Six Types Family/School/Community Partnerships Decision MakingType 5

1
Six Types Family/School/Community Partnerships
Decision Making Type 5

• Based on the work of Joyce Epstein,
• Johns Hopkins University Baltimore Maryland
• PowerPoint presentation by Parents Plus Inc.

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Decision Making Type 5

• Include families as participants in school
  decisions, and develop parent leaders and
  representatives.

3
Sample Practice Type 5

• Having an active PTA/PTO or other parent
  organizations, advisory councils, or committees
  (e.g., curriculum, safety, personnel) for parent
  leadership and participation.

4
Sample Practice Type 5

• Having an action team for family/school/community
  partnerships to oversee the development of the
  schools program with practices for all six types
  of involvement.

5
Sample Practice Type 5

• District-level advisory councils and committees.
• Information on school or local elections for
  school representatives.
• Networks to link all families with parent
  representatives.
• Independent advocacy groups to lobby for school
  reform and improvements.

6
Challenges Type 5
Include parent leaders from all racial, ethnic,
socioeconomic, and other groups in the school.

7
Challenges Type 5
Offer training to enable parent leaders to
develop skills to serve as representatives of
other families.
8
Challenges Type 5

• Include student representatives along with
  parents in decision-making groups.

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Redefine decision making Type 5

• Decision Making means a process of partnership,
  of shared views and actions toward shared goals,
  not just a power struggle between conflicting
  ideas.

10
Redefine parent leader Type 5

• Parent leader means a representative who shares
  information with and obtains ideas from other
  families and community members, not just a parent
  who attends school meetings.

11
Results for Students
Results for Parents
Results for Teachers

• Awareness of representation of families in school
  decisions.
• Understanding that student rights are protected.
• Specific benefits linked to policies enacted by
  parent organizations.

• Input into policies that affect childrens
  education.
• Feeling of ownership of school.
• Awareness of parents voices in school decisions.
• Shared experiences and connections with other
  families.
• Awareness of school, district, and state policies.

• Awareness of perspectives of families in policy
  development and school decisions.
• Acceptance of equality of family representatives
  on school committees and in leadership roles.