How can we partner with our communities to improve school programs and increase students' success? This current era of high stakes testing, accountability, and shrinking educational budgets demands that schools seek bold and innovative ways to build strong learning environments for all students. Community involvement is a powerful tool in generating resources that are essential for educational excellence. Building School-Community Partnerships: Collaboration for Student Success emphasizes the importance of community involvement for effective school functioning, student support and well-being, and community health and development. This sharp, insightful book serves as an excellent resource for educators seeking to establish school-community partnerships to achieve goals for their schools and the students, families, and communities they serve. Schools can collaborate with a wide variety of community partners to obtain the resources they need to achieve important goals for students' learning. Some of these partners may include: Businesses and corporations Universities and other institutions of higher learning National and local volunteer organizations Social service agencies and health partners Faith-based organizations and institutions Work successfully with community partners to improve school programs and curricula, strengthen families, and expand your students' learning experiences!
Mavis G. Sanders is assistant professor of education in the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education, research scientist at the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR), and senior advisor to the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of many articles on the effects of school, fam-ily, and community support on African American adolescents' school suc-cess, the impact of partnership programs on the quality of family and community involvement, and international research on partnerships. She is interested in how schools involve families that are traditionally hard to reach, how schools meet challenges for implementing excellent programs and practices, and how schools define "community" and develop mean-ingful school-family-community connections. Her most recent book is Schooling Students Placed at Risk: Research, Policy, and Practice in the Education of Poor and Minority Adolescents (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000). She earned her PhD in education from Stanford University.
Foreword by Joyce L. Epstein Preface Acknowledgments About the Author 1. Community Involvement: Why and What? Rationales for Community Involvement in Schools Community Involvement in Schools: Form and Fashion Obstacles to Community Partnerships Summary 2. A Closer Look at Common Community Partnerships Business Partnerships University Partnerships Service Learning Partnerships School-Linked Service Integration Faith-Based Partnerships Summary 3. Components of Successful Community Partnerships High-Functioning Schools Student-Centered Learning Environments Effective Partnership Teams Principal Leadership External Support Summary 4. Building Capacity for Successful Community Partnerships: A Vignette The School The Goal The Team The Project The Community Partners The Results Lessons Learned Summary 5. Bringing the Community In: An Elementary School Story Background Community Partners Commitment to Students' Learning Principal Leadership Action Team for Partnerships Welcoming School Climate Two-Way Communication Summary 6. Creating Closer Community Ties: A High School Study Background Principal Leadership A Student Focus Community Partners and Activities Summary 7. Promising Practices for Community Partnerships Activity 1: Goal--Improve Reading (2004) Activity 2: Goal--Improve Math Skills (2003) Activity 3: Goal--Increase Students' Awareness of Career Opportunities (2001) Activity 4: Goal--Improve Ninth-Grade Performance on State Proficiency Exam (2002) Activity 5: Goal--Improve Student Writing and Technology Skills (2002) Activity 6: Goal--Improve Student Reading (2002) Activity 7: Goal--Improve School Landscaping (2002) Activity 8: Goal--Provide Community Service (2002) Activity 9: Goal--Improve Student Oral and Written Communication (2004) Activity 10: Goal--Improve Facilities for Students With Disabilities (2004) Activity 11: Goal--Improve Student Science Skills (2000) Activity 12: Goal--Provide Afterschool Activities for Middle School Students (2000) Summary 8. Preparing Educational Leaders for Community Partnerships: A Workshop Agenda Building Community Partnerships Agenda Summary 9. Concluding Thoughts Resource A: Sample Activities Activity 1: Locating Community Partners Activity 2: Improving the Partnership Process Activity 3: Improving Community Partnership Quality Activity 4: Garnering Principal Support for Partnerships Resource B: Sample Letters Sample Letter 1: Partnership Communication Sample Letter 2: Partnership Activity Follow-Up Endnotes References Index
"A comprehensive guide to begin the process of involving community agencies and parents in the success of schools. Easy to read and gives step-by-step guidelines to making sure the pieces are in place for a successful community partnership." -- Susan Catapano "A broad and insightful overview of theory, research, and practice in the field of school-community partnerships. The author looks at common collaborations and a variety of goals, from improved math skills to better school landscaping." -- Curriculum Connections, Fall 2006 "The first comprehensive book written to guide educators and practitioners in the practical aspects of building school-community partnerships. Pushing us to move beyond a mere focus on parental involvement, Sanders calls for a broader understanding of engaging the community outside the school walls." -- Harvard Educational Review, Summer 2006
