ISLLC Standard IV: A school adminstrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources. The administrator facilitates processes and engages in activities ensuring that available community resources are secured to help the school solve problems and achieve goals.
Name/Situation: "Won't you be my neighbor?"
Problem:Need to utilize community support to provide resources.
Key Issues/Questions:
1. How do you identify community resources?
2. Should community resources be solicited?
3. What information is needed to solicit resources?
Introduction:
Parent involvement surveys completed at school family nights and during parent conferences indicate that parents do not feel comfortable assisting students with schoolwork. In addition, they do not currently have needed materials and resources. The community served by the school is composed of significant levels of low-income housing and low SES families. Many of the parents in the community do not have a high school diploma.
The parent involvement coordinator has identified a local company that provides educational grants for schools. This project would not only allow the school to receive necessary funds for implementing projects but would also help build a school/community partnership. Community involvement is viewed as a critical element of school success.
The parent involvement coordinator, school counselor, and assistant principal are willing to write a grant seeking funding for parent involvement activities which would provide training and resources for parents in order to assist them in supporting their children's educational experience. One concern of the grant writing committee is how they will identify the area of concern in which funds will be utilized.
Analysis and Solution:
An appropriate response to this situation called for the administrator to first contact county office personnel in order to determine the procedures for grant applications. Once these procedures were determined, the administrator met with her principal's instructional committee and advisory committee in order to determine what the focus of the funding should be. These discussions led to an aggreement that the grant writing committee should focus on two areas: 1) the development of a parent resource room which would make materials and resources available to parents at no cost and 2) providing training for parents which would enable them to develop the skills needed to assist their children with academic tasks.
The grant writing committee used these two focuses of concern to complete a grant application. In addition, it was felt that parent testimonials would strengthen the application process. Therefore, parents were asked to appear on video tape sharing how they think the parent resource room and training would help them and their family. Finally, the company that sponsors the grant was invited to tour the facility and talk with students, parents and teachers about the school.
Response to Questions:
Community resources are identified through a variety of means. Most recently, school/community partnerships in education have provided schools with opportunities to better the educational experience for all students. Administrators must proactively seek community resources by researching local businesses and community agencies. Community resources are critical in providing quality services and programs for schools. However, it is important that administrators understand the rules and regulations which govern the solicitation of community resources. Most local school boards have clear policies and procedures which dictate how funds are solicited. In addition, many systems have designated personnel who can assist the administrator in this process.
Evaluation:
A rudimentary response to this scenario might involve the administrator's acknowledgement of the need for more parental and community involvement but failure to identify involvement activities which positively impact student achievement. For example, many times parents and community volunteers are sought to assist with clerical duties, fall festivals, fundrasiers, etc. While these activities are important in the life of the school, they do not provide parents and community members with the opportunity to directly impact student achievement.
When parental and community involvement is limited to the activities listed above, parents and community members may build social relationships but they are not strengthening the overall education program of the school. A rudimentary response means that the administrator is not assessing the full long-term impact of parental and community involvement and all of its ramifications.
The response above is a developing response because it indicates that the administrator is developing their skills and beginning to show evidence that they are aware of the need to provide opportunities for students and families which positively impact student learning. The administrator must consider two critical points: 1) Current legislation such as that of the 2001 "No Child Left Behind" demands that all activities be assessed in regards to how they impact academic achievement. Therefore, even parental involvement activities must be assessed from the viewpoint of how this involvement will positively impact the academic success of students. 2) The success of the school is correlated to the level of community support and involvement. Therefore, community resources should be solicited regularly in order to strengthen the educational environment.
Guidelines:
1. Parents play a critical role in a child's education.
2. The community and school have a reciprocal relationship.
3. Community resources should serve as partnerships for successful schools.