How does Don't Shoot work in schools?

Early this Summer, I approached District 150 about instituting this program, which has been proven to increase parental/citizen involvement in schools. The Program is similar to the Morton 709 Connect Program.

The Board President didn't respond to my e-mail. However, when the Superintendent finally discussed it with another person who approached her with it, she declined. Why? Because The District had enough on their plate and they felt it was more important to focus on the Don't Shoot effort that the City of Peoria was instituting.

This morning, I heard on the scanner chaos and fighting in the lunchroom foyer at Peoria High School.  This past Friday, a group of alleged gang members disrupted the Manual Central Basketball game and were taken into custody. Parents and citizens have questions about how and/or why discipline is and/or is not meted out to teachers and students. And in 2013, citizens are being asked to vote YES on The District increasing taxes.

This morning, a couple of mothers of "gang" members reached out to me to inquire about the next Don't Shoot meeting - they want to attend. They have questions about how students are being rounded up and accused. Unfortunately I didn't have any information for them, so I referred them to the Don't Shoot website, which doesn't show any up coming informational events.

Considering we are dealing with school age children here, shouldn't there be a parent component to Don't Shoot, actively working in the schools? You know, some kind of formal effort before a parent of a "gang" member finds themselves down at the police station.

This question is to the teachers who read this blog: What exactly does Don't Shoot look like inside your school building? I already know you all had assemblies for the students; these students did a video and The District had a poster contest. What else is there; AND more importantly, how well is it going to work if  parents aren't being included?

Poster contest winners (click image to enlarge).

Title 1 helps give every parent a voice in their child's education

I have been watching closely as President Obama reviews NCLB and makes revisions. The part I am particularly concerned about is Title 1 as it relates to parental involvement. So far, he has left it alone and I am hopeful that he will continue to be hands off, because it has several components that could actually give schools some help in making a difference in increasing parental involvement.

ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS (for NCLB accountability purposes, charter schools are treated like all other public schools, as they are public schools) are required to have Title I services that include meaningful parental involvement policies (agreed upon by a parental advisory group) and school practices that lead to increased student achievement. I personally believe that development of parental advisory groups are important in urban (inner city) schools, because middle class parents are usually in governance roles (e.g. PTO), even though the larger population is low-income parents, who for what ever reason, are more than likely not inclined to be members of a school's PTO.

State: Channing violates federal parental involvement law

ELGIN — Channing Memorial Elementary School in Elgin is in violation of the parent involvement requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

ISBE’s findings were presented to the Elgin School District U46 Board of Education by Channing parent Krista Badani at Monday night’s regular board meeting.

Badani, of Elgin, is one of 59 parents who filed a complaint with ISBE in February that the school was not involving parents, a requirement to receive federal Title I funds. That was after “parents did everything within our means to bring attention to the problems and get the district to comply with these federal guidelines,” she said.

They joined the U46 Citizens Advisory Council’s Committee for Family and Community Engagement; spoke to the district’s director of communication, chief of family and community engagement and school board; and sent emails and copies of Title I requirements for parent involvement to Gonzalez and U46 Superintendent Jose Torres. They also met with officials from the Kane County Regional Office of Education and sought guidance from ISBE, according to Badani.

“What astounds us most is that even when parents follow protocol and the chain of command, remain polite, and bring forth data and evidence of wrongdoing, this administration and the school board continue to fail by their inaction. … Somehow along the way, the administration has forgotten that this is about what is best for the children and families at Channing, the lowest-performing school in the district,” she said.

Knew about concerns - Torres admitted Monday, “We had heard concerns about Title I parent involvement. We believed they had been addressed.”

No Child Left Behind makes Title I funding available to provide supplemental instructional services for specific students — or entire schools — who have been identified as failing, or most at risk of failing, to met state standards, according to the ISBE website.

And it agreed with parents Channing is in violation of No Child Left Behind by not having a parent involvement policy, a parent-school compact developed with parents or Title I meetings.

30-day deadline - Those findings give the school and district 30 days to ensure parents are part of the school support team, develop a written parental involvement policy with parents and revise its parent-school compact to include input from parents. The document also gives U46 three months to prove a Title I meeting was held at the school and that parents were involved.

Gonzalez took a leave of absence from the school in February, and U46 announced he would not return as principal in mid-March. The district has declined to comment on the reason for his leave and said he has asked to be reassigned to a classroom for next school year. Badani said parents have not gotten a response from the district about Title I funds, but it has met with Stewart.

“She, in turn, has shown us that she is indeed excited to work with families to achieve great things at our school,” she said. “We are confident that together, with her leadership and actions, we will get there.” Source

Four Myths of Parent Involvement in Schools

There are many ways for parents to be “involved” in their child’s education. Some parents join the PTO; other parents bake cookies for classroom parties. Some parents volunteer to read to children in the classroom; other parents read to their child at home. If a child is showing up for school each day ready to learn, more than likely, you have a parent (or guardian) “involved” in that child’s education. Finding ways to be "involved" become even more abstract when the child is in high school.

The National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) has combed through research to learn how parents can help improve their children’s achievement. The Center, which focuses on finding and sharing research-based information people need to design initiatives and take action to make connections among schools, families, and communities, responds to four misconceptions of parent involvement in schools.

Myth #1: As a parent, the best way to get involved in my child’s education is by joining the local parents’ organization.

Parents who are dues-paying members of their children’s school PTA are supporting the oldest and largest child advocacy organization in the United States. But being a member alone doesn’t ensure effective involvement in a child’s learning. To support achievement, research suggests the most effective parental involvement focuses on learning activities—reading to children, letting them figure prices at the grocery store or setting aside time and space to do homework and projects. There are benefits in joining an organization like the PTA or PTO, such as the opportunity to share experiences and information with other parents and access to PTA resources. Just the same, parents can provide the support needed at home for their children to be successful in school without joining a local parent organization.

Myth #2: The teacher is the sole expert in educating a child, so a parent should never question a teacher or staff on school-related issues.

Teachers and parents or family caregivers play different roles in a child’s education. And a good relationship between a teacher and a parent, based on mutual respect and trust, benefits students. At times, parents may need to ask a teacher or school staff member for clarification about a specific issue or information. Parents should contact their children’s teachers or other school staff when they have questions about their children’s education. Most school staff members begin to see parents as partners when they know they will ask questions when information is unclear.

Myth #3: The influence of parent involvement on school achievement depends on the parents’ income, level of education, and employment status.

A large body of research confirms that family involvement in children’s school experiences has a positive effect on children’s attitudes toward achievement in school, regardless of how much money parents have or how many years of school they completed. More important is the parents’ attitude toward learning. Working parents may not have much time to be involveed at their children’s schools, but they can show how much they value education and take an active interest in what their children are learning.

Myth #4: The key actors in parent involvement are the teacher, parents or family, and the student.

Meaningful and successful parent involvement is not limited to partnerships between parents and teachers. Parents and family caregivers should think of the following educators and decision makers as participants in their children’s educations—teachers, the principal, the school board, the superintendent, and public officials. Parents can influence school board members and public officials by participating in meetings, voting, and engaging in discussions of education matters and child advocacy issues.

Source: SEDL is an Austin-based nonprofit corporation that operates research, development, and dissemination programs focused on improving school performance; strengthening reading, language, mathematics, and science education; integrating technology into teaching and learning; involving family and community in student learning; connecting disability research to practice; and informing policy development through research.