From: "The George Lucas Educational Foundation" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: (GLEF Blast Newsletter) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tue, 17 Sep 2002 15:38:52 -0700 Subject: GLEF Blast Newsletter: September 17, 2002
GLEF Blast Newsletter: September 17, 2002 Greetings! This issue of the GLEF Blast profiles the positive impact a home visit program has made on a low-performing school in California. A new Web documentary and expert interviews offer an opportunity to see the program in action and hear from the elementary school's principal and teachers. The Sacramento-based program was so successful the program has expanded to districts across California. Also, the "Edutopia" radio series continues on Thursday, September 19, at noon PT (3 pm ET) with more successful innovations from urban schools in San Jose, California, and New York City. Guests include California elementary school Principal Peggy Bryan [http://www.glef.org/bryan.html] and New York City middle school Principal Mirian Acosta-Sing [http://www.glef.org/acosta.html]. Dr. Milton Chen, GLEF's executive director, hosts this one-hour, live talk radio show on VoiceAmerica.com. Tune in at [http://www.voiceamerica.com]! On the Thursday, September 26, show (noon PT, 3 PM ET), Principal Carol Sharp from the Susan B. Anthony Elementary School in Sacramento describes how the simple idea of teachers visiting the homes of their students led to improved attendance, test scores, and community involvement (see below). ------------------------------------------------------------ I. What's Working in K-12 Schools: Making Connections Between Home and School II. Featured Video: Home Visits III. Expert Interviews: A principal and teacher on home visits IV. Parental Involvement Resources V. NEW! Fall 2002 Edutopia newsletter VI. Instructional Module: View of the Principal and the Job VIII. GLEF Blast Subscriptions ------------------------------------------------------------ I. What's Working in K-12 Schools - Making Connections Between Home and School At Susan B. Anthony Elementary School, 69 percent of the students are immigrants from countries in Southeast Asia, including Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Roughly 20 percent of the students are African American, and 12 percent are Hispanic. All live in poverty, with 100 percent of the students receiving free or reduced-priced lunches. Faced with a high suspension rate and a majority of students performing below grade level, staff and teachers from Susan B. Anthony Elementary School in the Sacramento City Unified School District launched a home visit program. Since the program began, student achievement has soared, suspensions have been almost eliminated, and parents are respected partners, not outsiders at the school. The model has been so successful that today, teachers from every school in the Sacramento City Unified School District are participating in the voluntary, paid program. [http://www.glef.org] ------------------------------------------------------------ II. Featured Video: Home Visits "I see a low suspension rate, less vandalism, increased student achievement, and attendance. As I look year to year it's gotten better and better." - Principal Carol Sharp comments on the impact of the home visit program at Susan B. Anthony Elementary School. A companion video to the article, "Making Connections Between Home and School," this 6-minute documentary offers a look into Susan B. Anthony Elementary School and the successful home visit program. [http://www.glef.org] ------------------------------------------------------------ III. Expert Interviews "When you go from 140 suspensions, four, well actually five years ago, down to three, that's dynamic. When you go to an attendance rate of 97.4 [percent], that's dynamic. And when you have students that have, I'm proud to say, jumped 214 points on the API scale in that amount of time, you know something's happening here." - Carol Sharp, Principal of Susan B. Anthony Elementary School, talks about the effect home visits had on student behavior and academic achievement. [http://www.glef.org/sharp.html] "I just tell them the benefits -- the behavior, the discipline, the scores, the relationship with parents -- all the positive things that really have increased due to home visits. You know, why not try it?" - LeVearne Hagen, a teacher at Susan B. Anthony Elementary School, talks about how she promotes home visits to other teachers. [http://www.glef.org/hagen.html] ------------------------------------------------------------ IV. Parental Involvement Resources Educators, parents, and policymakers interested in further information about parent involvement strategies and programs are encouraged to visit the following Web sites: * National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education [http://www.ncpie.org] * National Parent Teacher Association [http://www.pta.org] * Parent Institute [http://www.par-inst.com] * Partnership for Family Involvement in Education [http://pfie.ed.gov/] * The San Diego (California) County Education Department: A collection of results from several studies of the effect of parent involvement on student achievement. [http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/notes/51/parstu.html] * Connect for Kids: Parent Involvement section [http://www.connectforkids.org/resources3139/resources_subject.htm?doc_id=82761] * "All in the Family: Educating Our Children in Post-September 11 America": A speech by Bob Chase, President, National Education Association (November 2001) [http://www.nea.org/speeches/sp011116.html] ------------------------------------------------------------ V. NEW! Fall 2002 Edutopia Newsletter - (Re)Designing Learning Environments This issue of our free, semiannual print newsletter highlights ways to create 21st-century learning environments that focus not only on different kinds of educational architecture, but on how time is used, teacher and student relationships, collaboration, the benefits of real-world projects, and community involvement. You can download a PDF version of the newsletter online at: [http://www.glef.org/edutopiaarc.html] Or subscribe to our mailing list and receive a print version of the newsletter. [http://www.glef.org/subform.html] ------------------------------------------------------------ VI. Instructional Module - View of the Principal and the Job GLEF presents "View of the Principal and the Job," the first in an ongoing series of free instructional modules designed for use by professional developers and faculty in schools of education. This administrative leadership module helps principals develop strong organizational and leadership skills, as well as strategies and tools to improve academic performance. Each topic links to various GLEF articles and contact information, correlated with content derived from leadership standards and selected textbooks on the principalship. The module includes classroom activities, case studies, textbook assignments, and teaching resources, such as PowerPointŪ presentations and short videos. [http://www.glef.org/courseware/index.html] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. GLEF Blast Subscriptions To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]. Send "GLEF Blast Newsletter" administrative queries to: [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]. For further information about The George Lucas Educational Foundation, send an e-mail to: [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]. GLEF does not sell or otherwise distribute to third parties the e-mail addresses of list members. ------------------------------------------------------------ The George Lucas Educational Foundation is a nonprofit operating foundation located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Established in 1991 by filmmaker George Lucas, the Foundation documents and disseminates materials sharing hundreds of powerful examples of learning and teaching already successful in our nation's schools. We hope this information will stimulate active involvement and guide choices in school reform. ************************************************************************* If you want to unsubscribe, click and send (no body or subject: required) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives for K12 Newsletters can be found at: http://www.classroom.com/community/email/archives.jhtml?A0=K12NEWSLETTERS
