Community Connections

Community
Connections
THE POWER OF PARTNERING

Campaign Leverages Partnerships to Highlight Youth Strengths and Build Relationships

Denver Schools Partner to Improve Parent-Staff Relationship

Community Partners Spread Positive Youth Development in Jefferson County

Cherry Creek School District Engages Community to Support Prevention

Greeley's Youth Service Providers Stay Connected, Stay Funded Through YouthNet

Asset Builders of the Summit Partners with Media and Business to Promote Message

Denver Schools Partner to Improve Parent-Staff Relationship

The Expect Success Project is a partnership between Assets for Colorado Youth (ACY) and Denver Public Schools to increase parent engagement in low performing schools. Working closely with the district's superintendent, area superintendents and principals, ACY formed partnerships with five schools rated "low" or "unsatisfactory" on the state Accountability Report Cards. Participating schools included two elementary, two middle and one high school within two feeder systems in Denver.

The project's goal was to integrate the framework of the 40 developmental assets into the school's culture to impact parent engagement and school climate - two factors identified by research as necessary for high student achievement. Developmental assets provide schools and communities with a framework on which to build the supports and opportunities that help young people succeed.

The goals of the project were accomplished by:

Creating a structure in each school for sustained parent engagement;
Increasing the capacity of parents to positively impact academic achievement;
Increasing the capacity of school staff to engage parents and create a framework for long-term positive impact on school climate;
Fostering new and strengthened partnerships between families, schools and communities;
Identifying ways to bridge cultural and ethnic separations in school communities.

Expect Success training efforts were focused on parents and school staff simultaneously and separately to develop a common language and perspective around parent engagement. Activities illustrated the opportunities for success young people can have in the community when teachers, parents and community members partner to build a network of support. The activities facilitated conversations between teachers and parents and provided staff concrete ways in which teachers and parents could partner to build assets in children's lives.

Through the course of the Expect Success Project parents and school staff developed ideas for how to make the school an asset-rich environment and improved staff-to-staff and staff-to-parent relationships to support the children's academic success.

To read more about parent engagement lessons learned in the Expect Success Project, order Profiles, Partnerships and Perspectives: A Study of Parent Engagement in Schools.