Univ. professors honored for education research
"About 10 years ago, we started the Talent Development program because we realized that we had to develop new methods and structures to help schools succeed."
McPartland explained that the program typically involves a one-year transition period, followed by a three-year implementation period. During this time, CSOS provides coaches to help train teachers in the curriculum and techniques that have been developed by the center's researchers and former practitioners. The CSOS also organizes the school into academies, called "schools-in-a-school", to help create smaller communities where students can feel more engaged in their education.
"We have seen opportunities to expand our program, but we haven't grown as quickly as we could have," McPartland said.
"We wanted to make sure we were giving enough attention to each of the schools that we partnered with."
Joyce Epstein is the director of the Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships and the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS).
The NNPS works with schools, districts and several state departments of education, to establish new structures to help change the dynamics of parent involvement in schools.
"For a long time, schools used parental involvement for their own sake, or to help with fundraising," Epstein said.
"We want to change the paradigm so that we are focusing on family and community involvement to benefit student success, and that we reach out not just to those who are easy to get involved, but to all families."
Epstein's program seeks to make the nature of parental involvement a partnership in which schools, parents and the wider community share the responsibility for student success.
A partnership paradigm, as Epstein explains, forces schools to acknowledge the role they have to play in reaching out to families and bringing them into the process, rather than passively expecting some families to get involved.
Epstein also emphasized the need to change parental involvement from being about parents to being about student success.
McPartland explained that the program typically involves a one-year transition period, followed by a three-year implementation period. During this time, CSOS provides coaches to help train teachers in the curriculum and techniques that have been developed by the center's researchers and former practitioners. The CSOS also organizes the school into academies, called "schools-in-a-school", to help create smaller communities where students can feel more engaged in their education.
"We have seen opportunities to expand our program, but we haven't grown as quickly as we could have," McPartland said.
"We wanted to make sure we were giving enough attention to each of the schools that we partnered with."
Joyce Epstein is the director of the Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships and the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS).
The NNPS works with schools, districts and several state departments of education, to establish new structures to help change the dynamics of parent involvement in schools.
"For a long time, schools used parental involvement for their own sake, or to help with fundraising," Epstein said.
"We want to change the paradigm so that we are focusing on family and community involvement to benefit student success, and that we reach out not just to those who are easy to get involved, but to all families."
Epstein's program seeks to make the nature of parental involvement a partnership in which schools, parents and the wider community share the responsibility for student success.
A partnership paradigm, as Epstein explains, forces schools to acknowledge the role they have to play in reaching out to families and bringing them into the process, rather than passively expecting some families to get involved.
Epstein also emphasized the need to change parental involvement from being about parents to being about student success.
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