PARTNERSHIPS

KIERRA S. GARCIA
ECE 497: CHILD DEVELOPMENT CAPSTONE
PROFESSOR KATHERINE PALICHUK
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
 OUR FOCUS
https://twitter.com/CAPOrangeCounty/status/98156148500343193
6
https://www.yelp.com/biz/linking-families-and-
communities-fort-dodge

How to create and sustain partnerships How these partnerships influence

with families and the community the learning and development of
children.
 LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

• Located in Gilbert, Arizona.

• Gilbert is a relatively large city with a strong sense of family and
community.
• Population of 765 students from PreK to sixth grade.
• 94% of the students are eligible for free and/or reduced lunch
• 58% of the students are second language learners.
• Majority of the students are Hispanic (93%). Five percent of the student
population is white, and 2% is American Indian.
 PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT:
EARLY CHILDHOOD

https://www.floatinghospital.org/The-Survey-of-Wellbeing-of-Young-Children/Overview

“Early childhood is the most and rapid period of development in a human life.
The years from conception through birth to eight years of age are critical to the
complete and healthy cognitive, emotional and physical growth of children”
(UNICEF, 2001).
 PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT:
EARLY CHILDHOOD
During this time children typically are:
• Ages 5-8
• Developing social, physical, language,
and cognitive skills
• Curious
• Playing well with others
• More confident and expressive
• Active
• Showing interest in reading and writing
https://www.hippocraticpost.com/mental-health/reading-aids-child-brain-
development/
 MY ROLE

As a child development professional I believe it

is my priority to
• Support children to learn
• Challenge critical thinking
• Encourage participation
• Provide reliable resources
• Understand the child’s needs to further
development
• Care about the child’s progress in
development
 OUR FOCUS SUPPORTED

One way to create and sustain partnerships with families and the community
is to create community events that provides a link of reliable resources
between the partners and families/communities.
• Daniel (2015) cites Avvisati, Besbas & Guyon (2010) ; Avvisati, Gurgand, Guyon &
Maurin (2010); Emerson, Fear, Fox & Sanders (2012); and Fan & Williams (2010)
which confirms that “parental involvement in family–school partnerships has
been widely established as supporting and improving students’ social,
emotional and academic outcomes” (p. 119).
 OUR FOCUS SUPPORTED (CONT.)
Ways that partnerships influence the learning and development of children include:
• Children adapt well to school
• Attend school more regularly
• Complete homework more
consistently
• Earn higher grades and test
scores
• Graduate and go on to college
• Have better social skills
• Show improved behavior
• Have better relationships with their
parents
• Have higher self-esteem
• Improves school-related behaviors
• Positively impacts academic
achievement
• Reduces school suspension rates
(New Hampshire Department of Education, 2012)
 THE MESOSYSTEM:
CONNECTING FAMILIES, SCHOOLS & COMMUNITIES
• The Mesosystem in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
System describes the relationship between the parents,
teacher and community in the child’s life. This is similar
to the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”.
• In the text, Berk (2013) explains that “the second level
of Bronfenbrenner’s model, the mesosystem,
encompasses connections between microsystems, such
as home, school, neighborhood, and child-care center”
(Sct. 1.5).
• “Each relationship is more likely to support
development when there are links between home and
child care, in the form of visits and cooperative
https://content.ashford.edu/books/Berk.3997.17.1/sections/ch01lev1sec5?search= exchanges of information” (Berk, 2013, Sct.1.5).
mesosystem#w21451
 EPSTEIN’S 6
TYPES OF
INVOLVEMENT

https://www.slideshare.net/Rozy65/six-slices-of-parental-involvement
 How this type of involvement influences a child’s
learning and development.
• Children have respect for their parents
• Children have “awareness of importance of
school” (Epstein, n.d.)
• Children adapt “positive personal qualities,
1. PARENTING habits, beliefs, and values, as taught by family”
(Epstein, n.d.)

Knowing that majority of the students at Lincoln

Elementary are Hispanic, it would
effective/productive to provide ELL classes for
families and students.

http://www.thesuccessfulparent.com/categories/parenting-styles/item/assessing-your-parenting-style#.W5_iQ85KjIU
 How this type of involvement influences a child’s
learning and development.
• Children understand policies implemented by
teacher and school
• Children gain a sense of “awareness of own
2. COMMUNICATING progress and of actions needed to maintain or
improve grades” (Epstein, n.d.)

Knowing that 58% of the students are second

language learners, creating a language club at
Lincoln Elementary could be beneficial.

https://memberpress.com/communicating-what-you-want-to-developers/
 How this type of involvement influences a child’s
learning and development.
• Children gain many skills such as “skill in
communicating with adults” (Epstein, n.d.)
3. VOLUNTEERING • Children gain “increased learning of skills that
receive tutoring or targeted attention from
volunteers” (Epstein, n.d)

Knowing that Lincoln Elementary ranges from Pre-

K to grade 6, the community could create a
program called “Big Leaders, Little Followers in
which the older children help support the younger
children.

http://www.uwde.org/contact-us/volunteer/
 How this type of involvement influences a child’s
learning and development.
• Children are focused and complete assignments
• Children have a “positive attitude towards
schoolwork” (Epstein, n.d.)
• Children have “self-concept of ability as learner”
4. LEARNING (Epstein, n.d)
AT HOME Knowing that the students at Lincoln Elementary
live in a relatively large city with a strong sense of
family and community, the community could
create a support group in which families meet
twice a month to discuss issues, concerns, and
suggestions on the most effective procedures for
learning at home.

https://www.beeslackhigh.co.uk/news/?pid=3&nid=1&storyid=47
 How this type of involvement influences a child’s
learning and development.
• Children become aware of “representation of
families in school decisions” (Epstein, n.d)
• Children “understand that student rights are
5. DECISION protected” (Epstein, n.d)
MAKING Knowing that the students at Lincoln Elementary
are ages 5-9, the school should incorporate fun,
cooperative critical thinking activities. For
example, each grade could compete in a brain
teaser/puzzle field day (make it fun).

https://www.b2bmarketing.net/en-gb/resources/blog/role-social-media-b2b-buyers-decision-making
 How this type of involvement influences a child’s
learning and development.
• Children gain a sense of teamwork
• Children are aware of “careers and of options
for future education and work” (Epstein, n.d)
6. COLLABORATING • Children are exposed to unlimited amount of
WITH COMMUNITY resources to support future development
Knowing that 94% of the students are eligible for
free and/or reduced lunch at Lincoln Elementary,
collaborating with the community can provide a
stronger bond when connecting families/students
to resources avilable in the community.

http://growsumo-blog.webflow.io/post/how-to-build-a-strong-community
 REFERENCES

• Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development. (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu
• Daniel, G. (2015). Patterns of parent involvement: A longitudinal analysis of family–school partnerships
in the early years of school in Australia. Australasian Journal Of Early Childhood, 40(1), 119-128.
• Epstein, J. (n.d.). Epstein's framework of six types of involvement. Retrieved from
http://www.unicef.org/lac/Joyce_L._Epstein_s_Framework_of_Six_Types_of_Involvement(2).pdf
• New Hampshire Department of Education. (2012). Why Family and Community Involvement Is
Important. Retrieved September 17, 2018, from
https://www.education.nh.gov/instruction/school_health/health_coord_family.htm
• U.NICEF. (2001). Early child development: The key to a full and productive life. Retrieved September
17, 2018, from https://www.unicef.org/dprk/ecd.pdf