Ohio Partnership Schools – District and School Leaders

Ohio District and School Examples

5 minute Recorded Slideshow with Jazz Music Celebrating Highlights from the 2021-22 School Year

Answers to FAQs

1. We are a small district, do we have to become NNPS members as a district AND as individual schools? The district membership fee is waived in the following 2 scenarios: 1) If the district and the school is one in the same (like a charter or community school) so only one $500.00 membership fee is required. 2) The district has only one or two schools in it, but the district is another entity. In that case, the district would join for free and only the school membership fees are required. $500.00 x The number of schools joining.
2. Very interested in how partnership schools work can be supported by and support community learning center implementation. Also-are there other districts that are implementing CLCs and NNPS? The NNPS Model is very compatible with a Community Learning Centers Model. The models have many shared goals. If you already have a team with families and partners within your school and a resource coordinator managing the partnerships for your school, the NNPS Model will provide new ways to measure and organize your partnerships program, and new resources/examples to consider using. We will continue to explore the alignment of these 2 models, and welcome your examples of how you are doing that within your schools.
3. Can we have more than 2 school teams from our district at the trainings? Dr. Epstein will equip your district and SST staff with the tools to conduct your own 1-day training for school teams, should you choose to expand beyond the original 2 schools chosen.
4. What if I am having trouble finding 3 parent/caregiver representatives for my school team? Do I need to pull out of the program? If your teams are not able to recruit any, or only 1 or 2 parents/caregivers by the time of the training, or the parents/caregivers are not able to attend the training, that is okay.  Recruiting parents will be an action step for the team after the training. Recruiting parents/caregivers is one of the common challenges faced by schools across the US who are implementing this model.  You do not need to withdraw from the training, coaching and ongoing support of this program.  There will be a solution and we are committed to working with you, principals, and teachers to find a way to bring parents into your school teams.  Dr. Epstein will address this directly during trainings. School Action Teams for Partnership are usually constructed by the principal and/or teacher(s) on the team. They know parents who are available, good communicators, and who might enjoy being part of the “pioneer” (start up) team for their school.  They can identify, contact, and invite 2-3 parents or family members (grandparents have served on teams) who have contacts in different communities served by the school. A Family Liaison or a community partner might like this role of linking to other parents to increase family representation on this team.
5. At the trainings, will there be an emphasis on using the “Keys” virtually? In today’s climate, it is difficult to see community engagement thru the virtual lens. Yes, we have been collaborating with Dr. Epstein to ensure that these trainings are relevant and speak to what education looks like this year. We will make sure that specific topic is covered.
6. Could we use the Measure of School, Family, and Community Partnerships from Chapter 9 as a kick-off with our DLT? No. There is a different measure in Chapter 5 called “Starting Points” that lets your school teams assess where they are starting from in family engagement. This is a better place to start. After a year or a year and a half, the Chapter 9 Measure can be used to think about “where are we now?