[DEC. 7, 2000]  There once was a time when principals and teachers had to call parents in to the school to discuss a child’s disciplinary or academic shortfall. But these days, parents of Lincoln District 27 elementary students frequently visit their child’s school to help teachers and administrators enhance the educational process.

[click here for Part 2]

Across town, the School Community Council at Northwest School has focused in on its goal of improving study habits. One program it has initiated helps more children complete their homework on time and without error.

Every Tuesday afternoon all students are invited into the air-conditioned library to attend Homework Club. It is a quiet place where students can enjoy a snack, and then work independently on their homework or request help from teachers and parents on duty. They can take advantage of reference resources like encyclopedias and the Internet, which might not be available in the home.

[Teacher Cindy Aussieker passes out snacks donated by parents to students at Homework Club.]

An average of 20 children attend the Homework Club each week. Some students come to the Homework Club because their teacher has recommended it. Others come because they want to. Many of the children have expressed that they wish Homework Club would be available every afternoon of the week.

Learning disabilities teacher and SCC member Cindy Aussieker spearheaded the club and was overwhelmed by the parents’ response to it. "Right after school started they brought in enough cookies, crackers and drink boxes to last through the first semester." She also has a list of a dozen parents who are willing to come in for an hour and help the students with their homework. "Some of the parents who have signed up haven’t really been involved in school activities before!" exclaimed Aussieker. "We’ve even had a few fathers volunteer."

Hosting the popular homework club has helped make Northwest a true "school community" where parents feel more comfortable coming into the school to assist with their children’s education.

According to Aussieker, the idea for a homework club grew out of the teachers’ frustration with student excuses as to why homework had not been completed. Aussieker believes distractions in the home, along with greater involvement of kids and parents in outside activities, are the root of many homework problems.

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[Homework Club is a great time for snack and study.]

"Sometimes the student just doesn’t understand the homework, and the parents don’t have the educational background to help," adds Aussieker.

Since the initiation of the homework club, Aussieker has heard proud children come up to her and say, "I got all my homework done."

The homework program at Washington-Monroe has shared similar success. This is the third year the school has maintained a homework policy that included planner books and homework folders for all students. A flag is proudly displayed outside of the classroom that earns the highest percentage of completed homework each week. A traveling trophy also accompanies the honor. At the end of the year, Principal Cecil will host a party for the class that has earned the recognition most frequently.

[Michele Vermeire is a stay-at-home mom and parent of a Northwest School student. She is at Homework Club every Tuesday afternoon to help other students like Kody Swartz with their homework.]

Fifth and sixth graders on the newly formed Washington-Monroe Student Council have shared responsibility for the school’s success by helping younger students pack their homework folders and backpacks every afternoon. This is an example of "intragenerational association," another conceptual task of the SCC.

After just a few weeks of recognizing homework achievement, Cecil says more students are prepared for class each day and are now earning scores worthy of the honor roll.

All five of the School Community Councils in District 27 have determined their own goals and have taken different routes to achieving their goals. That is what site-based decision making is all about. While Northwest and Washington-Monroe School Community Council’s have focused on study skills and responsibility, other schools might focus on respect of others, or math and science skills.

[Americorps volunteer Amy Sherwood helps Brandy McCain with some geography homework.]

Each school’s parents, teachers and administrators are directly responsible for building stronger minds and characters of the students at that school.

Dr. Robert Kidd, superintendent of District 27 schools, sees more parents getting involved in the schools because the SCCs and their subcommittees engage parents for solid purposes other than fund-raising. "They are now getting into the meat of the educational process," adds Superintendent Kidd.

[DEC. 6, 2000]  There once was a time when principals and teachers had to call parents in to the school to discuss a child’s disciplinary or academic shortfall. But these days, parents of Lincoln District 27 elementary students frequently visit their child’s school to help teachers and administrators enhance the educational process.

Students at Washington-Monroe will soon begin a creative project that will require participation from individual school families during school vacations. The School Community Council, along with several local businesses, is sponsoring a literature garden to be planted this spring. Each grade level will assume responsibility for a small garden plot filled with plants symbolic of stories they have read. It will be a cross-curricular tool that draws in lessons from science, geography, history and mathematics. The garden will also teach responsibility, as the students will share the workload for planting, watering and weeding throughout the growing season.

Mrs. Cecil says that the School Community Council at Washington-Monroe has helped her start new projects that she has always wanted to launch but never had the time. Now, she has a team to help carry the load, and input from parents and teachers on how new projects could be done. Candy Boulb was an active member of the Washington-Monroe PTO before she was asked to be a parent representative on the School Community Council. She has found that she now knows a lot more about what her third grade son is learning and doing in school when she communicates and shares ideas with teachers and administrators. She is able to serve other parents by being better informed herself. "The SCC is just great for the communication of ideas and goals — the teachers’ and the parents’," says Boulb.

[to top of second column in this article]

[Mrs. Farwell's first grade class at Washington-Monroe proudly displays the traveling trophy and flag they were awarded for having the highest percentage of completed homework out of all classrooms last week.]

