Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/54552
Creighton Elementary School District's Academic Parent-Teacher Teams Coaching Parents as Team Members When parents are engaged in their child's learning, they can help their child strengthen academic skills outside of school. Academic Parent- Teacher Teams (APTT) provides a structure for parents to meet with the teacher and converse with other parents while also learning ways to support their child's academic skill develop- ment. Founded in 2008, APTT resulted from efforts to increase student learning through sup- port beyond the school day. Jason Schnee, president of the Creighton Creighton EA was re- cently recognized by the NEA Priority Schools Campaign for its work in collaborating with parents and community members to advance students learning. Education Association (CEA), says, "We in CEA fully support the APTT model and encourage all of the individuals who wish to use it to indeed do so. It is a great model and one which has sound research behind it." The program replaces traditional parent- teacher conferences with three classroom team meetings for parents and one 30-minute individual parent teacher conference (or more if needed). At the team meetings, the teacher models activities that parents can do at home with their children. The teacher also presents academic performance data for the class and gives parents individual information about their own child's performance. "Many parents wonder what the parents of kids at the top of the class are doing at home to make that happen," says Maria Paredes, who started the program and until recently was the district's director of community education. "Parents give other parents ideas for success- ful practice at home. It forms a community." Opportunities for parents to network with one another are especially important in the Creighton Elementary School District, where 85 percent of students are Hispanic and 40 percent are English Language Learners. How the Program Works The program is led by the school district's director of community education, who provides ongoing professional development to school admin- istrators, teachers, and parent liaisons (each school has a par- ent liaison on staff). Teachers participate in the program voluntarily, and 90 percent of teachers in the district are now participating. In place of traditional, twice- a-year parent-teacher conferences, there are three 75-minute classroom team meetings and one 30-minute individual parent-teacher confer- ence each year. Teachers send personal letters inviting parents to the meetings. At the team meetings, the teacher models activities that parents can do at home with their children, and parents practice the activities together in small groups. The teacher also pres- ents academic performance data for the class as a whole and gives parents individual informa- tion about their own child's performance. The teacher helps parents set 60-day parent-student academic goals for their child. At the 30-minute individual conference, parents and teachers create an action plan to optimize learning. Additional conferences may be arranged if needed. Because many of the parents speak only Spanish, the program provides translators for the team meetings, and when possible, makes materials available in the parents' home language. The program receives funding from the federal Title I program. CEA member Joshua Briese, a fourth-grade teacher at Excelencia Elementary School, began using APTT last year and found it especially useful for opening a communication channel with parents early in the school year. "If I can get students doing anything at home related to what we do at school, it will have an impact," he says. Continued on next page AEA Advocate x Spring 2012 13 Priority Schools Campaign