Plans are how ideas and other good intentions come to fruition. The challenge is making the plan happen in the first place. To accomplish this move from inspiration to actuation, focused participation is required. In short, a plan must have a goal.
MA ELM 540, January 2013
In School, Family, and Community Partnerships (Epstein, 2009), the authors suggest creating an Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) to achieve the goal of building connections between schools and their communities. An ATP is an extensive team of volunteers armed with the “knowledge of the underlying theory, basic structures, and useful processes ….to strengthen goal-oriented partnership programs that contribute to student success.” (p.7) Epstein’s prescriptive and detailed text and processes are not realistic in my small school, and I would argue that they are not fully achievable in most schools. Nevertheless, the essence of the ATP is still relevant because it offers a framework for building school and community partnerships that can be modified to suit the specific needs of a school.
An example of possible modification can be found in the six types of involvement that the text suggests an ATP addresses. A school without the resources to address all types of involvement within a school year can benefit from this list because it identifies possible areas of concern. Because most ATP members will be volunteers, this kind of information helps orient their attention to concerns relevant to school life. Furthermore, the text’s handouts are straightforward and written at a basic level of complexity. Even if a committee does not like these handouts, the ensuing discussion about why this is so will help orient the group toward formulating a useful and achievable goal.
Effective action plans have specific goals and assigned tasks. A plan with a goal becomes achievable. This is motivating. Although Epstein suggests the AP establish five goals, I am more of the mind that the number of goals should reflect the interests and abilities of the committee. There is no point in mandating more work than people are willing to give. Doing so can be demotivating and the group may never get of the ground. Furthermore, goals can be used as benchmarks for evaluating plans and opens the door toward continuous improvement. Finally, an evaluated plan rewards those who work to make it happen by offering acknowledgement through feedback and a sense of completion.
Beyond the applicability of the ATP framework and the value of goal setting, it is useful to consider the importance of motivation as it relates to individual contributions to community/school partnerships. Volunteering does not pay but it must reward in order to be successful. This is a challenge because communities can contribute to student success, but much of the work only applies glancing blows at improvement. Community involvement rarely has the pleasure of seeing direct evidence of improvement. Even if in the event of a successful fundraiser, much more energy is spent building this success than is spent feeling it. School leaders must keep this in mind and work toward building rewarding processes as well as products. A rewarding volunteer experience often stems from a strong sense of community. If people feel connected to the school, any act of helping rewards the helper by providing a sense of place and recognition. Articles such as “Hard to Reach Parents or Hard to Reach Schools?” (Crozier & Davies, 2007), “Community-based Education for Indigenous Cultures” (Corson, 1998), “Successful Practices for Immigrant Parent Involvement” (Ladky & Peterson, 2008) as well as Margaret Wheatley’s “Creating Healthy Community Change” (2011), all point to the power of keeping interactions relevant to the community they serve and continually working toward building win-win relationships. Building effective school/community partnerships demands constant reference to this relevance.
References
Corson, D. (1998). Community-based education for indigenous cultures. Language, Culture and
Curriculum. 11:3, 238-249
Crozier, G. and Davies, J. (2007). Hard to reach parents or hard to reach schools? A
discussion of home-school relations, with particular reference to Bangladeshi and
Pakistani parents. British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3. pp. 295-313.
doi: 10.1080/01411920701243578
Epstein, J.L. (2009). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action.
California: Corwin Press.
Ladky, M., & Peterson, S. S. (2008). Successful practices for immigrant parent involvement: An Ontario perspective. Multicultural Perspectives, 10(2), 82-89.
Wheatley, M. (2012, December 9) Margaret Wheatley: Creating Healthy Community Change.
Changed Minds. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL57D3F5FDE5856188