu

Your First Chapter

Think back to your earliest memories of books and reading

When did you start reading?

Who helped you read?

What was your favorite book?

Today We Will Examining some of the vast body of

research indicating that early literacy impacts achievement.

See how building effective school-family-community partnerships helps more young children build literacy skills.

Show how NNPS provides a structure to build these partnerships and view examples from the network.

See how Starting Point helps sites in their program build effective school-family-community partnerships focusing on early learning and literacy.

See how a thematic approach helps sites structure their work.

See how community partners share resources that help sites.

Strong longitudinal studies with case and control groups shows that children in high-quality preschool, including children in economically-stressed families and communities:

Did better in school

Were less likely to be assigned to special education

Were more likely to graduate high school

Were more likely to be employed

Had fewer juvenile and adult arrests

Demonstrated more positive adult behaviors

Studies also indicate that effects of preschool education are stronger if educators engage families and communities in readiness activities.

For example, it is well documented that 2 and 3 year olds in families with low incomes have

about half the number of words in their vocabularies and hear fewer words each day than do

children from economically-advantaged families.

In high-quality preschools, teachers help guide students to learn new words and guide parents

how to help their young child at home.

When involved at the pre-school level, parents are more likely to continue to be involved as

their children proceed through the grades.

Framework of Six Types of Involvement

Action Team for Partnerships

One-Year Action Plan for Partnerships

Evaluation

Primary Components of the

NNPS Model

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Keys to School, Family, and Community Partnerships

EPSTEIN’s FRAMEWORK OF SIX TYPES OF INVOLVEMENT

PARENTINGUnderstand child development. Educators know families.

COMMUNICATINGTWO-WAY connections about school programs

and children’s progress.

VOLUNTEERINGAt school, in class, at home, and as audiences.

LEARNING AT HOMEConnections on homework, course choices, other talents.

DECISION MAKINGAll major groups represented on school committees.

COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITYResources and volunteers from many groups, agencies.

From community and FOR the community.

Type 1

Type 2

Type 6

Type 5

Type 4

Type 3

Type 1

PARENTINGBasic Responsibilities of Families

Housing, health, nutrition, clothing, safety

Parenting skills for all age levels

Home conditions that support children as students at all grade levels

Information and activities to help schools understand children and families

Pre-K Parent Breakfast

Bell City School Bell City, LA

Type 2

COMMUNICATINGBasic Responsibilities of Schools

SCHOOL-TO-HOME

Memos, notices, report cards, conferences, newsletters, phone calls, computerized messages, e-mail, websites

HOME-TO-SCHOOL

Two-way channels of communication for questions and interactions

Fridays With the Principal

Captain Gray Learning Center

Pasco, WA

Type 3

VOLUNTEERING

VOLUNTEERS

In school or classroom

For school or classroom

AUDIENCES

Attend assemblies, performances, sports events, recognition, and award ceremonies, celebrations, and other events

Dads and Kids at the Gym

Superior Elementary School

East Cleveland City Schools, OH

Type 4

LEARNING AT HOMEInvolvement in Academic Activities

INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES ON…

How to help at home with homework

Required skills to pass each subject

Curriculum-related decisions

Other skills and talents

Kindergarten Boot Camp

Alicia Cortez El School

Chino, CA

Type 5

DECISION MAKINGParticipation and Leadership

Advisory groups

School-Based Management Team

Action Team for Partnerships

PTA/PTO

Other school or district committees

Independent school advisory groups

Dudes & Donuts

Cleveland Children’s Daycare Academy

Parma, OH

Type 6

COLLABORATING WITH THE COMMUNITY

Community contributes to the school, students, and families:

Business partners

Cultural and recreational groups

Senior citizen organizations

Other groups and programs

School, students, and families contribute to the community

Ann Reid Ducklings Recycle

Ann Reid Early Childhood Center

Naperville, IL

Your Turn

How have you seen the Six Types of Involvement activated in your

school(s) or district that matter for student success?

Share one activity that you really liked with your neighbor

and ask your neighbor what type it illustrated. Then switch.

Did you hear an example that you would like to adopt or adapt?

SamplerImprove Family and Community Involvement

In Preschools

I’m getting started. I’m on my way.

Like the big kids, I’m going to school today.

In partnership, teachers and parents are on a mission,

To “ready” preschoolers for the next school transition.

From your view how do you think building school-family-community

partnerships helps young children to be more successful?

Quickly list the first 3 ideas that come to mind.

Read your list. Circle the one that you think is the most critical.

Share that one with your elbow neighbor.

Action Team for Partnerships

Who are the members?

What does the team do?

How does the team support student achievement?

Members of the ATP work

together to review school

goals; select, design,

implement, and evaluate

partnership activities; and

improve partnership

practices from year to

year.Members of the 2017 award winning

Brooklyn City Schools Preschool

Brooklyn, OH

Members of the Action Team for Partnerships

Who Should Be On Your Team?

• 2-3 teachers or more - including at least one early childhood teacher

• 2-3 parents/family members or more including at least one parent of an early childhood student

• 1 administrator (principal or assistant principal)

• 1-3 other members (nurse, counselor, community partners)

The Action Plan for Partnerships

Teams write a 4 page plan – one page for each goal.

The goals come directly from the School Improvement Plan. The activities are like we have heard from the six types of involvement.

Without goals and plans to reach them,

you are like a ship that has set sail with

no destination.

F. Dodson

Action Team for Partnerships: Focus on Goals

School Improvement Team

ACTION TEAM for

PARTNERSHIPS

Improve Reading

PRACTICES from SIX TYPESto meet this goal

Create a Climatefor Partnerships

PRACTICES from SIX TYPESto meet this goal

Improve Student

Behavior

PRACTICES from SIX TYPESto meet this goal

Improve Math

PRACTICES from SIX TYPESto meet this goal

Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L. et al. (2009).

