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Charter Oak Academy of Global Studies
West Hartford, CT
School Type: Public
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School Setting: Urban
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Level: Elementary
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School Design: Magnet
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Content Presented By:
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RMC Research Corporation
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Summary
The practice: The Community - Schools cannot succeed as independent "islands" within their communities. Agencies, organizations, and individuals in the community can offer powerful support in the setting of school goals and program implementation.
- Increase in fourth grade students meeting the state goal on portions of the Connecticut Mastery Test between 1993 and 1998: 35% to 52% in reading, 30% to 54% in writing, and 46% to 66 % in mathematics.
- Minority population of over 51% in 1998-1999.
- Over 26% of students with a non-English home language.
In this diverse school, where over one-fourth of the students are learning English as a second language and have parents who also have difficulty with English, the Family Resource Center (FRC) has been an important means of creating an inclusive community. In addition to the language barrier, many families experience challenges with after-school care situations. Since 1992, the Family Resource Center has incorporated families into the school community by working in conjunction with local community agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide services and activities to address each family's particular challenges and needs.
In collaboration with West Hartford Adult Education, the FRC at Charter Oak developed an ESOL class for families in response to the needs of West Hartford's newest residents. Called "Family FUNdamentals", this two hour Wednesday evening class teaches English within the context of the school and the community. All family members are welcome to attend and participate in the low-key learning. Team taught by the FRC Parent Educator and a certified Adult Education teacher, the class studies school forms (including the school menu, emergency forms, permission slips for school trips, and report cards), visits the public library and applies for library cards, learns to use computers and voice mail, hears firsthand about community services from a police officer and a firefighter, attends a PTA meeting, discusses parenting issues, and learns about American holidays.
This site also exemplifies the following practice(s):
- Communication - Clear lines of communication build relationships between schools and families. Frequent, thoughtful, and diverse methods of communicating provide the strongest signals of genuine collaboration.
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