Successful Home-School Partnerships

Appendix A

Twenty three schools expressed interest in being part of this project. We selected eight (this number includes a “mini case study”) to give us a range of initiatives and school settings. This means that several interesting initiatives were not followed up. The salient features of some of these initiatives are briefly described here to give a fuller picture of the range of home–school partnership initiatives that are currently operating in various schools around New Zealand.

In almost half of the schools not selected as case studies in this project, the home–school partnership initiatives were adaptations of the Ministry of Education’s Home–School Partnership model. Typically these schools had begun with the Home–School Partnership: Literacy programme and then extended this to include other curriculum areas such as health or the Key Competencies. At one of these schools the principal described the purpose of the home–school partnership as:

We are trying to build a partnership with parents so that we are working together to support student learning and achievement. We are also supporting parents to help their children resist societal and community pressures on children e.g. gang culture which is prevalent in our community. (Principal)

This decile two school has been running a home–school partnership model that is facilitated by the school and involves training lead parents since it was involved in the Ministry initiative in 2004. The principal reports increased parental involvement in all aspects of school life e.g. cultural and sporting events and school trips as well as willingness on the behalf of parents to be involved in discussions about student learning. It was one of the few schools we found that had home–school partnership programmes that had been running for more than two years.

At one intermediate school, home–school partnerships had reportedly increased the level of parental involvement to the level where parents were not only helping out with supervision on school trips but were actively involved in organising the trips and cultural exchanges. At this school parents were key players in the decision to make a school trip to Tonga and one to Samoa.

At another school a teacher is paid a Management Unit to take responsibility for working with the “hardest to reach” families. She makes home visits, takes food parcels and involves other agencies where necessary to support families.

At yet another school, the principal had recently moved from a decile one school that had been involved in the Ministry of Education’s home–school partnership model and was adapting what she had experienced there to provide for the needs of a very large number of Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants at her new decile ten school. This project was in its very early stages but the principal was already recognising that different immigrant groups had different needs and expectations of the education system.

Another interesting adaptation of the Ministry of Education model was where a school was working jointly with the District Health Board and two community organisations to run parents’ sessions where the focus was on health and nutrition. This initiative was more a partnership between home, school and community rather than just home and school. There were also other examples of partnerships, involving community organisations.

In 2003 one school  in partnership with COMET (City of Manukau Education Trust), AUT (Auckland University of Technology) and the local kindergarten undertook a pilot programme, the Manakau Family Literacy Programme, aimed at supporting adults and their children learning together. It was developed because Manukau City recognised that if the city is to prosper it needs a well educated skilled workforce to encourage new businesses to set up in the area. Along with high educational needs, the city has an increasing crime problem, and high health and welfare needs. The outcomes from this project have reportedly far exceeded initial expectations. Several parents who have graduated from MFLP have gone on to further tertiary education.

The school had two graduates on the previous BOT, and four of the current BOT elected from eight nominations! We have improved the connection of parents with the school, gained their confidence, and seen parents either in employment for the first time, or studying to be early childhood or primary teachers, chefs, and nurses. What better way to get teachers who know your community, and parents who are confident to stand for BOT elections? Staff are committed to MFLP because they see the benefits in their classrooms as parents learn and participate daily in their child’s learning environment….

We believe every decile one school should be supported by the MOE to operate an MFL Programme as the results speak for themselves…. What other programmes are there which are so life changing that can empower families not just individuals, and solve so many of the nation’s social and economic problems in such a short timeframe? (Principal)

A community college provided a parents’ class for refugee parents that ran alongside a homework centre. The homework centre served both secondary and primary refugee students in the city and whilst the students were attending the homework centre, a separate class was run for the parents. The Associate Principal, the college ESOL teacher, and bilingual refugee liaison officers were involved in planning the programme and the selection of lead parents. They were supported by regional ESOL advisers. Last year sixty one parents completed the course. This programme was due to run again this year after Ramadan but the timing did not fit in with the fieldwork scheduled for the project so it was not included as a case study.

Another primary school had employed a private “trainer” to work with ten parents on how to “coach” their children at home in literacy and numeracy. Parents attend three workshops, are provided with a manual and attend a weekly tutoring session where the trainer works with their child. There were also other schools using a variety of literacy programmes. One school had been running the “Pause, Prompt, Praise” programme  for seven years and the principal reported that in that time no child had come off the programme reading below their chronological age. At another school there was a junior school teacher who was really passionate about improving home–school partnerships and in particular transition form Early Childhood centres to school. She was running an early literacy programme at school each Friday afternoon for four year olds and their parents. She felt this gave the children a “head start” but also allowed both them and their parents to become familiar with the school environment before actually starting school.

Another school had developed a school induction programme for new entrants, with the aim of facilitating a smooth transition to school. It informs parents of what happens at school so they can be more involved in supporting their children. This programme is supported by a DVD that the school had produced.

At yet another primary school where there was a Maori immersion unit, the whanau of children in this unit appeared to be centrally involved in decision making about their children’s education. Whanau members were involved in joint planning with teachers and in leading activities various activities. The purpose of the partnership in this unit was to involve families in every part of their children’s learning.

The initiatives outlined above further illustrate the wide range of approaches, and high levels of creativity and commitment by providers that is identified in the research literature on interventions designed to increase parental engagement.