Excerpted from Glenn McGee, Lessons from the Golden Spike High Poverty High Performing Schools, 2002:

Parent Learning = Student Learning at Ziebell

“Ziebell’s principal was quick to realize that most of her students’ parents had not had positive experiences with school when they were children and that a high percentage were English language learners or had minimal literacy skills. She determined to make her school a special place for both parents and children. To do this, the principal focused on teaching parents about school and their role in supporting their children as well as assisting the parents’ own efforts to become better readers. With hard work, she was able to obtain a grant for two parent coordinators. These individuals run parent workshops throughout the year at school. The workshops all have a “make and take” activity based with plenty of socializing and fun along with a message about helping their students learn. The coordinators strive to make school a parent friendly place and teach them how to interact with teachers. Hispanic parents learn what American schools are like and what their role in the school is. In addition the coordinators conduct a formal parent survey at the beginning and end of every year. The information from the survey is shared with the school improvement team and used both to measure success and set the agenda for the forthcoming year’s activities.

“Parents are welcomed to school for several assemblies, and at the required report card day, they leave school with the report card and a bag of treats. The homework policy programs assure daily home school communication. Parents get a home link folder every day. At the beginning of the year they also sign a parent compact stating what they will do for their kids.

“ To support parent literacy, the principal developed a parent lending library that is open every Friday. Parents can check out books and tapes. With the assistance of a Follet Foundation grant, she obtained books for adult learners, complete with comprehension and vocabulary exercises. As a recipient of a significant Case Foundation grant and with the financial support of the Illinois State Board of Education, they have Power UP Computer labs that are open for students and parents to work on reading activities for three hours after school each day. Parent involvement certainly played a role in making Ziebell the “most improved” school of all high poverty schools, gaining nearly thirty-six percentage points on the ISAT the last three years!”