PDF White Paper Annual Policy Recommendations Prepared by the New ...

White Paper Annual Policy Recommendations

Prepared by the New Mexico Family/Parent Involvement

Advisory Council (NMFPIAC)

For the New Mexico Public Education Department and Cabinet Secretary of Education

Submitted by:

Ranjana Damle, Ph.D., NMFPIAC Member Research, Deployment, and Accountability Albuquerque Public Schools

Cyndee Gustke, NMFPIAC Chairperson Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations, NM Highlands University

November 1, 2010 nmfpiac@

Mexico Family/Parent Involvement Advisory Council, NMFPIAC

Executive Committee

? Cyndee Gustke, Chair Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations (CESDP)

? Ronalda Tome, Vice Chair Education for Indian Children with Special Needs

? Eva Telles, Secretary

University of New Mexico (UNM) Family Development Center

NMPED Staff Liaison

? Alicia Benavidez, Family Involvement Coordinator, NM Public Education Department

Board Members

? Maria Acosta-Molina, Parent Coordinator, ENgaging LAtino Communities in Education (ENLACE)

? Josepha Bethea Wall, Community Fund Grants Manager, United Way of Central NM

? JoNella Bocanegra, Clovis Municipal Schools

? Brenda Chavez, Family Liaison, Albuquerque Public Schools (APS)

? Emily Darnell-Nu?ez, Statewide Coordinator, NM Supporting Partnerships to Ensure Ready Kids (SPARK)

? Larry Fuller, Director of Education Programs and Policy, Parents Reaching Out (PRO)

? Dorothy Kerwin, UNM Family Development Program

? Ray Lara, Parent Outreach Coordinator, Gadsden Independent School District

? Amelia Lopez, Prevention Intervention Coordinator, APS

? Sylvia Monta?o, Clovis Municipal Schools, ENgaging LAtino Communities in Education (ENLACE)

? Baji Rankin, President, NM Association for the Education of Young Children (NMAEYC)

? Mercedes Sandoval, President, NM Parent Teacher Organization (NM PTA)

? Renata Witte, Parent and Business Owner

Members at Large*

? Jessa Bunker, ENLACE

? Timothy Callicutt, NMPED

? Teresa Chaparro, NMPED

? Ranjana Damle, Ph.D., APS

? Vanessa La Grange, PRO

? Carmen Lopes, CESDP

? DeeDee Stroud, Ph.D., All Faiths Receiving Home

? Amanda Tower, PRO

*The membership continues to grow at a fast rate with universities, school districts, PED staff, other organizations, and parents expressing interest regularly. The 2011 membership is expected to double based on attendance and interest expressed during general quarterly meetings throughout the state.

Partners for School-Family Partnerships: Organizations Represented on the Council

New Mexico Public Education Department Several bureaus within the NMPED are working together as a goal team to share resources and promote effective schoolfamily partnership programs.

nmped.state.nm.us/parents 505-827-7592

Albuquerque Public Schools Health and Wellness Department , Schools and Community Partnerships, Research, Deployment, and Accountability

aps.edu 505-855-9802 505-855-5267

Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations (CESDP)

cesdp.nmhu.edu 505-243-4442

Children Youth and Families (CYFD) Family Services cyfd.edu 1-800-294-6615

Citizen Schools 505-265-4332

Clovis Municipal Schools cms.k12.m,.us 575-769-4460

ENgaging LAtino Communities for Education (ENLACE) enlacenm.unm.edu 505-277-5464

Education for Parents of Indian Children with Special Needs (EPICS)

505-514-2214

Gadsden Independent Schools gisd.k12.nm.us 575-882-6799

New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF) NM Supporting Partnerships to Ensure Ready Kids (SPARK)

505-843-6800

New Mexico Parent Teacher Association 505-881-0712

New Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children (NMAEYC)

505-243-5437

Parents Reaching Out (PRO) 505-247-0192

University of New Mexico Family Development Program

familydevelopment.unm.edu 505-277-9193

University of New Mexico Parent Relations Program parent.unm.edu 505-277-5915

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The inception of New Mexico Family/Parent Involvement Advisory Council (NMFPIAC) occurred from the need for an entity to inform the state and local educational policy on school-familycommunity partnerships. Under the direction and leadership of Alicia Benavidez and Dr. Jim Holloway of the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED), the NMFPIAC was established in the spring of 2007. Approximately one year ago in September 2009, the NMFPIAC received the directive from Dr. Veronica Garcia, NM Secretary of Education to formalize the NMFPIAC. The Secretary set an annual goal for NMFPIAC of developing a white paper that includes policy recommendations regarding parent involvement to the NMPED and the Cabinet Secretary on or before November 1 of each calendar year. A recent meeting with New Mexico Secretary of Education Designate Dr. Susanna Murphy confirmed the continued interest from NMPED to receive input and recommendations from the NMFIAC regarding school-family partnership programs statewide.

