My Role – Communities and Families

Connections to Designing High Schools for Success:
Communities and families, including students, provide a valuable role in designing high schools for success. To ensure that the specific needs of students and their families are met through change efforts, all groups must be included in the design process. Students can provide first-hand accounts of positive school experiences, while families can articulate systems and structures that help to include them in their student’s education. Sharing best practices across multiple stakeholder groups will help to build high schools where everyone has a voice. Sustained community engagement during both the planning and decision-making phases of high school design is a key aspect of successful, systemic change.

Resources:

America’s Promise is a program founded by General Colin Powell. The organization and web site is focused on developing collaboration and alliances committed to fundamental resources that children need to succeed. These “five promises” have been identified as caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education, and opportunities to help others. www.americaspromise.org/APA.htm

Building Wisconsin's Economic Future: This paper summarizes what businesses and schools can do to work together to build a solid educational foundation and a strong and vital economy by focusing on building a highly educated workforce. State Superintendent Burmaster outlines strategies for schools, students and parents.
Building Wisconsin's Economic Future

The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement: Learning Points Associates resource with web and podcasts and an online searchable database.  Newsletters, publications and policy briefs www.centerforcsri.org

Center for High School Excellence:  NCREL/LPA site with a topic search function and a link to “Key 9 Action Guide” – strategies to improve high schools within the NCLB implementation. www.chse.org

National Education Association resources related to dropout issues. Includes research reports, position statements, and numerous practical ideas for teachers, parents, and administrators. www.nea.org/dropout

National High School Alliance: model for high school reform with resources around each of 5 targeted areas for action, also reports and publications. Huge list of partner organizations  hsalliance.org

The National High School Center serves as the central source of information and expertise on high school improvement for the Regional Comprehensive Centers (RCCs). The web site includes extensive reports, issue papers, and links to useful resources. www.betterhighschools.org

NCREL Strategies to Improve High Schools: Learning Points Associates (LPA) developed the Quick Key Series to assist educators, policymakers and other stakeholders, in implementing NCLB. This guide addresses strategies to improve high schools. Resources are provided with information related to the issue of preparing students for the workforce of the 21st Century. Links and information available include statewide high school improvement plans, supporting research and practical examples.
dpi.wi.gov/sprntdnt/pdf/lpahandoutquickkey9.pdf

Service-Learning: Service-Learning provides an opportunity for partnerships between academic work and service to the community. Resources are available for service-learning planning, assessing the quality of a service learning experience and links to a study showing service-learning has a strong impact on youth-adult transitions. www.dpi.wi.gov/fscp/slhmpage.html