Social Networks

This week I have been spending some time with the fantastic staff of the Indiana PIRC. This trip was a perfect opportunity for us to share our resources and skills in ways that will help us all to grow and provide better services.

The Indiana PIRC has long been admired for their parent leadership Academies. They have worked hard for years to develop an outstanding model that leads to increasing student success through effective parent engagement. Anyone involved with the Alabama PIRC Academy for Parent Leadership and Engagement knows that we have been using the IN PIRC materials for years. This week, they have introduced us to their revised materials so that we can update the ones we are currently using. Additionally, they shared information about Books on Board (BOB, an early literacy program they developed) and the Path to College. You can find information about their fantastic programs at www.fscp.org

While I was here, I helped them get more connected to families, schools, and other organizations by working with them to develop a social networking plan. You can now find the Indiana PIRC on Twitter (@inpirc) Facebook (Indiana PIRC) and blogging at Posterous (http://indianapirc.posterous.com/) Why would they bother joining the social networking bandwagon? Maybe this video will explain...

Social Networking Video

Preparing Teachers to Work With Families

Recently, Secretary Duncan released a call for colleges of education to improve the way they prepare educators to teach students. Secretary Duncan noted that we will need to "hire up to 200,000 first-time teachers annually over the next five years." In his press release, he pointed out that currently colleges of education are not doing an adequate job of preparing teachers for "the realities of the 21st century classroom." Secreatry Duncan calls for the universities preparing our future teachers to "ensure that new teachers master the content of the subjects they’ll teach and they will have well-supported field-based experiences embedded throughout their preparation programs. Their ultimate goal should be to create a generation of teachers who are focused on improving student achievement and ready to deliver on that goal."

I commend Secretary Duncan for taking a bold stand for children by calling out the universities that leave our teachers unprepared. However, I believe he forgot the most important missing link, family engagement. Most colleges of education do not offer future teachers any preparation at all to work with families and engage them in their children's learning. We have more research on family engagement than ever before and the results only confirm what we already know. When families are engaged in their children's education students perform better, have fewer behavior problems, and graduate on time. What we also know is that the most effective type of family engagement is what happens in the home. To truly improve the educational outcomes of our students, Secretary Duncan should call on our colleges of education to better prepare teachers to work with families and give them the help that they need to be more engaged in their children's education.

For more information on Secretary Duncan's remarks, read them at www.ed.gov

Summer Learning Workbooks

When schools first opened in America, school calenders varied depending on the community. Some of the rural schools had long summer breaks that began in the spring so children could help on their families farms. Some of the urban schools had breaks as short as 1 or 2 months. By the time most Americans became involved in agriculture and when indoor climate control was limited, a standardized 9 month calender emerged. Today, less than 5% of our families are involved in agriculture and we have air conditioning, but we still have the same old 9 month calender.

There are several problems with today's school calender because of the possible negative impact that long breaks have on student learning. Long breaks interfere with instruction, cause children to forget, and require long periods of review when children return to school. Also, long breaks can have a very bad effect on children with special needs or children who have English as a second language.

Until we reform our school calenders, parents have to help their children retain as much learning as possible over the summer break. There are many strategies you can use. Bookstores have summer learning workbooks that help student practice the skills they learned the year before and prepare for the next year. These workbooks, usually for elementary school grades, can provide a valuable source of enrichment. Children can work on a certain number of pages each day or work for a certain amount of time. You can help by being there for them and talking with them about the work they are doing. Remember, the most effective type of parent engagement that has the biggest impact on student achievement is what takes place in the home.