NMFPIAC is a group that includes individuals, representing various organizations, with expertise, experience, and interest in family engagement in education, and parents. The NMFPIAC works to expand positive opportunities for families, children, and youth, from birth to young adulthood. The NMFPIAC has the purpose of providing advice and guidance with respect to Family/Parent Involvement in education to the NMPED. NMFPIAC aims to raise awareness about the value and importance of building positive family-school-community partnerships as well as develop innovative and effective research-based policies to inform NMPED and state leaders.

This white paper has provided the rationale and recommendations that focus on the fundamentals that the Council believes are necessary to enable the state, districts, schools, care programs, families, and community organizations to develop effective approaches to parent/family involvement. A review of selected and relevant research establishes the link between school-family partnerships and student achievement. After presenting the research findings and discussion of issues regarding the achievement gap among students, the paper profiles three successful programs in the state and the characteristics of their leadership based on case studies that included interviews and focus groups. Based on national and local research, the paper emphasizes the need for NMPED to facilitate family engagement in education by providing support to educational leaders as they:

? learn, develop and share strategies and resources for making school-family partnerships a priority;

? recognize and address challenges in partnering with families and sharing decision-making power with families and community members ;

? build the capacity of parents and staff to become effective partners; and ? work to bridge cultural differences.

The recommendations that follow are based on national-level research, local case studies, focus groups, surveys, interviews, and community input from several sources including: NMFPIAC general quarterly meetings in three regions of the state (Las Cruces, Acoma, and Albuquerque), interviews with three successful school-based leaders in Albuquerque and Crownpoint, an NMPED online survey, and the NMFPIAC members with expertise, experience, and interest in family engagement in education.

i

ANNUAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO NMPED

These recommendations are aimed at NMPED leadership and signify immediate priorities for creating and strengthening the culture of family-school-community partnerships to enhance school and student success in New Mexico. Now is the time for State and federal policy to develop a robust vision and infrastructure that will elevate family, school, and community engagement as a necessary strategy for the success of all students. Specifically, the recommendations to NMPED are:

1. Develop a Common Vision and Goals

Develop a common vision for school, family, and community partnerships articulating the elements of a productive and dynamic partnership, using the National PTA Standards, the National Network of Partnership Schools, and the NMFPIAC Guiding Principles. To implement the common vision and disseminate information:

? Develop and share models of successful school-family partnership and parent involvement initiatives that define partnerships comprehensively as a shared responsibility between schools and communities.

? Work with NM-based educational materials developers to continue development of tools and products that districts and schools can use to improve their partnership programs such as:

Parental Leadership and Community Partnership Academy

Working Together: School Family and Community Partnerships ? A Toolkit for NM School Communities

Building Positive School, Family and Community Partnerships: Multimedia Professional Development Modules ? A Graduate NM Initiative

Culturally Competent Teaching and Leading: Multimedia Professional Development Modules ? A Graduate NM Initiative

? Conduct workshops and annual conferences to celebrate and recognize excellence and encourage statewide or regional exchanges of good practices and solutions to challenges of school, family, and community partnerships.

? Work with colleges and universities to set requirements for teaching and administrative credentials to prepare educators to engage in and promote school, family, and community partnerships.

2. Create a Statewide Infrastructure

In order to institutionalize the partnership across the state, the NNMPED will require structures and positions with well-defined responsibilities and accountability to promote genuine partnership in education.

? Create a department/bureau to support the state coordinator for promoting school-familycommunity partnerships.

ii

? Develop and implement a rigorous rule that conveys that partnership is a priority in the educational process and school governance.

? Monitor programs and initiatives with parent engagement provisions such as NCLB/Title I, EPSS, and HB212. Numerous State and federal programs in NM have been identified as including parental engagement provisions.

? Identify an adequate budget for a PED parental involvement department/bureau for leadership and monitoring activities including partnership program training for parents, principals, teachers, directors, care providers, school staff, and community members.

3. Support Leadership in School Communities

The principal as the school's chief instructional leader has the power and authority that is necessary for creating the partnership culture and NMPED is well-advised to invest in developing school leaders that nurture the partnership. Research unequivocally shows that principal leadership at the school-level holds the key to a successful school, family, and community partnership.

? Work with the district leadership to create support networks for principals to share models of parent involvement and proven strategies to systematically foster the partnerships.

? Work with NM-based professional development providers such as universities and Regional Educational Cooperatives (REC), and Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRC) to extend in-service education and annual training workshops for district leaders, school improvement teams, other educators, and parents to prepare leaders and increase skills to implement high quality partnership programs.

? Work with businesses and industry to establish flexible leave policies so parents can attend conferences at their children's schools, business-school partnerships, and volunteer programs.

4. Value New Mexico Assets

The State of New Mexico is endowed with rich cultural and linguistic diversity that can be integrated in the educational process to empower communities who in turn will support schools.

? Reinforce existing expectations and provide guidance to districts and schools on effective models that address cultural and linguistic factors and ways to create environments where parents feel respected and welcome.

? Require culturally competent teachers and leaders who show awareness of and respect for differences, communicate and interact effectively across cultures, and incorporate families' culture and input in the design and implementation of curriculum and goals.

iii

iv

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download