The
Objectives of the Institute are for participants to:
•
Understand what effective
schools look like.
•
Be able to envision the ideal
school and begin to develop action plans for achieving that idea.
•
Understand the role of parents
in school improvement. (NCLB, Abbott, Title I, IDEA, etc.)
•
Identify leaders’ individual
roles in moving schools toward their vision.
•
Develop
and/or hone advocacy skills.
•
Understand
effective parent/professional collaboration techniques.
•
Develop
a plan for analysis and action.
•
Have
the ability to share their knowledge and skills by training other parents
and community members.
Outline
of the Eight (8) Workshop Sessions
Session 1: The Importance of
Parent Involvement in Creating Effective Schools
-
Create
and share a vision of our ideal school.
-
Explore
our educational experiences--what worked and what did not..
-
Realize
our roles as parents and child advocates.
-
Begin
to know our roles as parents in school decision-making.
-
Become
familiar with state, federal and local structures that impact education
in our district.
Session
2: What Every Parent Should Know about Standards and Assessments
-
To
learn the “five Questions of School Reform” and comprehend the
“language” of the education arena.
-
To
see the connections between curriculum, opportunity to learn standards
and assessments.
-
To
gain knowledge about the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards.
-
To
understand the No Child Left Behind Act and its impact on education in
our school.
Session
3: What Every Parent Should Know about Teaching and Learning
-
To
understand the relationship between Teaching and Learning.
-
To
see what effective staff development policies and look like.
-
To
gain knowledge about the New Jersey statewide assessments, their
history, purpose, and goals.
-
To
understand the concept of “high stakes” testing and its influence on
teaching and education policy.
-
To
explore the appropriate uses of testing.
Session
4: Supporting Families &
Students
-
To
explore the relationship between education and social issues.
-
To
better understand the connections between parents and students with and
without special needs.
-
To
identify available academic and support services for children and
families.
Session
5: Supporting Students with
Special Needs
-
To
understand the state and federal laws in place to serve families and
students needing academic supports (i.e. Abbott
regulations, Title I, IDEA, Bilingual Education, The McKinney Act and Plyler
v. Doe).
-
To
learn the requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) and Section 504.
-
To
understand research-based information on effective practices for
children with disabilities and their relationship to effective practices
for all learners.
-
To
discuss inclusion, its barriers and opportunities.
Session
6: The Importance of School Climate & Facilities in Improving Student
Outcomes
-
To
assess the school environment and its promotion of learning and positive
behavior.
-
To
understand the facilities planning requirements under the Abbott
regulations.
-
To
examine home, school and community influences and practices regarding
discipline.
-
To
identify curricula associated with positive student behavior,
social-problem solving and conflict resolution.
-
To
highlight alternatives to exclusionary discipline practices.
Session
7: Ensuring Schools Have
Sufficient Resources
-
To
understand the school funding issues faced by public schools.
-
To
learn about the basic elements of school budgets.
-
To
examine the budgeting processes in our school and district.
-
To
gain some basic techniques for analyzing a school budget.
Session
8: Research, Analysis & Action
-
To
develop effective collaboration techniques.
-
To
learn about data collection instruments available to gauge the
effectiveness of our schools.
-
To
identify particular areas of concern.
-
To
develop a plan for research, analysis and action on identified issues.
This
training is provided by qualified presenters/facilitators who are also
parent leaders. The training
includes materials and resources for all participants.
To
arrange to bring the Institute to your school or district, contact SPAN’s
Training Administrator.
Phone:
800-654-SPAN, ext. 116
or
E-mail; trainings@spannj.org
SPAN
Parent Leadership Development Institute