Building Family Partnerships That Last

Abstract

In an effort to establish comprehensive, permanent programs of partnership with their families and communities, 49 schools in Baltimore City are working closely with the National Network of Partnerships-2000 Schools at Johns Hopkins University. Action teams in three elementary schools discussed here are focusing on six types of involvement, namely (1) parenting, (2) communicating, (3) volunteering, (4) learning at home, (5) decision-making, and (6) collaborating with the community. These schools are learning that there is nothing easy about forming a partnership among schools, parents, and the community at large. But the benefits of such a partnership are incalculable, and with the principles of Partnership-2000 to guide them, all three schools have made a great deal of progress in a very short time.