School Involvement Identification Report

As a student at my school I have been able create a positive impact in my school and community, by being the president of my class, a freshman mentor, a member of Peer Jury, I’m also a part of Students Organised Against Racism (SOAR), and serve as a student representative for my district's Curriculum Standards for School Improvement (CSSI) Committee.

W. Edwars Deming, American engineer and management consultant, wrote “a bad system will beat a good person every time.” This quote demonstrates the necessity for a school administrator to establish a school culture that is inviting and characterized by collaboration. In order to intentionally create a welcoming and collaborative school climate, clear, frequent, and inclusive communication is fundamental. Families, staff, and community members should be afforded the opportunity to become involved in enhancing student learning, the decision making processes of the school, and meaningful school-based activities. Opening the lines of communication about possible involvement at a school promotes a good system, in which good people can thrive.

I want to be able to help my school community, and allow new students coming into the

I conduct and facilitate monthly Parent Advisory Committee meetings, PAC. During this meetings parents receive information regarding student academic support, improving parental skills, and how to improve school/home involvement. At the same time, I assist parents in formulating educational goals for

(Bredekamp, 2009). I will show the parent that we can be in harmony in the program and with the family’s values. I need to take away the feeling that I am right and they are wrong and I need to see that neither one of us are right or wrong. I need to see that we are learning and trying to help their child to grow, learn and develop. (Bredekamp, 2009). The role of our local community is to provide a physical, emotional, and cognitive environment that helps in the development and learning of the child. We with community will build a foundation that is consistent, positive, and caring relationships with adults and children. (Bredekamp, 2009). We will build that relationship with teachers and children and families and teachers. We as community it is our responsibility to contribute to the well-being and learning of the child. I will get the child involved in the community and their families because it helps them to learn about themselves and the world around them. The community involved in my school helps children respect and be able to acknowledge their differences. I as a teacher will develop responsibility and help with self-regulation with the

Schooling involves numerous activities involving the learners, teachers, and the parents. Each of these groups often has distinct practices. For the teachers, one of their practices in schools is tracking of the students, a practice that has been there since time immemorial. It is an old practice and one deemed necessary by the school administration and other parties, especially the parents. Jeannie Oakes defines tracking as the division of students into distinct classes for high, average, and low achievers. In other cases, the students are grouped as fast, average, or slow. Whichever the case, tracking implies the practice of grouping the students depending primarily on their academic performance and

It is necessary for families to be closely involved in order for the students to achieve the highest level of education. Education should not only occur in school but also at home. Practice makes perfect. When parents and families get involved in education, their children do better in school and grow up to be more successful in life. I will make it a priority to involve families in fund raisers, bake sales, and bring a parent to school day and other appropriate school functions. As a teacher I will take it upon myself to keep in contact with every parent and encourage further

My school is full of talented, diligent, intelligent individuals. My school offers all students opportunities associate with many activities. I am a part of the marching band, concert band,Student Ambassadors, Activities Planning Board, fashion club, former member of the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and recently invited to become a member of the National Society of High School Scholars. Being so involved, I am able to gain knowledge on what our school needs to do to provide every child with an exceptional high school experience. It would be an exceptional experience to be able to work in teams with other young adults and be able to brainstorm ideas and to give better opportunities for my peers, dealing with college and other important

Participating in the community more deeply will provide me with the opportunity to nurture a partnership with parents, students, and non-profits and better understand how the school and non-school factors contribute to academic achievement. Having this understanding helps a teacher alter their instructional practices in the classroom to meet students’ needs. Community engagement with after-school programs also allows teachers to build relationships with parents and students to motivate them to achieve academic success. More importantly, it will create an opportunity to experience how effective collaboration between teachers, students, parents, and non-profits can drive academic and behavioral success in school in a way that cannot be learned in a lecture-style graduate-level class.

I currently serve my school community outside of the classroom by participating in the Measures of Student Learning committee, Building Response Team, Positive Behavior Intervention Services committee, Professional Learning Communities and back up arrival and dismissal coordinator. My role in each of these groups has helped me learn more about the needs of the school beyond my classroom. I am continuously inspired to do more to make positive changes for the students. In addition to my classroom and committee support, I am now looking to expand my support to paraprofessionals, teachers and the principal.

Parent, family, and community involvement means different things to different people. A research-based framework,6 developed by Joyce Epstein of Johns Hopkins University, describes six types of involvement— parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community—that offer a broad range of school, family, and community activities that can engage all parties and help meet student needs. Successful school-parent community partnerships are not stand-alone projects or add-on programs but are well integrated with the school’s overall mission and goals. Research and fieldwork show that parent-school-partnerships improve schools, strengthen families, build community support, and increase student achievement and success. (NEA Education Policy and Practice Department,

One of my biggest contribution as a teacher at Carver Dual Language is my involvement in our parent community events. I have always been a big advocate of creating parent involvement in our school. When I worked for Citizen Schools in Oakland, CA, I worked a lot with our teachers and Citizen Schools fellow to create family events and bring in resources to our school for our families. Through Citizen Schools, I was put in charge of running our Family Fellows program for Citizen Schools in California. I worked with our fellows to better support them in their role. When I moved to Kansas City and started working for Kansas City LINC (Local Investment Commission), I continued my work with families. During the school year 2012-13, I worked with Whitter’s Elementary parent liaison to create events

The school is an alternative education school for students who are over age and under credited. So, they are a population of students who have continually struggled with their academics and overall school experience. Henderson at el 2007, helps me reflect on the things needed in order to make parents an intricate part of the school climate. In the four levels of achievement, Partnership School, Open-Door School, Come -if-We- Call School and Fortress School it was hard to pin point which one of these were in my current school as they had a few components of each check box. Unfortunately, in reviewing each of these checked boxes my current school would fall in the below basic category of parent involvement. In working to create these partnerships it is important to have beliefs a school is a treasured place in the community a place where all can come together. (Henderson, et al

Scully, Barbour and Roberts-King (2014) detail the essential need for collaboration with families and communities and strategies to use when working with families. The authors highlight the influence that family and school collaboration has on the students and the school community, and the diverse ways that they can get involved in school events and creating community with the other parents. In establishing positive communication schools must develop welcoming and available environments to form comfortable contact.

Involving the community in education supports the development of a healthy local economy, brightens the future, and increases the quality of life (Family Involvement Partnership for Learning, 1995). Encouraging parental involvement leads to increased student achievement and social skills, decreases high school dropout rates, and encourages higher education (Family Involvement Partnership for Learning, 1995). Educators should plan to include community resources in the classroom, considering their input, results for the students, and availability. Thus, the first part of this paper explores four different community resources who may have a connection to schools while the second focuses on the implementation of one