Critical Issue:
Establishing Collaboratives and Partnerships

ISSUE: School leaders must create successful home-school partnerships and mobilize parents, community members, and social service agencies to engage in true collaboration on behalf of children and their families (Jehl & Kirst, 1992). This view of school leadership sees the school in the much broader context of the community and asserts that children's life chances are not likely to get better without collective action in many arenas - the schoolhouse, the local health clinic, the neighborhood, the block, the home, and so on (Comer, 1988; Ascher, 1990).

A principal who functions within this broader context possesses the mobilization and advocacy skills of a community organizer, advocating for the school as a provider of child- and family- centered educational and social services (Comer, 1988; Ascher, 1990). The principal provides leadership in forging partnerships with churches, health and human service agencies, and other youth agencies (Nettles, 1991) and sees the school and its principal as leaders in community revitalization.

OVERVIEW: Students who are at risk often receive services and help from a variety of agencies. Frequently, these agencies provide fragmented services with little coordination or communication between them, even though such contact could help improve services for the student. Agencies often do not know what other service providers are doing, what services are already being provided, or what information is already available to help understand a student's needs.

In many schools across the country, leaders are helping develop collaboration between schools and other agencies and partnerships between schools and businesses. Schools are serving as core organizations, collaborating with agencies in the community and providing a central location where multiple agencies can come to meet students' needs.

Several states, counties, and cities are implementing programs in which agencies collaborate in a variety of ways and coordinate their services for at-risk youth. Such collaboration:

• Reduces the fragmentation of services
• Builds a comprehensive support system for at-risk students and their families
• Increases the knowledge of service professionals about the needs of the students and their families

GOALS: Collaboratives and partnerships should build upon all of the community's resources in addressing the needs of students and families. They should include parents, health and social service agencies, community organizations, businesses, universities, educational institutions, and so forth. Indeed, involving parents as leaders in the school - as tutors, program coordinators, volunteers, and community liasions - is essential to building a climate of nurturing and engaged learning in the school.

Henry Gradillas, principal of Garfield High School in Los Angeles, California, discusses the role of parents in creating support systems necessary for young people to achieve. Excerpted from a principals' panel presentation at NCREL's Academy for Urban School Leaders in July 1992. (Audio comment, 165k) A text transcript is available.

Partnerships and collaboratives involving parents, businesses, and community agencies can:

• Share information on particular students and families
• Develop shared missions and unfragmented programs
• Coordinate services more completely
• Combine funds for shared purposes
• Provide multiple services in schools

To meet the goals of collaboration, social service providers need to be sensitive and responsive to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the clients they serve (Chang, 1993). Historical power relations, along with differing cultural beliefs and practices, can lead to mistrust and misunderstanding between families and social service providers. Organizations must give community members greater input and control, hire staff members at all levels who reflect the diversity of the community, train staff to work with people from diverse backgrounds, and modify ineffective or harmful policies and practices.

ACTION OPTIONS:

• Conduct a needs assessment in your community to identify needs, problems, and community resources that will assist you in developing partnerships and collaboratives. Develop and use a planning tool that will guide you in identifying needs and in monitoring the development of partnerships to address those needs.
• Contact resource organizations and agencies for information, products, and services to help build collaboration with parents and community agencies.
• Contact local agencies to mobilize support for collaborative relationships.
• Use key research and planning guides to help you get started in strengthening partnerships with parents and community agencies.
• Begin communicating with agencies that serve your students or examine models for collaboration already in use in order to develop your own model.
• Encourage school staff to collaborate with parents and community agencies in developing programs and services for students.


Jeanne Jehl, administrator on special assignment, San Diego Public Schools, discusses the principal's role in advocating for school-linked, integrated services and increased partnerships with parents. Excerpted from the NCREL monograph "Getting Ready to Provide School-Linked Services: What Schools Must Do" and reprinted with permission from The Future of Children (Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 1992), a publication of the Center for the Future of Children, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Audio comment, 204k). A text transcript is available.

