"Let’s make today a great day for education"

Every morning at 8:45, Downey principal, Ms. Love, gets on the speaker and welcomes students and teachers to a new day of school. It’s liturgical in power—setting the tone for the day:

“Let’s make today a great day for education.”

That statement is powerful; it declares that education is a collective responsibility each and every day.

In every Harrisburg school, you will hear phrases similar to this one or you will see murals, posters, and displays mimicking these ideals. The mission and core values of these schools are communicated all throughout the halls. Just as students and teachers are challenged daily to take responsibility for learning, I would like to challenge every parent and community member to take up their responsibility as well.

Brendan O' Keefe writes in his article, 5 Steps to Better School/Community Collaboration, "As the old African proverb says, "It takes a village to raise a child." One could imagine then that it would take a community to raise a school. We can't rely on local, state, or federal governments to take ownership of the issues we face locally. We need to work as a community to nurture our schools for our particular community needs."

There are many great community partners working alongside our Harrisburg Schools. To name a few: Phoenix Contact, TE Connectivity, Breaking the Chainz, local colleges, local churches, and many others. But we need to be doing so much more. The research is clear, consistent, and convincing. Family and community involvement in education correlates with higher academic performance and school improvement. Researchers agree when schools, families, and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs (check out the book, Parsing the Achievement Gap: Baselines for Tracking Progress by Paul Barton.)

However, there's no denying it, it can be difficult to find the right avenues to be involved in your local school. Here are five suggestions to get you started:

1. Volunteer your time in the classroom

Even one hour a week can make a big difference to a teacher who is past capacity. There’s a good possibility you’re the only volunteer he or she has, and her appreciation will probably be obvious.

2. Meet with your school's guidance counselor

Being familiar with the Counselor is key, because he/she has a deep understanding of the population and its needs. And, I would imagine, he/she doesn’t have people banging on the door to offer help.

3. Get connected with a local church

Many local churches have relationships with the schools and neighborhoods. Whether they offer school supplies or clubs, checking in with a local church is a great way to be involved in your school community.

4. Arrange for your company to be at the school's career fair

I have never connected with a school that doesn't have some sort of career day (ask the guidance counselor)! Schools are actively seeking participants for this event. This is an open door for businesses in the community. When you get there, make sure to ask how you can stay involved and support the school.

5. Become a community coach through the Foundry

Take your passions and expertise and mentor students and teachers in your community. At the Foundry, we are constantly running projects in many different fields. Volunteer to speak to students about your career or work alongside teachers in the classroom to provide students with authentic world applications. Contact me at mdelduco@foundrymakerspace.com and I can help you connect to your local school.