DVMSAC Learning Resources

Resource Organizations

National Equity Assistance Centers
This is a group of 10 regional centers around the country that investigate and provide technical assistance dealing with issues of equity in education. Regional Centers provide a variety of services including workshops, seminars, conferences, technical assistance, information dissemination and professional development.

Metro Center for Urban Education
The Metro Center in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University has pioneered programs that bring equality of opportunity to all youth. The Center has developed projects that succeed in raising performance and achievement levels of both students and educators. It has established initiatives to help students cope with the pressures caused by a rapidly changing society and expanding technologies. Pedro Noguera is the Center's Executive Director.

Education Trust
The Education Trust works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, kindergarten through college, and forever closing the achievement gaps that separate low-income students and students of color from other youth. Their basic tenet is that all children will learn at high levels when they are taught to high levels. The Education Trust advances its mission along several fronts, from raising its voice in national and state policy debates to helping teachers improve instruction in their classrooms. Their work maintains a relentless focus on improving the education of all students, and particularly those students whom the system has traditionally left behind.

Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS)
Great City Schools is a coalition of 64 of the nation's largest urban public school systems. Founded in 1956 and incorporated in 1961, the Council is located in Washington D.C., where it works to promote urban education through legislation, research, media relations, instruction, management, technology, and other special projects designed to improve the quality of urban education. The Council serves as the national voice for urban educators, providing ways to share promising practices and address common concerns for closing the achievement gaps.

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Family-Community-District Partnership

The following articles, books, resources and websites were used in the 2010-11 DVMSAC Family-Community District Partnership Task Force workshop series offered by PA PIRC.

A New Wave of Evidence
Research findings about family engagement and family-school-community partnerships

Beyond Random Acts Family, School, and Community Engagement as an Integral Part of Education Reform
Article from National Policy Forum Family, School, & Community Engagement

Beyond the Bake Sale
Book includes 4 Versions of Family-School Partnerships and multiple other resources

How to Develop a Logic Model for District-wide Family Engagement Strategies and Seeing is Believing
Step-by-step guide for developing a logic model and companion article that demonstrates school’s experiences

National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group
Recommendations for Federal Policy 

National Network of Partnerships Schools
Team process for improving student achievement through strengthening family engagement 

National Standards for Family-School Partnerships
Standards, Implementation Guide, Assessment Guide

Parents and Teachers Talking Together (PT3)
Facilitation guide for conversations among those closest to children

Parent-Teacher Conference Tip Sheets
Tips for principals, teachers and parents about using conferences to support student learning

Solid Foundation
Team process for improving student achievement through strengthening family engagement

Tellin’ Stories
Creates opportunities for families to connect with each other, help parents gain skills to support students and participate in the school system

Title I: A Toolkit for Title I Parental Involvement 

PA State Parent Advisory Committee
From Compliance to Effective Action

Working Systemically In Action Engaging Family & Community, A Guide for Facilitators
National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools (also: Collaborative Action Toolkit)

Family Engagement and Partnership Websites

Center for the Study of Social Policy
Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education 

Coalition for Community Schools
Evaluation Toolkit (and many other resources)

Making Connections
Annie E. Casey Foundation work related to strengthening families and communities

Harvard Family Research Project and Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE)
Work to develop and evaluate strategies to promote the well-being of children, youth, families and their communities

National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education
Building Family-School Partnerships that Work

Nation Human Services Assembly
Family Strengthening Policy Center

National PIRC Coordination Center
Webinar series with resources

SEDL
Serving the education needs of children in poverty and bridging education research and practice

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Articles and Publications

Ed Week Research
In the No Child Left Behind section of the EdWeek website you can link to a number of brief but thorough, research-based background essays on relevant education issues in America today, including closing the achievement gap. Each page includes links to research citations, to definitions of related education terms, and to relevant stories from the Education Week and Teacher Magazine archives.

In Motion Magazine
The Education Rights section of In Motion Magazine, which is edited by Pedro Noguera, is dedicated to providing a forum for activists, educators, parents and students who are searching for alternative ideas to the challenges confronting education today. Many articles by Dr. Noguera are featured.

Sonia Nieto
Dr. Sonia Nieto's website at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, contains many of her insightful articles on multiculturalism and diversity in education. Her site also has a resource list, with information on organizations around the country working to create curriculum to help address the diversity challenges in schools.

Parsing the Achievement Gap: Baselines for Tracking Progress This 2003 study from the Policy Information Center of the Education Testing Service presents the links between student achievement and core factors often related to students' racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic status.

Learning from Poor and Minority Students Who Succeed in School
This article from the Ed Letter at Harvard Graduate School of Education addresses children's views on success and failure having a big impact on their learning. This study gives us a clear glimpse into the ways in which high and low achievers think about the causes of their successes and failures in school. The most important implication for teachers in their day-to-day work is that all lower achievers, regardless of ethnicity, are at risk for believing that their poor performance results from lack of ability. This belief is potentially very debilitating, for if students do not think they have at least some ability, it makes little sense to them to invest effort in their learning. The challenge for teachers is to help their students maintain a healthy balance between believing that they have the ability necessary to learn, and knowing that effort will help them maximize their ability.

It Takes More Than Testing: Closing the Achievement Gap
This 2001 report from the Center on Education Policy reviews and summarizes the research on the achievement gap between white students and black and Hispanic students; highlights possible remedies for the gap; and suggests an approach that policymakers can use to weigh the various proposals for closing the gap.

Time To Move On: African-American and White Parents Set an Agenda for Public Schools

Teachers College Record
A rich collective of relevant papers regarding race and schooling.

Frame Work for a Race Equality Policy for Schools
This framework sets out the main parts of a race equality policy.

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