• Develop a coordination committee or governance group to work with external agencies to find ways to strengthen links with groups who serve your students.
• Review your own vision or mission statement and try to build a collective vision across agencies.


Otis Johnson, executive director of the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority in Savannah, Georgia, emphasizes the importance of building a collective vision among participating agencies. Excerpted from NCREL's videoseries, Schools That Work: The Research Advantage, videoconference 8, Integrating Community Services (NCREL, 1992). (Audio comment, 83k) A text transcript is available.

• Establish mechanisms for sharing information on how the school is reaching individual students and encourage other agencies to share information with the school.
• If possible, develop a shared financial commitment, as some coordinated service models are doing.
• Contact foundations and funding sources about financing your collaboration efforts.
• Place services where they are most accessible to students.
• Visit or contact other organizations and/or districts that have successfully developed school-linked, integrated services.

IMPLEMENTATION PITFALLS:

• Some staff may resist giving up power. Help them understand the benefits of working collaboratively.
• Union representation can increase the distance between teachers and other professionals (Jehl & Kirst, 1992).
• The rules and regulations of individual agencies sometimes make it difficult to coordinate services, information, and staff.
• Differences in prior training and socialization can make it difficult for staff from different agencies to work together.
• Differences in the pay scale and working culture in different agencies may need to be addressed (Jehl & Kirst, 1992).
• Lack of time for school personnel, parents, and agency staff to to coordinate and plan together is an ongoing challenge. Talk to program coordinators and school leaders who have developed effective ways to structure time for collaboration and planning.
• Staff need time to talk about ideas and plans before they are implemented so that all participants are committed to the collaborative effort (Jehl & Kirst, 1992).
• Be careful not to rush the development of collaborative partnerships with community agencies and/or parents. Partnership building takes time, and the process must be nurtured on an ongoing basis.


Milbrey McLaughlin, professor of education at Stanford University, emphasizes the need to nurture collaborative partnerships. Excerpted from NCREL's videoseries, Schools That Work: The Research Advantage, videoconference 8, Integrating Community Services (NCREL, 1992). (Audio comment, 64k) A text transcript is available.

• Though possessing many skills, some staff lack knowledge and skills needed for collaborating, working in teams, and sharing decisionmaking across organizations. It is important to provide training and resources to support the development of partnerships and to maintain a low-risk environment to stimulate collaboration.

DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW: Some educators are concerned that the fundamental purpose of schools - student learning - will be lost if schools take on too many functions. Underlying this concern is the belief that it is not the school's responsibility to address students' nonacademic needs. Others are concerned that educators will be expected to take on even more obligations to serve multiple needs of children without added resources or personnel. They believe that these obligations will further strain their capacity to achieve their first obligation - student learning. Still other opponents of integrated services available in the schools do not want medical clinics in schools, fearing that such services will deal with controversial issues such as birth control.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASES:

New Beginnings, San Diego, California

Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Centers School-based Clinics, Jackson, Mississippi

School-Based Youth Services Program, New Brunswick, New Jersey

Intermediate School 218, New York, New York

West Philadelphia Schools and the University of Pennsylvania

CONTACTS:

Foundations

(For descriptions of all foundations listed below, click here.)

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 701 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, (800) 222-1099 or (410) 547-6600, Contact: Douglas W. Nelson, executive director; Tony Cipollone, associate director; or Lynne White, senior associate.

Agencies and School Districts

(For descriptions of all agencies and school districts listed below, click here.)

