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Forming Community-Based Organizations/ School Partnerships
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Transcript of Forming Community-Based Organizations/ School Partnerships
1/31/2003 Osterling NABE 2003 1
Forming
Community-Based Organizations/
School Partnerships
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Strengthening Latino Parental Involvement
by
Forming Community-Based Organizations/
School Partnerships
Jorge P. Osterling, Ph.D.George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
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Session Objectives
Participants will engage in a Freirean
participatory dialogue about the alternative
ways bilingual educators can develop
partnerships between community-based
organizations and schools in order to
strengthen parental involvement.
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Participatory Dialogue
Problem-Posing and
Critical Thinking
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Our Tool for Today’s Dialogue:
Freire’s Educational Model
Three stages of educational process
Listening
Participatory Dialogue
Praxis/action
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OverviewChanging Times – New Challenges
Empowering Parents: Expanding Beyond Traditional Parental Involvement Activities
School Culture: Barrier for Change or Bridge for Improvement.
Broadening American school’s community partnerships: Engaging people from all cultures and walks of life.
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Overview Changing Times – New Challenges
Involving parents and members of the larger community in the school's decision-making processes.
The Latino Population in the United States.
How do you form community-based organizations and school partnerships which strengthen Latino parental involvement?
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School CultureBarrier or Bridge?
When schools seek to improve while adapting
to the new demographics, it is necessary to
focus on the values, beliefs, and norms of both
the school and the community. (Sarason, 1982; Deal and
Peterson, 1990).
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School CultureBarrier or Bridge?
(Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1992).
The culture of the school can be described as the existence of an interplay between three factors: – The attitudes and beliefs of persons both
inside the school and in the external environment,
– The cultural norms of the school, and – The relationships between persons in the
school. Each of these factors may present barriers to
change or serve as a bridge to long-lasting implementation of school improvement.
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Community-based OrganizationsCBOs
CBOs represent a natural, yet largely
untapped, source of leadership for
community-based efforts to:
– Support English Language Learners.– Strengthen Latino parental involvement.
Cf. Carolyn Temple Adger (2000). School/ Community Partnerships to Support Language Minority Students. CREDE
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Building Bridges with CBOs
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Changing Times New Challenges
During the latter part of the 20th Century major
demographic changes have taken place throughout the
United States.
As a result, traditional parent associations have been
less able to play their traditional role.
Need to engage more members of the larger
community in the school's decision-making processes.
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Changing Times New Challenges
Minority parents often find it difficult to guide
their children through the American
educational process:
– Many parents do not understand the process;
– Communication problems with teachers and
administrators due to cultural, linguistic barriers.
– Many schools lack parental outreach programs to
combat these difficulties.
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CBO – School Partnerships
CBOs already have a variety of relationships
with the children and parents in their
neighborhoods (i.e., the core constituency of
public schools).
Many already collaborate with local schools in
after-school activities.
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CBO -- School Partnerships
CBOs’ neighborhood focus enables them to
relate to, know, and thus be more responsive
to the needs of local or special populations
than mainstream institutions.
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Latino CBOSchool Partnerships
Existing Latino CBOs can be invited into
partnerships with local schools.
When schools partner with these local
organizations, it can be a catalyst to
developing parental involvement.
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Latino CBOs
In our communities there are Latino CBOs
and community leaders who with very limited
resources play a pivotal role in meeting unmet
needs and pushing for quality services.
Many are not yet involved with our schools.
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Latino CBOs
There are also groups that no one considers at all (on either school or Latino parent side) that are NOT pushing for quality services and that do not see themselves as resources. Many of them may be informal.
A men’s soccer group, a women’s quilting group, a group that teaches national dances to kids … all of these operating in the REAL Latino world)
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Latino CBOs
It is just as essential to find them and
help them see how they can be resources
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Empowerment
An intentional, ongoing process centered in the local community, involving mutual respect, critical reflection, caring, and group participation, through which people lacking an equal share of resources gain greater access to and control over those resources.
cited in D.D. Perkings & Zimmerman, 1995, p. 570, and by Rappaport, 1999).
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Expanding Beyond Traditional Parental Involvement Activities
Schools must give all parents –
including those from culturally and
linguistically diverse groups-- the
power to become involved in the
schools their children attend.
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Latino Population The United States
Latinos now number 37 million (Census, 2003)
During the 1995 – 2050 period, the percentage of Latino residents age 5-24 is projected to increase by 222 percent.
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A Word of Caution
Latinos are: – An unusually diverse community;– Share a common language, – But, there are many differences:
• Socioeconomic and academic backgrounds;
• Culture and ethnicity;• Nationality
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Latino High School Completion Rate
In 2000, the Latino high school completion
rate was 64.1 % [1972, was 56.2%].
