A Roundup of Promising Practices for Community Engagement

If you are looking for a model of an effective community-school partnership, look at these neighborhood schools for award-winning examples. Since 1994, a total of 90 local and intermediate school districts throughout Michigan received Education Excellence Awards from the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) for outstanding education programs in the categories of community relations and parental involvement.

On May 4, 2004, five more school districts were honored at the 2003-04 Education Excellence Awards luncheon for their work in integrating communities and schools.

Project LEAPS – Community Relations Category

Western School District (Jackson County)

In Western School District, every student is encouraged to give back to her/his community through volunteering. Through Project LEAPS (Learning for Everyone—Action for Partnerships and Service), students develop lifelong habits of volunteerism and service. This program allows students in any grade level to participate and receive recognition. In the past year alone, more than 300 awards have been earned by elementary, middle, and high school students, and 12,835 hours of community service have benefited the people in the Western School District.

Project SKIP – Parent Involvement Category

Genesee Intermediate School District (Genesee County)

The first three years of life are the critical years for building the foundations of
school success. Once in school, the next predictor is the child’s ability to hear the sounds in language, differentiate words, and decode print. Through parenting education, health services, and guided playgroups, Project SKIP (Successful Kids = Involved Parents) helps parents, childcare providers, and preschool teachers gain knowledge about how they can enhance these must-have skills.

Countdown to Kindergarten – Community Relations Category

Gwinn Area Community Schools (Marquette County)

Building bridges between home and school before a child starts kindergarten is key to readiness and early success. At Sawyer and Gilbert Elementary schools, parents and their preschoolers have a chance to get acquainted with school during the entire year before it begins. Activity kits are mailed home, monthly meetings are held at the school, books are read in the library, and “socialization” time is spent in the kindergarten classroom.

ACTS—All Children Connected to Succeed – Parent Involvement Category

Ingham ISD (Ingham County)

Before ACTS, there was no countywide process for identifying all families with newborns, offering all parents an initial home visit, or assuring that families with children at risk or with special needs were connected to services and supports. Collaborating with Head Start, the Health Department, local school districts, and other providers, Ingham ISD makes ACTS a reality—connecting parents, schools, and communities in their vision of all children ready to succeed.

These winning programs—plus 27 additional award recipients in eight other categories—will now advance to a second round of judging for a chance to win one of ten Michigan’s Best cash awards. MASB will honor these winners at MASB’s Fall Conference, Nov. 4-7 in Grand Rapids.

The Michigan Association of School Board’s (MASB) Education Excellence Award Program is a statewide competition to identify and recognize outstanding education programs that improve student achievement in Michigan public schools. From hundreds of programs entered in ten program categories each year, judges select the top three programs for Education Excellence Awards. For the 2005 competition, MASB is introducing an additional category—special education programs that represent innovative approaches to impact achievement for students with special needs.

All Michigan school districts are encouraged to enter MASB’s 2005 Educational Excellence Awards Program. Help your school receive the recognition it deserves for exemplary school improvement and student achievement. The deadline for all entries this school year is February 12, 2005. For more information, visit
MASB on the Web at www.masb.org/page.cfm/39.

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