Philliber Research Associates, 28 Main Street, Accord, NY 12404, (914) 626-2126, Contact: Dr. Susan Philliber, e-mail: 72060.126@compuserve.com

Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (serves Savannah, GA), 316 East Bay Street, Savannah, GA 31401, (912) 651-6810, FAX: (912) 651-6814, Contact: Gaye M. Smith, deputy director

Illinois Project Success (serves Illinois), 2-1/2 Capitol, Springfield, IL 62706, (217) 782-1446, FAX: (217) 524-1678, Contact: Lori Williams, Office of the Governor

First Neighborhood Place (serves Louisville, KY), 4401 Rangeland Road, Louisville, KY 40219, (502) 962-3160, FAX: (502) 473-8045, Contact: John D. LeMaster, Jr., M.Ed., Director

New Beginnings (serves San Diego, CA), Unified School District, 4100 Normal Street, Room 2036, San Diego, CA 92103-2682, (619) 293-8371, Contact: Jack Campana, Lifeskills Education program coordinator, e-mail: jackcampana@smtpgw.sdcs.k12.ca.us

New Jersey School Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP), (serves New Jersey), Department of Human Services, CN700, 222 South Warren Street, Trenton, NJ 08625-0700, (609) 292-7901, FAX: (609) 984-7380, Contact: Roberta Knowlton, director

Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families Program (serves New York City), 2770 Broadway, New York, NY 10025, (212) 866-0700, Contact: George Khaldun, e-mail: rheedlen@ix.netcom.com

School of the Future Project (serves Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, Texas), Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, The University of Texas at Austin, P.O. Box 7998, University Station, Austin, TX 78713-7998, (512) 471-5041, FAX: (512) 471-9608, WWW http://hogg1.lac.utexas.edu/ Contact: Wayne H. Holtzman (e-mail: wayne.holtzman@mail.utexas.edu or Scott Keir

Schools Partnership Training Institute (SPTI) (serves San Francisco, CA), c/o California Research Institute, San Francisco State University, 14 Tapia Drive, San Francisco, CA 94132 (415) 338-1762, FAX (415) 338-6121 Contact: Howard Blonsky, director

Resource Organizations and Agencies

(For descriptions of all resource organizations and agencies listed below, click here.)

California Tomorrow, Fort Mason, Building B, San Francisco, CA 94123, (415) 441-7631, e-mail: 74740.2431@compuserve.com

Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Children's Learning of the Institute for Responsive Education, 605 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, (617) 353-3309, FAX: (617) 353-8444, Contact: Scott Thompson, communication and dissemination, e-mail: stt@bu.edu

Center for the Study of Social Policy, 1250 Eye Street, NW, Suite 503, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 371-1565, FAX: (202) 371-1472, Contact: Sara Watson, e-mail: swatson400@aol.com

ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, University of Illinois, 805 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, (800) 583-4135 or (217) 333-1386, Contact: Dianne Rothenberg, associate director. e-mail: ericeece@uxl.cso.uiuc.edu
WWW Site: http://npin.org

National Center for Education in the Inner Cities, Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Education, 9th Floor, Ritter Hall Annex, 13th Street & Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122, (215) 204-3000, FAX: (215) 204-5130, Contact: Margaret C. Wang, e-mail: crhde1@vm.temple.edu

Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 822-8405, FAX: (202) 870-4050, Contact: Mary Marshall

Institute for Family Support and Development of MICA (Mid-Iowa Community Action), Inc., 1001 West Ingledue Street, Marshalltown, IA 50158, (515) 752-7162, Contact: Arlene McAtee

National Association of Partners in Education (NAPE), 209 Madison Street, Suite 401, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 836-4880, FAX: (703) 836-6941, Contact: Janet Cox

National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), Columbia University School of Public Health, 154 Haven Avenue, New York, NY 10032, (212) 927-8793, FAX: (212) 927-9162, Contact: Carol Oshinsky or Beth Atkins, e-mail: ejs22@columbia.edu
WWW Site: http://www.nccp.org/

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1120 Diehl Road, Suite 200
Naperville, IL 60563-1486, (800) 356-2735 or (630) 649-6500, fax (630) 649-7600

References

This Critical Issue summary was researched and written by Kent Peterson, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Date posted: 1995