Building School-Community Partnerships: Collaboration for Student Success

by Mavis G. Sanders (Editor)

Overview

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!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452280899
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	11/02/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	914 KB

About the Author

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, fam­ily, and community support on African American adolescents’ school suc­cess, 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 mean­ingful 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.

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

"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

"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

"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 (7/2/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"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

"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 (7/19/2006 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher