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Category Archives: Schools
Principles of effective parent engagement in early childhood education
The engaging diverse families project of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) identified principles of family engagement in early childhood education, collected case studies of good practice and developed resources to help programs more effectively engage … Continue reading
What works in connecting families, communities and schools?
What works in strengthening connections between families, communities and schools? This is the subject of a report by the J R McKenzie Trust, “Connecting Education and Communities.” The J R McKenzie Trust, a New Zealand charitable trust, currently focuses on … Continue reading
A few reflections after 10 years of primary school
Yesterday Alexa finished Year 6, marking the end of our 10 years at the primary school since Jasmine started in 2006. Both girls received a top class education, and have grown as individuals through their time at the school. We … Continue reading
Posted in Schools
Tagged Family-school partnerships, School & community partnerships, school community, Schools
3 Comments
Jihad Dib on school transformation (TEDx talk)
This TEDx talk by Jihad Dib, the Principal at Punchbowl Boys High, captures the essence of strengths-based practice and highlights the importance of community engagement. In the school of around 450 students, 65% of the students come from the bottom … Continue reading
Irony – Denying parents information about school ethics classes
Once again NSW ethics classes (Special Education in Ethics – SEE) are under attack. The NSW government is apparently considering removing any reference to ethics classes as an alternative to scripture classes (Special Religious Education – SRE) from school enrolment … Continue reading
Posted in Families & parenting, Schools
Tagged Ethics, Ethics classes, Schools, Scripture, Students
1 Comment
Engaging families in early intervention for child conduct concerns
I was one of the authors on a paper published this month in the journal Children Australia about Getting on Track in Time (Got It!): an early intervention programs assisting families to deal with emerging child behavioural difficulties that are … Continue reading
Learning vs school education
[Updated 24 July 2017 to fix link to second video.] Engaging children in their school is not the same as engaging children in learning. I’m a huge fan of families being engaged with schools but we also need to recognise … Continue reading
Teachers phoning parents
Imagine the difference to school-family relationships if teachers made a phone call to all families at least once a year, not when there were problems, but just to help build connections. I first heard this idea a number of years … Continue reading
Posted in Schools
Tagged Family-school partnerships, For students, Phone calls, Schools, Working with communities
1 Comment
Community engagement in turning around schools
Earlier this year, the Grattan Institute released a report “Turning around schools: it can be done” (Jensen & Sonnemann, 2014). It explored how schools can transform from being a “low-performing’ school into a “high-performing” school. I suspected that engaging parents … Continue reading
Family and community engagement by schools
Across Australia there is an increasing awareness of the importance of school–community partnerships and engaging families and the local community. I recently presented a workshop for teachers on community engagement as part of a Teachers’ Visit Day at the University … Continue reading
Sustaining Community 