June 02, 2009

Partnership for Parent/Teacher Engagement (Beach Elementary)

Lewis & Clark faculty work through the achievement gap between White, Latino, and Black students at Beach Elementary School.
Collaborating group: Beach Elementary School
Faculty contacts: Alejandra Favela, Sara Exposito

Collaborating group: Beach Elementary School
Faculty contacts: Alejandra Favela, Sara Exposito

The Beach Elementary Parent, School, and University Partnership evolved from the work Lewis & Clark faculty had been doing to work through the achievement gap between White, Latino, and Black students at Beach Elementary. The school and parents expressed a desire to partner with Lewis & Clark to build on the school’s plan already in place to address the instructional aspect of the issue. The Partnership will focus on creating a parent/teacher engagement model to increase cultural competency and generate collaborative projects to address the achievement gaps as the school.  The Partnership will provide a space for diverse family voices to be honored, create processes that provide parents an opportunity to share, discuss and listen to different perspectives at the school, use best practices (focus groups, community circles, and story telling) to generate respectful conversations and thoughtful listening, and promote open dialogue at the school around the topic of “closing the achievement gap” through inquiry and social action.