School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Third Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Academic goal Academic goal Non-Academic goal Partnership goal

Steps to Success with the NNPS Model

Create a team

Write a plan linked to learning goals

Share your plan with your staff

Implement your activity

Evaluate your activity to continually improve

Catherine ThomasFamily Engagement Coordinator Cuyahoga County Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Starting Point

How our Organization Works

Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) is an award-winning initiative administered by Invest in Children in Cuyahoga County to help preschool children ages 3-5 have access to a high quality pre-kindergarten program.

We are an Organization that works” like a School District”.

Our organization works “LIKE A DISTRICT” by assisting many schools to organize, implement, evaluate, and sustain their programs of school, family, and community partnerships.

How our Organization Works

UPK began in 2007 with 24 sites.

Public preschools, private pre-schools, head start programs and family child care homes

Researched based curriculum, increased teacher qualifications and lower staff ratios

Enhanced Family Engagement and family linkages to supportive services

How our Organization Works

UPK has expanded over the past eleven years!

Currently we are serving up to 4,900 children in 67 sites throughout Cuyahoga County that were selected via a competitive Request for Proposal process.

UPK 1.0- 30 Sites

UPK 2.0- 37 Sites

Expansion began in 2017 and includes enhanced FamilyEngagement!

What is Invest in Children?

Invest in Children(IIC) is a community wide public/private partnership of individual organizations working together to help increase the development, funding, visibility and impact on early childhood services in Cuyahoga County.

Goals of IIC

Goal 1: Effective Parents and Children

Goal 2: Safe and Healthy Children

Goal 3: Children Prepared for School

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Starting Point

Starting Point is the lead agency for Invest in Children’s Goal 3: Children Prepared for School

Invest in Children partners with Starting Point to provide Training and Technical Assistance to all UPK Programs

Starting Point is Northeast Ohio’s Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, serving families, early childhood professionals and the community

Starting Point links families with child care services, increases the supply of child care and improves the quality of child care

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UPK Family Engagement

UPK became a member of the National Network of Partnership Schools in 2007.

As the Family Engagement Coordinator, my duties include:

Providing training and technical assistance to staff from the UPK sites

Overseeing the work of the action teams at each UPK site

Acting as the liaison between NNPS and UPK staff

Choosing a theme each year to help guide the work of the action teams

Taking the Thematic Approach

Why Use Themes? Helps to give the action teams focus

Generates ideas for action plan activities

Way to organize activities around a key concept

How the use of themes came about in UPK? Recognized the need for male involvement at the UPK sites

Desire to create excitement around getting fathers/male role models involved

How do we choose themes? Survey goes out to action teams each year requesting suggestions

Family Engagement Coordinator tallies the votes and creates a catchy name for the theme

Family Engagement Themes

Involving Fathers in Partnership- Award Winning Practice!

Family Literacy

Healthy Bodies/Healthy Minds-Award Winning Practice!

Learning Through the Arts-Award Winning Practice!

Celebrating Diversity

Full STEAM Ahead with UPK-Award Winning Practice!

3 R’s of Social Emotional Development(Respectful, Resilient and Ready to Learn)

Learning on the Go-Award Winning Practice!

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Linking Themes to Early Learning and Literacy

Family Literacy

Parents are children’s first and most important teachers

Learning occurs beyond the Early Childhood Education setting

Learning is a lifelong process

Emphasis on caregivers reading to children daily

Literacy activities occur naturally during daily routines

Family Literacy Action Plan activities

Take home literacy backpacks

Lending libraries on site

Incentives for families reading a certain number of books

Take home projects

Linking Themes to Early Learning and Literacy

Learning Through the Arts

NNPS Award winning practice!

Grant funded programming for UPK Families

Families created murals at each UPK site with artists from the Center for Arts Inspired Learning

University Circle event

Learning Through the Arts action plan activities

Family craft night

Fieldtrips to various theatrical and musical performances

Family dance classes

Father’s/male role models came into classrooms to teach music

Linking Themes to Early Learning and Literacy

Full STEAM Ahead with UPK

NNPS Award winning practice!

Children’s Museum of Cleveland’s math stations activity

Center for Arts Inspired Learning’s Math and Movement activity

End of the year celebration held at the Great Lakes Science Center

Science, Technology, Engineering , Arts and Technology Action plan activities

Monthly math and science activity sheets sent home

Family Math and Science Fairs on site

Technology themed open house

Family Board Game Night

Community Partners

Center for Arts Inspired Learning

Children’s Museum of Cleveland

Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland MetroParks Zoo

Cuyahoga County Fatherhood Initiative

Cuyahoga County Library

The Great Lakes Science Center

Building Best Practice

Tips for implementing themes:

Action Team buy-in is essential

Themes carry over from one year to the next

One activity on the action plan can encompass multiple themes

This work cannot be done without the help of administrators, teachers, parents and community partners

You can help your school be a partnership school

NNPS can help!

Strong Partnerships = Strong Relationships

Knowing is not enough; we must

apply.

Willing is not enough; we must do.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What Is Your Next Step?

What will you do at your site or with district schools to build partnerships with families of your young children?

Did you have an ah-ha moment during this workshop that will help you in your work?

What are 2 actions you can do right away to build these partnerships?

UnityAuthor Unknown

Partnerships

Matter

Thank you so much!

Catherine Thomas

Family Engagement Coordinator

Cuyahoga County Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Starting Point

catherine.thomas@starting-point.org

216-575-0061

Marsha GreenfeldSenior Program Facilitator National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS)

mgreenfeld@jhu.edu410-516-4193