Family-School Partnerships

March 19, 2011

Topics to Cover• Who we are• National PTA Parent Involvement

Schools of Excellence• PASSport• Three For Me• School-wide Anti Bully Program • Bereavement Materials

Core Values

• Fishkill Elementary School understands that engaging parents in the education process is essential to improved academic success for students.

• It further recognizes that a child’s education is a responsibility shared by the school and the family during the entire time a child attends school.

What we are about

• Park egos at the door• Educating everyone• Improving on how we support children and their families

• Serving the needs of all children – Especially the ones without a voice.

Fishkill ElementaryWho we are

Enrollment: 511 studentsPTA memberships: Over the last three (3) years 100% of our faculty and staff have joined the PTA.

Quotes• A good teacher is like a candle - it

consumes itself to light the way for others.  ~Author Unknown

• Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories.  ~John Wilmot

• Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.  ~Robert Fulghum

National PTA Parent Involvement

Schools of Excellence

National PTA Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence

• Our journey took several years• Viewed as an opportunity to

better serve the needs of the students and their families

Assessment for Schools to Evaluate Parent/Family

Involvement• Standard I: Communicating• Standard II: Parenting• Standard III: Student Learning• Standard IV: Volunteering• Standard V: School Decision Making

and Advocacy• Standard VI: Collaborating with

Community

Communicating

• Newsletters- “Gone Green”• Fishspeak

– Educational terms for parents

Communication• Communication between home and

school needs to be regular, two-way, and meaningful.

• The main focus of Fishkill Elementary School is to meet the needs of each student. For that to happen it is essential that every effort be made to foster communications between home and school.

Student Learning

Teachers

at home.

                                  

           

Parents have the potential to be “learning facilitators”—

Parents have the potential to be “learning facilitators”—

PASSport

Improvement in education…

Improvement in education…

…starts in our homes and neighborhoods.

…starts in our homes and neighborhoods.

• PASS calls for stronger partnerships between parents and teachers.

• PASS reinforces the power of parents.

• PASS encourages parents to learn skills to teach children study habits at home.

• PASS helps parents believe that they can influence how well their children do in school.

• PASS calls for stronger partnerships between parents and teachers.

• PASS reinforces the power of parents.

• PASS encourages parents to learn skills to teach children study habits at home.

• PASS helps parents believe that they can influence how well their children do in school.

A parentis the

brightest star in a child’s

small constellation.

A parentis the

brightest star in a child’s

small constellation.

PASSportModules

– Module 1: Parent: The Critical Link– Module 2: The Home Environment– Module 3: Study Skills – Module 4: Homework and Learning

Expediters– Module 5: Note-Taking Skills– Module 6: Preparing for Tests– Module 7: Memory and Thinking Skills– Module 8: Teaching Reading Skills

PASSport 2010-11

• Began with our building’s Shared Decision Making Committee

• Assigned committee members to study a Module

• Task was to learn one of the Modules and then present it to the committee

PASSport 2010-11

• Next we decided which Module would be presented to our parents

• As a committee we chose Modules I and II and did our first presentation on December 6, 2010.

• We surveyed parents to find out which Module they wanted to see next.

PASSport 2010-11• Before the school year ends

will be doing the following related to PASSport:– Design and present on more

parent training– Evaluate the progress we made

this year– Develop plans for 2011-12

Volunteering/Collaborating with the Community

What is Three for Me?

• Three for Me is a promise… a promise to our children and to our school! It is a promise to volunteer three hours of your time during the course of the year, at or on behalf of the school. If you have more than one child at our school, a commitment of three hours per family is all that is asked.

What counts towards my Three for Me promise?

• There are numerous volunteer opportunities throughout the school year which will fulfill your commitment.

• There is not enough room to list them here but some examples are: H.U.G.S. Day, Parents as Reading Partners (PARP), chaperoning field trips, special projects in the classroom, collating materials at home, etc.

• Throughout the school year volunteers will be notified via notes from teachers and through the PTA newsletter and website of upcoming opportunities to fulfill your hours.

How can I volunteer?

• Please let us know what volunteering opportunities you would be interested in by completing the attached form and returning it to school with your child.

Who tracks the three hours?