The School-Home Communication Committee, a subgroup of the SCC, developed a new system for improving the communication between the school and parents. Teachers send home family folders the second and fourth Monday of every month with the oldest child in each family. The folders open up a consistent line of communication between the school and parents, and eliminate many parents’ frustrations with receiving multiple copies of every note and newsletter. Parents are then given an opportunity to communicate back with the teachers. A parent-to-parent bulletin board placed just inside the front door is also promoting more communication among parents.

A second subgroup of the SCC, the Parent and Teacher Education Committee, determines the need for teacher and parent in-service training. Kate Ewing, a teacher and member of the SCC, coordinates the parent education program. The school offers courses for parents on topics like "improving your child’s study habits" and "reading to your child." Each course is led by a previously trained parent.

(To be continued)

[Marty Ahrends]

[click here for Part 3]

[DEC. 5, 2000]  There once was a time when principals and teachers had to call parents in to the school to discuss a child’s disciplinary or academic shortfall. But these days, parents of Lincoln District 27 elementary students frequently visit their child’s school to help teachers and administrators enhance the educational process.

All schools within District 27 are engaging parents as full partners with teachers in helping students meet academic and character goals. School Community Councils (SCC) are the engines that drive these partnerships. They have grown out of a District 27 Board of Education plan to improve student achievement. Site-based decision making was a key part of the plan. The SCC puts the administration, teachers and parents around the same table, in a structure that encourages them to make decisions on behalf of their own students and children.

Members of the School Community Councils meet twice a month and are guided by a training manual that helps them to establish four goals and expectations for each school. Two of the goals are academic, dealing with studying, reading, communication and the like. The other two goals revolve around character issues like respect and responsibility. These goals cover the area where the responsibilities of the school and the home overlap.

Washington-Monroe Elementary School Community Council has adopted the goals of studying, reading, respect and responsibility. After defining each goal, the Washington-Monroe SCC developed a set of "expectations" for parents, teachers and students for each goal. A School Community Compact that is distributed to all parents summarizes the goals and expectations. It then becomes the joint responsibility of teachers, parents and the students themselves to ensure that studying and reading skills are enhanced, students are accepting more responsibility for their personal success, and students show more respect to adults and peers.

[to top of second column in this article]

[Principal Rebecca Cecil displays a copy of the goals and expectations outlined by the Washington-Monroe SCC.]

Washington-Monroe Principal Rebecca Cecil says, "The parents buy into these expectations when they are part of the decision-making process, and when they see other parents involved in the decision making."

Involving parents is the key to success for the SCC. Mrs. Cecil says that she is seeing more parents come to Washington-Monroe Elementary School during the day, not just to have lunch with their children, but to help with special activities at the school and in the classroom. Some parents are even taking time off from work to share their careers or special hobbies with the students. Parents have a better understanding of their role in their child’s education because the School Community Compact spells out their responsibilities clearly.

(To be continued)

[Marty Ahrends]

[click here for Part 2]

Announcements

School menus

Lincoln District 27

Breakfast menu

Monday, Dec. 11
Cereal
Graham crackers
Juice
Milk

Tuesday, Dec. 12
Trix yogurt
Oatmeal muffin
Fruit
Milk

Wednesday, Dec. 13
Cereal
Cinnamon toast
Juice
Milk

Thursday, Dec. 14
Pancake bites with syrup
Fruit
Milk

Friday, Dec. 15
Cereal
Toast with jelly
Juice

Monday, Dec. 18
Cereal
Pop tart
Juice
Milk

Tuesday, Dec. 19
Scrambled eggs
Toast
Fruit
Milk

Wednesday, Dec. 20
Cereal
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Juice
Milk

Thursday, Dec. 21
Sausage gravy
Toast
Fruit
Milk

Christmas vacation:
Friday, Dec. 22, through Monday, Jan. 1

Lunch menu

(Milk served with all meals)

Monday, Dec. 11
Chicken nuggets with sauce
Mashed potatoes
Bread and butter
Peas

Tuesday, Dec. 12
Spaghetti with meat sauce
Garlic bread
Green beans
Applesauce

Wednesday, Dec. 13
Pepperoni pizza
Lettuce salad
Jello
Pears

Thursday, Dec. 14
Hamburger on bun with cheese
French fries
Pretzels
Peaches

Friday, Dec. 15
Homemade vegetable beef soup
Peanut butter sandwich/crackers
Celery sticks
Apple crisp

Monday, Dec. 18
Mini corn dogs
Baked beans
Hash browns
Strawberry applesauce

Tuesday, Dec. 19
Salisbury steak
Broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce
Bread and butter
Peaches

Wednesday, Dec. 20
Tacos with lettuce and cheese
Peas
Tortilla chips with salsa
Fruit cocktail

Thursday, Dec. 21
Turkey or ham roast
Mashed potatoes
Bread and butter
Whipped dessert and Christmas cookie

Christmas vacation:
Friday, Dec. 22, through Monday, Jan. 1

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