Assignment:
Discussion 1
Community Involvement Epstein writes, "The way schools care about children is reflected in the way school's care about the children's families." What do you think she means by this? What do you see as the fundamental reason that schools, families and communities need to work together? Also, Abravanel's paper Building Community Through Service-Learning: The Role of Community Partner makes interesting points about community involvement. Describe your vision of what this kind of engagement would look like in your community.
Guided Response: Shared interests between parents and schools make a partnership work - focus on the common goals of both parents and teachers and list how many different beneficiaries emanate from these relationships. Respond to at least two of your classmates' posts.
Discussion 2
Los Pen Profile the kind of empirical evidence at Los Pen that supports the school's transformation. Focus on quantitative data. Based on the statistical data gleaned from the readings what qualitative conclusions would you draw about the efficacy of the many aspects of differentiated parent support?
Guided Response: Focus first on statistical data. One of the quickest ways to garner support for an idea is to present quantitative data. School, family and community partnerships only add up to academic success when you disaggregate the data and make a case for an improved learning environment. Given this seminal idea, how would you make the case for the efficacy of school-community partnerships?