Diversity

Orange County Department of Education

1

Working with Diverse Families and Communities

Day 1

Diversity

Orange County Department of Education 2

Outcomes

Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of incorporating the perspectives of families and community members into the decision-making process of the school.

Identify existing gaps in incorporating family and community involvement.

Implement a plan for addressing needs and capitalizing on strengths of family and community involvement.

Develop a process for maintaining and assessing communication strategies.

Be able to generate new strategies for communicating with families/community members.


Agenda Welcome Review of California Professional Standards for

Educational Leaders Number Four Facilitating Parent Involvement and Parent

Education Establishing Community Partnerships Communicating Regularly and Predictably Addressing Language Diversity in Schools Creating a PowerPoint presentation on Diverse

Families Practicum and Days 9-12


Standard Number Four

ACTIVITY

Read CPSELS Standard Four and highlight three or fourideas that you recognize as being important for the siteprincipal. Find a partner across the room that you donot know well. Have a standing discussion, exchangingyour ideas from this standard.


Facilitating Parent Involvement and Parent Education

ACTIVITY

Debrief the two articles:1. From Fundraising to Hell Raising2. How Community Contributes to Achievement

Two sets of questions have been posted around the room. Your group will be participating in a Carousel, answering the following questions:

1. How have you invited different cultures to participate at your school?

2. How does your staff ensure that parents feel welcome at your school?

3. How has your school involved parents from different cultures in decision making at your school?


Facilitating Parent Involvement and Parent Education

The recorder will write your group’s ideas on the chart and at the signal you will move in a clockwise direction to the next chart. If you agree with others’ comments/ideas, put a check mark and add your new ideas. When you have visited all three charts you will do a gallery walk to see what others have written.

Debrief as an entire group.


Establishing Community PartnershipsDirections:

Pack and stack and sit at a table with fourpeople. A table may have a group of fourpeople at each end.


Establishing Community Partnerships

ACTIVITY

A Snapshot of a School

Continuity in Early Childhood: A Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages isrecognized in the educational community as anexemplary resource for developing partnershipfor all grade levels and schools.



The document, in its second edition, wasa result of collaboration among theAdministration of Children, Youth, and Families(ACYF); U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices; the Office of Educational Researchand Improvement (OERI); U.S. Department ofEducation; and the Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs).



Use the “Each Teach” strategy, from Adaptive Schools,

by Garmston and Wellman. The Each Teach strategychecks understanding, integrates information, andidentifies ideas that require clarification.

Partners both read the first text. Partner A describesthe reading to Partner B, as if the other person was

notin the room. Partner B fills in any gaps that may havenot been addressed by Partner A. The partners editeach other’s rendition until they agree on what wassaid.



Use the excerpts from Continuity in Early Childhood: AFramework for Home, School, and Community Linkages.Table groups should consist of four members. Throughthe use of the Each Teach strategy, the group willdiscuss each of the topics. They should be given 2-3 minutes to read and 2-3 minutes to complete the strategy for each of the five sections: 1) Families asPartners (page 15); 2) Shared Leadership (pages 27-28); 3) Culture and Home Language (pages 53-54, 69); 4) Communication (pages 81-82); and 5) Knowledge andSkill Development (pages 93-94).



Your group received the Snapshot of a School.Take some time to reflect on the data with theFramework in mind. Address each of the elements and complete the evaluation document in theFramework which, for example, is pages 16-24 of theFamilies as Partners section. Cite evidences from theSnapshot of the School. This may take as longas 5 minutes. Groups will share out what they havefound.


Communicating Regularly and Predictably

Activity

Communicating the Vision for Partnering

Objective: To learn about strategies for incorporating your vision forpartnering into your print media.

Directions: Continue to work with your partner from the previous activity. Take out both of your school newsletters. Choose one to focus on. Evaluate your school newsletter using the five elements from A

Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages. Dialogue about your “ahas.” If partnerships with families and community are a part of your schools

vision, how is this value communicated in the newsletter? How could this newsletter be changed to better communicate the

school’s vision for partnerships?