• The system of tracking hours is an honor system. Your hours can be completed in any time increments of your choice (i.e., one three hour period, six half-hour periods, etc.) Every family is responsible to track their own hours and to notify us when the promise has been fulfilled. Just send us an email or drop us a note. Should you have any questions regarding the Three for Me program, please feel free to contact us by email.

WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED?• Are you looking for a way to be a

bigger part of your child's world? –• One way to accomplish this is to

volunteer at your child’s school. • Your participation in school

activities demonstrates an active interest in your child's studies -- a major boost to his/her self esteem.

WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED?

• Academic abilities may also improve as a result of your increased involvement in your child's school life.

WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED?

• By offering some of your time to the school, and by interacting with teachers, administrators, and other parents on a regular basis, you can gain a first-hand understanding of your child's daily activities and some insight into the trends and fads of school life that will help you communicate with your child as he or she grows and changes (all without intruding on your child's privacy or personal space).

WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED?

• Even if you haven't been involved in the past, it's never too late to start…..MAKE THE PROMISE!

• A little volunteering goes a long way!

How can I volunteer?

• Please let us know what volunteering opportunities you would be interested in by completing the attached form and returning it to school with your child.

Volunteering• Our goal is to get parents to

volunteer three (3) hours in a variety of different capacitates.

• Three for ME hours are tacked• If parents earn their three (3)

hours prior to the winter recess we provide a movie night for the children so they can get out.

Volunteering continued . . .• An end-of-year picnic is held

for those families that have completed their three (3) hours

• Ways parents can volunteer. . .

Parenting Practices That Work!

Being a parent is hard work. Sometimes weget so caught up in the daily grind that weforget to keep an eye on the big picture,on the larger concepts that can guide uswith grace and wisdom through those dayswhen the details seem to blind us toeverything else.

Parenting Practices That Work!

Just remember this:• The parent is the manager of the family.

As a manager, you will make some decisions that your child likes a lot, and some that your child will not like at all.

• Parenting is not a popularity contest. A parent cannot do nor should not do everything to please a child.

• Parents have rights, too.

Parenting Practices That Work!

• It is natural that there will be times of misunderstanding and strain between parent and child.

• To repair a relationship after difficulties: Be honest with your feelings. Explain your needs. Apologize if necessary. Determine optimistic and pleasant goals together backed by plans to reach those goals.

Parenting Practices That Work!

• Children do best when parents act:– Self-assured Follow through. Are

consistent. Model self-discipline and self-esteem.

Shared Decision Making

Bucket Book

By Carol McCloud Illustrated by David Messing

Anti-Bullying Program

Monthly themesFebruary 2011- Me Shirts

- I Love My Hair, by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley

•T-shirts- What I like about myself?•Keep in school

• March 2011– Celebrating Heritage

Monthly themes continued

• April 2011– Bring small rays of sunshine in

people’s life• May 2011

– Keep it cool when temperatures get hot

• June 2011– Showing thanks for people you

care about

Pledge

• I am ready to respect myself• I am ready to respect others• I am ready to learn • I am ready to have a great day

Why Bereavement Materials

• Several years ago, as a school, several students experienced the loss of a parent. A group of dedicated staff members collaborated in creating a Memory Book.

Bereavement Materials

• Purpose is to provide students and their families a Memory Book of a love one that has passed away.

• Developed by a group of teachers with parent input.

Sample pages of Bereavement Book

• My favorite memory• A HAPPY memory• My special person died because. . .• Sometimes I get angry because. . .• I feel frightened when. . .• I worry A LOT about• Everyone has lots of different

feelings. They are ALL ok! Feelings change.

Family-School Partnerships: Hearst Awards

• To better celebrate PTAs for implementing the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships, the Phoebe Apperson Hearst–National PTA Excellence in Education Partnership Award and Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence Certification have merged to create three new levels of recognition.

• Outstanding Family-School Partnership AwardFor exemplary implementation of the National Standards, one PTA will receive a monetary award of $2,000. Family-School Partnership Award of Excellence

• For representing the best in one of the six National Standards, six PTAs will each receive a monetary award of $500. Family-School Partnership Award of Merit

• For demonstrating commitment to building partnerships, all PTAs that apply will receive a certificate of recognition.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

•All accomplishments are achieved by no one person

• If our school succeeds we all succeed

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• “Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% your attitude toward it.”- Joseph R. Novello

To conclude“One hundred years from

now. . . It will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I live in, or the kind of car I drove. But. . . the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”