Trend has been fairly similar over the past
three decades.
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Angela Valenzuela’sSubtractive Schooling
Subtractive schooling is a process by which
schools "subtract resources" from U.S.-
Mexican youth.
Mexican-born students academically
outperform students from families with a
longer history in this country. Valenzuela, Angela.(1999). Subtractive schooling: U.S./Mexican youth and the
politics of caring. Albany: State University of New York Press.
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Angela Valenzuela’sSubtractive Schooling
The decline in the academic achievement of
Mexican-descent students across the
generations is a perplexing phenomena that
contradicts the pattern of upward academic
mobility thought to be characteristic of other
student groups in the United States.
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Many Latinos Excel Academically
Many Latino students are doing very well in
school, and go on to complete college.
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Is it possible to reverse the trend of Latino failure?
Sí, se puede!Sí, se puede!UFW Slogan, 1960s
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How can American Schools Successfully meet the needs its
Latino students?
There is No Silver Bullet!!!
Schools Need a High Level of
Community, Family, and Parental Involvement
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Building Bridges with CBOs
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Parent Involvement School - Families
People have different views of what parent involvement is.
There are also differences in the perceived roles of teachers and parents.
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Parental InvolvementDifferent Views & Goals
Parents participating in formal
school activities/ events;
Parents serving as classroom aides
or working on fund-raising
projects.
Parents also participate in
decision-making bodies, in school
governance, in creating programs
to help teachers and
administrators meet needs.
Parents being involved at home
in informal activities:
– Creating a learning environment;
– Reading and listening to children read;
Instilling cultural values;
Sending them to school well fed,
clean, and rested.Cf. Sribner, Young, and Pedroza (1999).
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Exploring Cultural ExperiencesDiverse Schools and Classrooms
Educators should explore their own cultural experiences, values, and attitudes as they relate to child rearing practices in school.
Educators should learn as much as possible from parents about their cultural experiences, values, and attitudes (i.e., image of authority figures, views about schools, etc.).
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Is this a Cultural Issue?
Latino parents tend to separate the school
system and home and treat them as different
domains:
The role of schools is to instill knowledge and
teach their children.
The role of parents is to provide nurturance,
and teach morals, respect and good behavior,
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Empowerment in CarpinteriaConcha Delgado-Gaitan’sCenter for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Children
Schools, knowingly or unknowingly, often
assume that Latino parents know how to
interact with school personnel.
However, because they come from very
different educational traditions, most of these
parents do not. As a result, they feel powerless
to participate in the school.
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Empowerment in CarpinteriaConcha Delgado-Gaitan’sCenter for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Children
When Latino parents are "empowered" with
the knowledge of how to work cooperatively
with school personnel to resolve issues
pertaining to their children, they become more
active in the school.
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21st Century Challenge
Giving Meaningful Voices to All Parents
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Partnering with CBOs An Option or an Alternative?
Traditional, bureaucratic, parent involvement mechanisms established by school systems.
Latino CBOs.
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Successful PartnershipsIssues
School EnvironmentCreating a friendly, welcoming environment
School CultureValuing home and community culture
Teachers as Cultural-BrokersOvercoming Misperceptions and Stereotypes
Overcoming Linguistic & Cultural BarriersDisconnect between home, community, and school
ParentsEducational Level and Previous Experience
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Best Practices
Establishing community networks and
partnerships with other CBOs and agencies
already serving Latino families.
Building trust and personal relationships;
When publications are translated, making sure they are culturally acceptable. Attention to literacy is important.
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Participatory Dialogue
Brainstorming
Strengthening Latino Parent Leadership
Through Partnerships
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Theme One: Community Involvement
How can community leaders and faith-based organizations:– Inform and educate parents about the
educational opportunities available for every child?
– Encourage their local officials to take advantage of all federal, state, and local educational opportunities?
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Theme Two: Developing Partnerships Community
Where can schools look for CBOs and informal groups?
How can they engage them?How what the CBO is already doing can
be of benefit to the school and children?
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Theme Three: Developing Policies
How can State Educational Agencies (SEAs) develop policies that encourage and enable their school districts (LEAs) and schools to promote successful school-community partnerships that are responsive to the diverse populations they serve?
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Theme Four: Reciprocal Partnerships
How can SEAs and LEAs establish true partnerships in which both the leadership of CBOs and school personnel learn from each other and find ways in which they can mutually support their efforts of educating all children?
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Thank you!
Thank you for this rich opportunity to explore new ways to strengthen Latino parent leadership through the development of community-based/ school partnerships.
Jorge P. Osterling<[email protected]>