Proven Practices for Communities to Increase Student Achievement

Common community goals to support children as learners have a positive impact on student learning.
Based on information anout complementary leanring by Weiss, Heather B. in  “from the Director’s Desk,” The Evaluation Exchange, Spring 2005 (vol. XI, no. 1) 
1.  “Decades of research show that Complementary learning supports—including high quality early childhood education, family support, family involvement at home and in school, and after school programs—can be effective in promoting children’s learning and contributing to school success.
2. Complementary learning supports “in the same old ways—piecemeal, in silos, disconnected from each other and from schools—will not achieve the goal of making sure children are successful both when they first enter school and after they’re finished with school.
3. Non-school supports need to be:
 - In place and accessible to all children;
 - Linked and aligned with each other and with schools to maximize their effectiveness in leveling the playing field for children.

From Commission on Children at Risk. Hardwired to connect: a scientific case for authoritative communities, 2003.
1. Rising rates of mental problems and emotional distress in American children and youth is impacted by a loss of two kinds of connectedness: close connections to other people and deep connections to moral and spiritual meaning.
2. Authoritative communities are groups of people committed to one another over time and pass on what it means to be a good person and live a good life.
3. Authoritative communities have the following characteristics:
 a. Warm and nurturing;
 b. Establishes clear limits and expectations;
 c. Multi-generational;
 d. Reflects and transmits a shared understanding of what it means to be a good person.

Family/School/Community partnerships have a positive impact on student learning.
Based on the research findings of “A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement.” (National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools, 2002)
1. Parent and community involvement that is linked to student learning has a greater effect on achievement than more general forms of involvement. To be effective, the form of involvement should be focused on improving achievement and be designed to engage families and students in developing specific knowledge and skills.
2. Programs that successfully connect with families and community invite involvement, are welcoming, and address specific differences.
3. Effective programs that engage families and community embrace a philosophy of partnership. The responsibility for children’s educational development is a collaborative enterprise among parents, school staff, and community members.
4. Organized initiatives to build both parent and community leadership to improve low performing schools are developing in low-income urban areas and the rural South. These community-organizing efforts use strategies that are aimed at establishing the power base to hold schools and school districts accountable for low student achievement. They have contributed to changes in policy, resources, personnel, school culture, and educational programs.
5. Students who report feeling support both from home and school do better in school:
a. At school, parents learn how to engage their children in learning at home, get help if their children are struggling, and form a constructive relationship with teachers.
b. At home, parents guide their children toward postsecondary education, make sure they do their homework, and stress the value of education They also steer children away from risky behavior, help them maintain positive attitudes, and support them through problems at school.

Based on Redding, Sam. Parents and Learning. International Academy of Education Educational Practices Series #2, n.d.
1. Parents who participate in opportunities to learn more about how to help their kids at home to be more prepared for reading, math, and science strengthen their kids’ ability to learn at higher levels in school.
2. Discussing with other parents how to support and help your kids at home can result in a larger community of support for all kids.
3. Kids benefit when the adults around them share basic values about child rearing, communicate with one another, and give them consistent guidance and support.