Newaygo County Agencies Unite to Enhance School Success

an interview with Denise Gasper, Director of Early Childhood Education, Newaygo Public Schools Early Childhood Consortium

What happens when community leaders unite to forge community alliances, create shared vision, and mobilize resources for services and supports to local families? In Newaygo County, this kind of collaboration has resulted in a powerful school/community partnership.

The partnership’s goal is that all Newaygo County children enter school ready to learn. Leading Change staff recently interviewed Denise Gasper of the Newaygo County Public Schools Early Childhood Consortium who serves on the Newaygo County Multi-Agency Consortium (MAC) (see “Multipurpose Collaborative Body Network Addresses Complex Community Needs” below). We asked Denise to describe the MAC’s efforts to identify and address the needs of families with young children.

Q: What is the MAC attempting to achieve through its community/school partnership and why?

A: The overarching goal is to create a better community in every aspect of life. Through collaborative efforts, we hope to minimize duplication and maximize resources. In the area of early intervention and prevention, the goal is to create a seamless system of early childhood care and education and parenting services. The basis for the goal is the current research-based knowledge regarding the importance of early childhood development and the parent’s role. Ultimately, children are more likely to succeed in school if they enter school ready to learn.

Q: Who are your partners in the effort?

A: The early intervention and prevention effort stemmed from a Newaygo County Multi-Agency Consortium (MAC) (see “Multipurpose Collaborative Body Network Addresses Complex Community Needs” at left) strategic plan that was first developed in the early 1990s. More than thirty agencies and school district staff participated. Over the course of the last decade, a number of new programs were implemented through a series of grants and collaborative efforts that involved a variety of partnership arrangements. The MAC includes representatives from most human service and educational agencies in Newaygo County.

Q: Why is it important to involve these individuals/agencies?

A: The importance of this universal participation is found in the variety and changing nature of community needs. As new needs are identified, different combinations of partners are required to respond to them. Ultimately, MAC member organizations are involved actively in at least one program—but all members are aware of the spectrum of collaborative efforts. This awareness not only promotes communication but also provides examples after which new partnerships can be modeled to respond to emerging needs.

Q: What needs to be in place to enable individuals/organizations to work together effectively?

A: One of the founding beliefs that drove the MAC strategic plan states, "Community problems require community solutions.” We recognize that one person or organization acting alone is less likely to successfully respond to a need in contrast to a collaborative effort. For example, schools struggle to educate children who are hungry, sick, or suffer from abuse. Schools must engage in partnerships with other agencies in order to address the needs of the whole child. This can be accomplished through collaborative efforts.

Q: Define the term collaboration as it fits into your community/school partnership.

A: A local agency director once told a group of colleagues, “Collaboration is an unnatural act committed by unwilling participants.” Collaboration in Newaygo County has not been formally defined; rather it has been informally operationalized—through people coming together, recognizing a community need, and willingly committing both human and financial resources to a unified effort.

Q: What are some examples of your success?

A: The Michigan School Readiness Program (MSRP) preschool effort involves the five local school districts in the Newaygo County Regional Educational Service Agency (NC RESA). Each local district currently houses preschool classrooms. Each classroom includes children with disabilities and adheres to a 100 percent inclusive philosophy.

The Newaygo County Parents as Teachers (NCPAT) program is funded through a Zero to Three Secondary Prevention Grant of the Children’s Trust, Fremont Area Community Foundation, and Great Parents/Great Start Newaygo. The NCPAT program is a multi-agency effort that identifies community agency staff who, in their jobs, are already visiting families. NCPAT enlists these home visitors to serve as PAT home educators for families who want to participate in the PAT program. This approach minimizes cost and the number of different agency people who visit each home. It results in a more holistic and coordinated service approach.

The Families Together program is an interagency effort designed to bring human services into schools to analyze and address home issues that may be affecting the educational success of a student. School and agency staff meet regularly and develop an action plan to respond to home situations affecting student success. Depending on the situation, different agencies may take the lead on the plan and then report back to the interagency team on progress and obstacles. The team effort continues until the situation improves.

Joining Forces brings child care providers into the education system. Providers are invited to attend staff development opportunities and are supported through home visits, a lending library, and educational tools for use in their homes and centers.

Q: What are some of the most effective strategies you’ve used. Why were they successful?

A: The communication strategies we’ve employed are in large part common sense strategies. They include building relationships, creating a common vision and mission, and joint planning that includes answering three basic questions: 1) Where are we? 2) Where do we want to be? and 3) How are we going to get there? The most important word in these questions is “we”; it serves as the basis for developing a common purpose. However, the success of the effort begins and ends with the individual relationships that have been developed.

Q: How is the county’s multi-purpose collaborative body involved in your community school partnership efforts?

A: The Newaygo Human Services Collaborative Body (HSCB) is made up of the leaders of most of the major agencies and programs in the county. This leadership group provided the drive for the initial strategic plan and continues to communicate a common vision of community service characterized by collaborative efforts. Time and again, the collaborative has committed its agency’s resources and provided support to efforts designed to respond to community needs (see “Multipurpose Collaborative Body Network Addresses Complex Community Needs” at right ).

Q: What roles have local foundations played?

A: Newaygo County is fortunate to be supported by two locally based foundations: the Gerber Foundation and the Fremont Area Community Foundation (FACF). Both foundations have provided financial support to numerous MAC initiatives. The FACF also has taken an active leadership role in assessing and addressing community needs.

For more information, contact: Denise Gasper, Newaygo County Agencies Unite to Enhance School Success, Newaya County Parenting Consortium, Newaygo Center, 585 Fremont, Newaygo, MI 49337, (231) 652-3655, dgasper@ncresa.org or visit http://evenstart.neway.net.

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