Engage families and the community in supporting the instructional focus
A student's education does not end when she leaves the classroom at the end of the school day. When schools reach out and involve families in the process of shaping their children's education, real progress can happen.
To get families and communities involved, Focus On Results helps schools:
- Open genuine two-way communication with students' families, fostering dialogue and treating families as valued partners in educating students.
- Focus their communication on what will help all students show growth in the goal areas set by the instructional focus.
- Communicate a clear idea of their goals for students by giving parents a concrete idea of what desired student achievement looks like.
- Develop a common understanding of how students' home and school environments work together to make achievement possible.
- Reach out to all groups of students, particularly those who are most in need of help in reaching achievement goals.
Results we've achieved
Our work with the Gilroy (Calif.) Unified School District helped the district improve instruction in English, which is a second language for many of its students, and improve its teaching in literacy and math district-wide.
To assess how well its schools were teaching literacy and math, the district assembled a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic task force of families and community members. After a year of study, the task force produced useful recommendations that led to new teaching practices, enabling students with limited English skills to participate more fully in English instruction.
Our work with the district, in tandem with the district's renewed involvement with its families and its community, led to significant gains for students in English proficiency. Student scores on the California English Language Development Test jumped from 54 percent at the proficient level in 2001 to 75 percent in 2002.