Communicating Regularly and Predictably

Reflection

Considering the vision you wrote in the Vision course, does your visioninclude a focus on partnerships?

How should your print/webmedia communicate this vision?


Addressing Language Diversity in Schools

ActivityUsing the information that you gathered from yourschool’s Schools Accountability Report Card and

othersources as a table group of no more than sixparticipants, chart the following:

1. Languages spoken2. Ways that the school and/or

districts meet these parents’ needs3. Core values of these groups


Addressing Language Diversity in Schools

Working with your table group, outlinethe steps you would take as a principal toimprove communication with various groups. Select a spokesperson to sharewith the total group your table’s action plan.


Staff Meeting Presentation on Diverse Families

ACTIVITY

Scenario:You have a diverse middle school campus with twentydifferent home languages spoken. Forty percent ofyour student population is considered English learners. One half of these students are currently enrolled in anEnglish Learner language arts course in addition to theirlanguage arts core program. A district survey was sentto families recently and the data indicate that thestudents and their parents do not feel they are involvedin a meaningful way.


Staff Meeting Presentation on Diverse FamiliesCreate an eight-minute presentation that includes PowerPoint that could be used at a staff meeting with the teachers at the school described above. This presentation should address the needs and a plan to include diverse families at the school site. Each group of six members may use one of the computers provided.

Keep in mind you have 40 minutes to createthe PowerPoint and the presentation material. Presentations may include one or more presenters.

Use the provided feedback forms.


Presentations1. Everyone participates2. Instructor will use presentation feedback form3. Each group will do one presentation, choices are:

1. Staff development plan on Diversity9 months – one hour each monthInclude classified and certified staffList materials and/or curricula Include specific outcomes

2. Parent Involvement PlanInvolve different parent groupsList materials and/or curriculaInclude specific outcomes


Presentation Feedback FormName: _________________________________ Instructor: ________________________________

Date of Presentation: _____________________ Title of Work: ______________________________

Criteria Points

1 2 3 4

Organization

Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information

Audience has difficulty following presentation because student jumps around.

Student presents information in logical sequence which audience can follow.

Student presents information in logical, interesting sequence which audience can follow.

_____

Content Knowledge

Student does not have grasp of information; student cannot answer questions about subject.

Student is uncomfortable with information and is able to answer only rudimentary questions.

Student is at ease with content, but fails to elaborate.

Student demonstrates full knowledge (more than required) with explanations and elaboration

_____


Presentation Feedback Form

Name: _________________________________ Instructor: ________________________________

Date of Presentation: _____________________ Title of Work: _____________________________

Criteria Points

1 2 3 4

VisualsStudent used no visuals.

Student occasionally used visuals/charts that rarely support text and presentation.

Visuals/charts related to text and presentation.

Student used visuals/charts to reinforce screen text and presentation.

_____

Mechanics

Student’s presentation had four or more spelling errors and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation had three misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation had no more than two misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.

_____


Presentation Feedback Form

Name: _________________________________ Instructor: __________

Date of Presentation: _____________________ Title of Work: _____________________________

Criteria Points

1 2 3 4

Delivery

Student mumbles, incorrectly pronounces terms, and speaks too quietly for students in back of class to hear.

Student incorrectly pronounces terms. Audience members have difficulty hearing presentation.

Student’s voice is clear. Student pronounces most words correctly.

Student used a clear voice and correct, precise pronunciation of terms.

_____

Total _____

Comments:

___________________________________________________________________________________________


HomeworkRead What Families Want by Wadsworth and Hamill Remaley.

Write no more than two paragraphs on the following prompt:

How should we refocus our energies on redesigning schools to fit changing demographics?

Place your response on the Wikispaces, Diverse Families and Communities web site.

Optional: Respond to your colleague’s contribution.

Documents

Diversity