Roberts is a school of around 330 children from K- 4. The principal, Sharon Kuznick, and her staff were incredibly welcoming, greeting us with a large sign announcing our visit. As the recipients of a national award from the National Network of Partnership Schools ( the organisatioon whose conference we are attending), a group of students made a presentation to us about their Global Literacies Program inwhich the school worked with students from temple University to investigate the cultural stereotypes connected with Middle Eastern countries. The students had conducted all kinds of research and linked up with penpals in Kuwait. They had presented their information through a slide show and movie made with a flip camera. One of the children taught me to use the flip camera (quite an achievement in itself!). The children also showed us the episodes of ROBTV they have created for viewing about school events linked to their website. I can just see GIPSTV on the big foyer screen any minute now! Roberts Elementary School is a beautifully presented environment with friendly, engaged students and a highly professional staff and leadership. Three hours has never flown so fast. Our very strong impression was that their are more similarities than differences between our schools and Roberts Elementary.
Next, we were off to visit Friends' Select School, Elementary Campus. Friends' is a private school based on the Quaker philosophy of care and service. Both these values were clearly evident in the people and the programs. Principal, Joe Ludwig, and his Assistant Principal, Lou, were most gracious and generous hosts who provide a strong leadership team to the school and community. Set in a wonderful, historic building, the classrooms were a range of unusual sizes and shapes. The school was working on a special literature theme where each class was exploring literary craft through a different story or theme. Classes were elaborately decorated with castles, ships, animals, knights in shining armour and more. One Kindergarten class gave us an impromptu performance of a series of songs from Mary Poppins. Again, more than three hours passed in next to no time. There was a great deal of professional dialogue about our respective education systems and the differences in community involvement between the public and private settings.
On Tuesday, October 26th, The National Network of Partnership Schools' Leadership Development Conference commnenced at the Sheraton Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. NNPS is a group linked to the Centre for School, Family and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University. The Centre, led by Professor Joyce Epstein, has conducted research into the connections between community partnerships and student learning outcomes since 1981. They have developed a Framework for School, Family and Community Partnerships which identifies 6 types of involvement: Parenting, Communicating, Volunteering, Learning at Home, Decision Making and Creating Community Partnerships. The main focus of the conference is to train School, District and State leaders to implement this framework in their organisation through a "Train the Trainer" model.
On the first day of the conference, we were involved in a full day of leadership training led by Professor Joyce Epstein. As well as the specific knowledge and skills that we acquired on this day, much was gained through interaction with educators. We were supplied with a detailed folder of advice and resources to support our work when we get back. Our colleagues will be relieved to hear that the program is not designed to create more work for them. The purpose is to link community partnerships to the achievement of the school's goals as set out in the School Strategic Plan. This puts an entirely new direction to any community partnership programs we have previously seen. It also shows genuine respect for the input of all community stakeholders and provides an avenue to support the achievement of the school goals.
After a long day, 8.00am - 4.00pm of instruction, the group broke to attend a Poster Reception from 4.30pm - 6.00pm. At this function, some schools displayed and discussed community participation programs in operation in their setting. The Australian display and presentation was very well received with many delegates coming to hear about school "Down Under". Whilst it was an effort from ourselves and our band of helpers back at school, the presentation was a great way to break the ice with other educators. Many people expressed a keen interest to visit and / or keep in touch by email.
On the first day of the conference, we were involved in a full day of leadership training led by Professor Joyce Epstein. As well as the specific knowledge and skills that we acquired on this day, much was gained through interaction with educators. We were supplied with a detailed folder of advice and resources to support our work when we get back. Our colleagues will be relieved to hear that the program is not designed to create more work for them. The purpose is to link community partnerships to the achievement of the school's goals as set out in the School Strategic Plan. This puts an entirely new direction to any community partnership programs we have previously seen. It also shows genuine respect for the input of all community stakeholders and provides an avenue to support the achievement of the school goals.
After a long day, 8.00am - 4.00pm of instruction, the group broke to attend a Poster Reception from 4.30pm - 6.00pm. At this function, some schools displayed and discussed community participation programs in operation in their setting. The Australian display and presentation was very well received with many delegates coming to hear about school "Down Under". Whilst it was an effort from ourselves and our band of helpers back at school, the presentation was a great way to break the ice with other educators. Many people expressed a keen interest to visit and / or keep in touch by email.The second day of the conference commenced with a panel of experienced and successful NNPS schools and districts discussing their achievements and progress. This was a great opportunity to hear first hand experiences from schools in a range of settings. Sessions such as this certainly brings it home just what a difficult task some schools have when working with communities of very high need.
The next session for the day was conducted by Dr. Mavis Sanders; another researcher from Johns Hopkins. She presented information about challenges faced when working with communities and finding solutions. Working in smaller groups today made it possible to have extended conversations about each other's experiences. It is quite interesting how similar the challenges faced by schools are in both countries.
The afternoon session was very much a trouble shooting session where people could raise questions and ask for advice about how to approach different issues in their schools. This resulted in a "round table" discussion of what has worked for me type conversations. Very practical and worthwhile.
Thursday, October 29th saw us packing to leave Baltimore to return to Philadelphia.
First stop was a visit to Upper Merion Area Middle School. This is a school of 1165 Grade 5 - 8 students that are housed in a truly amazing educational facility. The initiate impressions were what an imposing and impressive structure the building was. Intensive security was evident with swipe passes needed to access administrative areas and the front entrance. A sign of the times. We met up withPrincipal, John Adiletto, who we had met in Baltimore. Dr. Karen Geller, Assistant Principal, took us on an extensive tour of their facility and discussed the various programs and organisational structures in place. Of special interest was the "Community of Caring" program which instills values of respect and coooperation amongst the students. Clearly, this approach is well embedded in the school's culture which was evident in the spontaneous, warm, friendly and respectful interactions we observed amongst the students, their teachers and ourselves as visitors. As educators we know that the "feel" of a school is not something that can be bought or imposed and, at Upper Merion, they certainly had the positive "feel" that we would all be aspiring to achieve.
First stop was a visit to Upper Merion Area Middle School. This is a school of 1165 Grade 5 - 8 students that are housed in a truly amazing educational facility. The initiate impressions were what an imposing and impressive structure the building was. Intensive security was evident with swipe passes needed to access administrative areas and the front entrance. A sign of the times. We met up withPrincipal, John Adiletto, who we had met in Baltimore. Dr. Karen Geller, Assistant Principal, took us on an extensive tour of their facility and discussed the various programs and organisational structures in place. Of special interest was the "Community of Caring" program which instills values of respect and coooperation amongst the students. Clearly, this approach is well embedded in the school's culture which was evident in the spontaneous, warm, friendly and respectful interactions we observed amongst the students, their teachers and ourselves as visitors. As educators we know that the "feel" of a school is not something that can be bought or imposed and, at Upper Merion, they certainly had the positive "feel" that we would all be aspiring to achieve.
