Agenda• QUICK Introductions• Responses to Teacher Town Hall• Review of last month’s Public Media

Strategy Work • Small group work…• Next Steps

The goal of our work today is to answer these three questions

1. What solutions have we identified?2. Who do you think can make the

changes we want?3. Craft some media stories and

messages

Teacher Town Hall April 27, 20127 – 8:30 PM KNME Channel 5

Partially funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and PNM Resources Foundation

Moderated by Ray Suarez of PBS NewsHour104 teachers ParticipatedPre Event Surveys for teachers to set agendaCell-phone polling during event Offered for broadcast nation-wide

Post event teacher commentFANTASTIC. You are fantastic. Thank you so very much for the opportunity to attend the Town Hall Meeting…. I like having teacher discussions with those of you who get it and are smart. I wish there was more time…

Post event teacher commentGreat Event!!!!!!Thanks for organizing a very powerful venue for those that voices are not heard. It was very sad to hear from some of the teachers very quietly worrying if their "boss" was in the room or going to see this. This is sad and I believe one of the stumbling blocks in the way to eradicate the drop out issue.

Post event teacher commentWhile many teachers blamed the system, for stifling creativity, others cited unmanageable size of classrooms, a few other placed the onus on the legislature, for not allocating enough money to reduce class size, and some stressed endless and pointless testing of students, who fail to see the relevance of the tests and content to address the daunting 21st century challenges.

Post event teacher commentThe issues that surfaced are deeply concerning. We MUST do things differently. Policy and political measures move slowly. Personally, I believe teacher education is at the core of HOW things unfold in the classroom.

Post event teacher comment

The BIE system is a racially segregated but publically funded system that was outlawed by Brown v. Topeka, KS in 1954 for all other racial groups EXCEPT this one. Did racially segregated education work anywhere else in the country? Our governing boards are powerless because the BIE system answers to its own chain of command with the onus of control in Washington NOT the local boards….We have zero access to … summer programs for students unless we can locate families they can stay with.

Continuing Our Work from Last Month

Education Community Priorities SurveyThree main Themes• Family Engagement• Student Engagement• School and Community Partnerships

Group Work

What is working now? What needs to change?

Who can make the change?

What are the public messages/stories?

Family Engagement

Family Engagement - What’s working?• Parent centers• I-parent online resource;• family engagement policy-community mobilization• Enlace• parent involvement night (Title 1)• PTA, SHAC (student health advisory councils)• direct contact with parents (calls & home visits)• parent advocates re: IEP• Parents Reaching Out• parent liaisons• re-writing Title I compact

Family Engagement - What’s working, cont?

• home visiting program 0-3• educating parents of pre-K kids on the

importance of staying in school• DA officer-JPPO-APS• Head Start Family Engagement Best Practices• Smaller schools• truancy intervention• school-based health centers

Family Engagement – What needs to change ?• Develop culture of education (in community?)• more parent centers • more help for non-English speaking parents;• more principal involvement• more access to teachers after hours • parent access to school facilities like libraries and computers; • make schools community hubs • highlight pupils that are doing well instead of negative stories; • Provide parents information about how to use community resources

to support curriculum • every child needs an IEP • provide ancillary services/supports- social workers, truancy officers,

counselors, nurses, school based health• provide mentoring

Family Engagement – What needs to change cont?• policy related to parents and work • how we define family • change the culture at schools about involving parents • uniform policies across the district on attendance• public policy on attendance• law enforcement• process of getting info to parents; • engaging parents with children at a younger age; • different strategies for different child age groups;

cultural specific strategies, socio-economics and lifestyle• learning assistants

Family Engagement – Who Can make the change?

• Volunteers for monitoring facilities• grassroots community leaders• principals• SHACs• PTAs• school leadership councils• community schools• all administrators• school districts• PED

Family Engagement – What are the public media messages/stories?

• **write messages that parents can understand; • Have the conversation with parents to tease out how they

see the value of education; • highlight programs that are working in the community; • advertise work of Families United and similar groups• positive messages and success stories of schools; • families are welcome in school; • examples of toolkit how to engage for parents; • highlighting successful engaging schools; • parents mentoring other parents;

Student Engagement- What’s Working?• Project-based learning• job shadowing• hands on lessons that are relevant• Community connection and attachment to school• experimental learning• college and career resources/counselors• sports, NMFYC, positive youth development• Women United• flex scheduling• harnessing technology

Student Engagement- What’s Working cont?• early childhood programs• school lunch (add breakfast)• Uniforms• mentoring programs (i.e.) Big Brothers Big Sisters• project and inquiry based learning• effective teaching• ability to access courses 24/7 (online)• involved and interested parents• after school programs• habitual truancy intervention.

Student Engagement- What needs to change?• More project-based learning• make connection to parents• more parent centers• translation for non-English parents• deeper engagement with the adults in the

school• involve students in curriculum development• academic decathlon program• competitions that engage academics,

student mentors

Student Engagement- What needs to change cont?• funding (formula, level)• educator quality• self-directed vs. involvement of multiple teachers• parent/teacher conference• joy of learning• bullying/classroom safety• economic status of parents• Gaps in communication• capacity of schools to follow-up• Flexibility• some laws for runaways and truancy• relevance of curriculum vs. narrow focus on standards• focus on procedure

Student Engagement – Who can make the change?

• Parents• mentorship programs• key community leaders• Superintendents• director of public education• Legislators• policy makers• public officials• Teachers• Administrators• professional community

Student engagement – What are the stories/messages?• Non-English parents and their challenges• students that have excelled and are doing incredible things• focus on the value of education• transferrable skills• New Mexico teacher stories • stories that break the myths• town hall series• profile engaged students• student produced media• connect with programming through call in, social media• professional development

School & Community Partnerships – What’s Working Now?

• Job shadowing leading to mentorships• counselors from outside• UNM Parent Center• Explora (& other museums) programs• charter schools• mentoring programs, AmeriCorps/Citizen Schools• school leadership councils• PTA• community schools• afterschool programs• Families United Community organizing

• Community centered after school activities• Transportation• Community members open to working with students• Support for homeless• sustainability of programs that are working• integration, collaboration and access to information• how we define community• career fairs in high school and middle school• school-based health clinics• apply the Head Start/Even Start model• All schools become community schools• APS should partner more with city libraries, city community centers• No drivers license without a diploma or higher insurance rates • more community volunteers and mentors• professional development for principals, teachers, parents, students• Common data tracking systems• Policies that limit partnering• real-world teacher preparation

School & Community Partnerships – What needs to change?

School Community partnerships – Who can make the change?

• PED• Media (educate public about the cost of

incarceration)• public school administrators• principals• Teachers• community leaders• Families

School Community partnerships – What are the messages and stories?

• Highlight positive education stories, programs, students, and teachers

• celebrate success• how to go to college • how to complete job applications • How to apply to community college, vocational college,

internship programs, AmeriCorps• how to engage in own community• highlight great community schools• Highlight positive and supportive accountability vs.

punitive reaction

Next Meeting Right Here!June 4, 10 AM – 11:30

Laurel Wyckoff, Education and OutreachAmerican Graduate,

New Mexico PBS LearningMedia, Community Engagement, Public Square 277-8296 lwyckoff@newmexicopbs.org