Hub, Heart, Home: The School as the Conerstone of the Community
Format
Individual Presentation
First Presenter's Institution
Bibb County School, Veterans Elementary School
First Presenter’s Email Address
jill.burwell@bcsdk12.net
First Presenter's Brief Biography
I am a 31 Year Educators with a Master's in Elementary Education and Educational Leadership. During my tenure I have served as Principal, Assistant Principal, Dean of Students, Reading Coach and PBIS Coach. I've present at the GAPBS Conference for the past four years and I presented at the virtual GAPBS conference winter of 2020. I have a PBIS Endorsement and use my knowledge of PBIS to improve climate and culture. Veterans Elementary School has a four star climate rating and is an GA PBIS Operational School.
Second Presenter's Institution
Bibb County Schools, Veterans Elementary School
Second Presenter’s Email Address
Shardae.chatman@bcsdk12.net
Second Presenter's Brief Biography
I have served as the school counselor at Veterans Elementary School in Macon, GA. I have been a school counselor for five years. After completing my master’s degree, I worked as a Family Counselor for Piedmont Counseling services. From these experiences, I learned that my passion was in education working with children. I love helping children become more successful students, teaching them how to effectively deal with a variety of problems, and inspiring them to do their personal best in their lives. I believe that ALL students can learn and achieve academic greatness when encouraged and nurtured in a respectful environment.
Location
Session Two Breakouts
Strand #1
Home: Family & Community Engagement
Strand #2
Heart: Social & Emotional Skills
Relevance
This presentation includes strategies that address increasing parent and community involvement to support students' education and social and emotional well-being. The presentation includes using mentoring programs, auxiliary programs, and various community resources to support at-risk youth.
Brief Program Description
This session will offer attendees ideas about engaging parents and community through school-based auxiliary programs. It will also highlight community resources to bridge the social emotional and mental health gaps and give information about parent university and induction programs. Attendees will also leave with concrete ideas on how to engage families to reduce disproportionality in school suspensions, improving student behavior and increasing attendance.
Summary
Despite schools’ best efforts and federal mandates for parental involvement, there still is a critical disconnect between school, home, and community, especially in low-income and working-class minority households. Many families need awareness of the importance of being engaged in the school community and developing positive school-home relationships. Active parental involvement in their children’s school is not just about reading and homework. To increase engagement, schools must make a positive connection with parents, should provide a variety of activities and frequent opportunities to fully engage parents and community partners. This session will offer attendees ideas about engaging parents and community through school-based auxiliary programs. It will also highlight community resources to bridge the social emotional and mental health gaps and give information about parent university and induction programs. Attendees will also leave with concrete ideas on how to engage families to reduce disproportionality in school suspensions, improving student behavior and increasing attendance. Engaging the stakeholders with services like New Student University, attendance accountability programs, Youth Scouts, mentoring programs, staff champions, student ambassadors, and other various programs and resources within the school will give parents and community partners opportunities to strengthen their relationships and involvement in developing the whole child and enhancing the students’ opportunities to be college or career ready. Hub, Home, Heart: The School as the Cornerstone of the Community will engage all participants in strategies that will support fostering positive relationships, establish, and sustain engagement and communication with all stakeholders that will support families and at-risk youth.
Evidence
Margaret Wheatley (2006) stresses that “In this exquisitely connected world, it’s never a question of critical mass. It’s always about critical connections.” Wheatly state that over the last 36 years Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) has promoted meaningful parent involvement as the necessary component of effective schools and affirms it in the Quality Schools Action Framework, which was developed by Dr. Maria Cuca Robledo Montecel, IRDA’s president and CEO (2005). Research on Positive Youth Development also supports cultivating positive youth development through a holistic approach that focuses on creating a developmentally appropriate setting for youth. The research supports Positive youth development strategies focusing on forging positive relationships; strengthening academic, soft and technical skills; cultivating trustworthy, safe spaces; and offering youth opportunities to succeed in meaningful ways. Another defining characteristic of Positive Youth Development is that youth are treated as equal partners and engage with their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups and families in ways that are both constructive and productive. This presentation stresses the importance of developing youth through parent and community involvement and through positive relationships. The attendees will learn strategies, activities, and resources that support developing the whole child.
Learning Objective 1
The participants will learn how to promote active parent and community engagement using youth auxiliary programs and community partnerships.
Learning Objective 2
The participants will take away knowledge of how to utilize community partnerships that promote strengthening parents’ awareness of strategies that support student mental wellbeing and social emotional growth.
Learning Objective 3
The participants will learn how to use Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to engage parents and community to decrease disproportionate rates of minority suspensions, increase attendance, and academics.
Keyword Descriptors
Community, Engagement, Postive Relationships, Disproportionate, Partnerships, Support, At-Risk
Presentation Year
2022
Start Date
3-7-2022 1:00 PM
End Date
3-7-2022 2:15 PM
Recommended Citation
Burwell, Jill, "Hub, Heart, Home: The School as the Conerstone of the Community" (2022). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 21.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2022/2022/21
Hub, Heart, Home: The School as the Conerstone of the Community
Session Two Breakouts
This session will offer attendees ideas about engaging parents and community through school-based auxiliary programs. It will also highlight community resources to bridge the social emotional and mental health gaps and give information about parent university and induction programs. Attendees will also leave with concrete ideas on how to engage families to reduce disproportionality in school suspensions, improving student behavior and increasing attendance.