From My School to Our SchoolEngaging Families and Communities for Student Success

Killester College: A Case Study

Building Social Capital

Field (2003) defines it in the following terms: The theory of social capital is that relationships matter. (How).. By making connections with one another, and keeping them going over time.

George Otero speaks strongly on the theme of Relational Learning

http://relationalearning.com

Robert Putnam - Better Together The heart of our work is one on one with people-it’s about building relationships, it is not about meetings-it’s about conversations.

Research suggests...Bryk et al 2010 from the Chicago study states:

“the quality of the social relationships within a school is a core resource for improvement.”

“schools are four times more likely to improve in reading and 10 times more likely to improve in mathematics when parent involvement was strong.”

3 Lessons LearnedIt’s OK to make mistakes - we are all learning

In a successful partnership between school and home, school will probably learn more and benefit more than home.

Progress will be slow and it requires a consistent, a persistent and a steady strategy

2 Non NegotiablesIf you are wishing to build Social Capital, to build connections there are two non-negotiables:

Connection points need to be meaningful and not tokenistic

there must be a preparedness by all to remain diligent and committed to achieving the goal of more meaningful connections

Our School - a Snapshot

Student Numbers - 880

All Girls Secondary College

Catholic School

Multi-faith, Multi-Cultural

37% of Families state that English is the spoken language

One of the lowest SES schools in the Archdiocese

A Snapshot Continued

Families - 775

182 Families - Vietnamese84 Families - Cambodian61 Families - Indian40 Families - Sri Lanka18 Families - China17 Families - Phillipines15 Families - African

National Smarter School Partnerships

In 2010 we were informed that we were eligible for funding under the NSSP program

Killester one of only four Secondary Catholic schools.

Funding was threefoldLiteracyNumeracyFamily School Partnerships

The TriggersFSP Initiative

Study tour to USA in September 2010

Opening of the Family Learning Centre

Appointment Of Sue Brown, FSP Convenor

Appointment of FLC Co-ordinator, Roger Van Langenberg

Development of a core working team

The Journey Researched our Cultural Mix

Sought feedback from parents about needs

Researched current Family Connection Programs

Looked to develop partnerships with external agencies interested in delivering Parent Workshops.

Limited Success

Decision made to link into Culturally Specific groups.

African and Vietnamese

The CornerstoneDeveloped a program called Community Conversations

George worked as:

Consultant/Mentor

Leader

Critical Friend

Community Conversations

Decision made to work with the following “most disengaged and at risk” Cultural Groups:

Sudanese/AfricanVietnameseCambodianChinese

Aims of the ProgramTo inform and empower parents that:

Education is a partnership between school and familiesFamilies provide essential support to student successSchool and Family Partnerships at Killester are a priorityTwo way communication with families is the ultimate outcome

A Taste

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Examples of the Program

Listing the Aspirations of their daughters

Listing the Expectations of Killester in attempting to meet these aspirations

Identifying key questions that parents want answered about the Australian Schooling System.

Identifying key questions about Killester College protocols and procedures

LearningsParents are very keen to be partners in their daughter’s education.

Language and Education levels of parents are enormous barriers to communication

Understanding of School Culture and Mission is a challenging message to share

Understanding of school protocols/practices are very difficult to understand

Progress to date:

Greater understanding of the Cultural background of our families by staff

Discipline issues are easier to manage as relationships grow

Relationships on an anecdotal level are developing between school and families

From Little Things ....

Partnership with AMES

Conversational Classes for Adults

Computer Classes for Adults (with Student Tutors)

Four Vietnamese mothers have joined the Parents and Friends committee in 2013

Our FLC in Action

A word from our Parents