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Bestseller!

Building School-Community Partnerships

Collaboration for Student Success

By: Mavis G. Sanders

Foreword by Joyce L. Epstein

This excellent resource assists educators seeking to establish school-community partnerships to achieve goals for their schools and the students, families, and communities they serve.

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781412917650
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2005
Page Count: 144
Publication date: November 09, 2005

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Description

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!

Key features

- Practical guide to building strong and lasting school-community partnerships

- "Real-life" examples to get school leaders started

- Professional development tools to foster buy-in

- Explores different types of school-community partnerships

- Offers a model outline for effective implementation

Author(s)

Mavis G. Sanders

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

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
PsycCRITIQUES, July 2006

"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
School Library Journal

"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

Other Titles in: Administration & Leadership | School Change, Reform, & Restructuring | Collaboration & Team Building

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