Edutopia / March 21, 2012
According to the recent MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, teachers, parents and students all agree that parent engagement in schools has increased over the past 25 years. Given the role that family engagement plays in not only academic success, but life success, that is great news. However, the survey also noted that parent engagement remains a challenge for many schools.
Last weekend, at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning, surrounded by educators, representatives from the nonprofit and business worlds, global education experts, academics, and education advocates of all stripes, I found it inspiring how committed the group as a whole was to not just improving family engagement in schools, but expanding engagement beyond the family, to the community in general. Two featured initiatives in particular seemed to embody it: Reconnecting McDowell and Cincinnati’s Community Learning Centers.
Coordinating Resources in Urban Ohio
In the early 2000s, Cincinnati Public Schools learned that they had the worst school buildings in the nation. They needed to pass a levy to raise money for improvements, but one hadn’t passed in a number of years. To garner community support, they proposed that the renovated schools would serve as centers of the community, remaining open on nights and weekends to provide services. The levy passed, and the Community Learning Centers (CLCs) began.
Each CLC is different, based on the needs of the community in which the school is located. Annie Bogenschutz told Celebration attendees about the CLC at her school, Ethel M. Taylor Academy, where 100 percent of students receive free or reduced price lunch. The school is open from 2:15pm to 6pm and offers a hot dinner, tutoring and mentoring, enrichment, parent and family engagement activities, and more. On site, students and families can access mental health and dental services. Next year, Taylor will open a school-based health clinic. These services, and the many others that are offered at the CLC, require no new funds. Instead, the school’s partners reallocated their spending.
And they have seen results. Taylor was formerly labeled as one of the worst schools in the state, but is now recognized for its “Continuous Improvement,” with increased attendance, standardized test scores, and parent involvement, as well as decreased behavioral incidents.