NORTHWEST

EDUCATION

SPRING–SUMMER 2007 / VOLUME 12. NUMBER 3

 Involving parents in postsecondary planning 6 

Community effort creates charter school 12

Welcoming Latino families 16

A PLACE AT 

THE TABLE

CREATING SCHOOL, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 

PARTNERSHIPS
2 nwrel.org/nwedu

ON THE COVER

A parent and his son participate in a family literacy activity at 

Cornelius Elementary School in the Forest Grove (Oregon) 

School District. The evening course is just one way the district 

reaches out to Latino parents: Other strategies include translating 

the district Web site into Spanish, conducting school meetings in 

two languages, hiring a high number of bilingual staff, making 

home visits to welcome kindergarten students, and holding cultural events that reflect the district’s cultural make up. For more, 

see story on page 16. 

Photo by Chase Allgood
NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 1

Web exclusives at nwrel.org/nwedu/

6

20

30

16

FEATURES

6 Navigation 101

A pioneering student guidance program helps boost parent involvement in 

Tacoma’s Franklin Pierce School District.

10 Strong Partnerships 

Debbie Ellis, director of the Oregon Parent Informational and Resource 

Center, talks about the new focus of the decade-old federal grant program.

12 New School, Old Ways of Knowing

The Fairbanks Alaska Native community works with the local school district 

to create a new charter school based on Native cultural values.

16 Bienvenidos a Forest Grove

A rural Oregon school district uses multiple strategies to connect with its 

growing Latino population.

20 The Road to Success

An award-winning district in North Central Montana finds success by 

reaching out to the Native American community.

24 Voices From the Community

Five diverse views of what school, family, and community partnerships look 

like in Northwest schools.

30 Partnering for Success

Innovative tutoring and mentoring projects forge community partnerships in 

Washington schools.

Making the Parent-School Connection

Shirley Skidmore, director of communications and outreach for the Chalkboard 

Project, talks about how the Oregon-based nonprofit has helped put parent and 

community involvement in the statewide spotlight.

Closing the Culture Gap: Q&A With Steffen Saifer

The director of NWREL’s Child and Family Program shares practical advice about 

the attitudes, skills, and self-awareness necessary to bridge cultural differences.

 NORTHWEST

EDUCATION

 CONTENTS / SPRING–SUMMER 2007 A PLACE AT THE TABLE VOL. 12 / NO. 3
2 nwrel.org/nwedu/

DEPARTMENTS

3 Forum

4 Editor’s Note

36 Region at a Glance

Parent Involvement Activities

37 Research Brief

Not Just Participants But Partners: 

The Impact of Family-Community Involvement

39 End Note

40 NWREL News

Practical Handbook Gets Parents Involved

Preventing Bullying and Harassment

Conference Call 

What’s New on the Web

Flashback

NWREL Products and Services

On the Web

Northwest Education is available online in both PDF 

and HTML versions at www.nwrel.org/nwedu/. Look 

for Web exclusives, marked with .

Northwest Education is published three times a year by the 

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Past and current 

issues of the magazine are available at www.nwrel.org/nwedu/.

ISSN 1546-5020

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Carol F. Thomas

Deputy Executive Officer

Dr. Robert E. Blum

Administrative Director, Development and Communications

Dave Wilson

Managing Editor

Rhonda Barton

Issue Editor

Bracken Reed

NWREL News Writers/Photographers

Kate Fitzgibbon, Michael Heavener

Technical Editor

Eugenia Cooper Potter

Design

Denise Crabtree

Data Analyst

Richard Greenough

Library Support

Linda Fitch

Webmaster

Vicki Jean Beauchamp

Circulation

Lorelei Aldridge

Statement of Purpose

Northwest Education aims to promote a regional dialogue and to 

elevate teaching and learning by giving readers the best information, ideas, and personal stories from practitioners, researchers, and 

other experts. 

Copyright © 2007, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. 

Articles and information in this publication may be reproduced 

and distributed without permission for nonprofit educational and 

professional development purposes. Please acknowledge NWREL 

as the source.

NORTHWEST

EDUCATION 
NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 3

Learning From the Best

The depth and enthusiasm with which 

Krista Parent (“A Model Leader: Q&A 

With Krista Parent,” winter 2007) 

answers your editor’s questions is 

refreshing and inspiring. 

I found not only titles of books on 

education and leadership I’d like to 

check out but also took away ideas to 

share with my school.

I wonder if there is a model or 

venue available so that all of Oregon 

could benefit from her educational 

leadership, like the South Lane School 

District has.

Mariam Higgins

Teacher

Catlin Gabel Lower School

Portland, Oregon

Editor’s note: Krista Parent, superintendent of Oregon’s South Lane School 

District, was recently named the 2007 

National Superintendent of the Year. 

Parent received the award March 2nd, in 

New Orleans, at the American Association of School Administrators’ (AASA) 

National Conference on Education. 

2007 marks the 20th anniversary of the 

award, which celebrates the leadership 

of one public school superintendent in 

each state, as well as four national finalists. Two of the four finalists in 2007 

were from the Northwest region. 

We want to hear from you! Send your 

letters to the editor, comments on current and past issues, article ideas, and tips 

on places where good things are happening to nwedufeedback@nwrel.org. 

Letters may be edited for length or clarity.

FORUM

NWREL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. Richard McCullough (Chair)

Adjunct Professor, Western Washington University

Jerry Colonna (Vice Chair)

Superintendent, Beaverton School District (OR)

Dr. John Davis (Secretary-Treasurer)

Superintendent, Bering Strait School District (AK)

Dr. Terry Bergeson

Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction

Susan Castillo

Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction

Tom Luna

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction

Linda McCulloch

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction 

Roger Sampson

Alaska Commissioner of Education & Early Development

Doreen Brown (Parent Representative)

Supervisor, Indian Education, Anchorage School District (AK)

Karanja Crews

Teacher, Beaverton School District (OR)

Rubén Degollado 

Assistant Principal, Hillsboro School District (OR)

Rudy Edwards

School Board Member

Snoqualmie Valley School District (WA)

Dr. Joanne Erickson

Assistant Professor, Montana State University–Bozeman

Jeff Estes

Manager, Office of Science Education Programs, 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (WA)

Jeri Harris

Teacher, Seattle School District (WA)

Dr. Larry Harris

Dean, University of Alaska Southeast

Dennis Haverlandt 

Elementary Principal, Deer Park School District (MT)

Dr. Jannette R. Hill

Chair, Division of Eduction, 

Lewis-Clark State College (ID)

Jerry Keane 

Superintendent, Post Falls School District (ID)

Nancy Larsen

Teacher, Coeur d’Alene School District (ID)

Richard Mauer

Chair, Alaska State Board of Education & Early Development

Dr. Bill McDiarmid

Professor, University of Washington

Dr. Geoffrey Mills

Dean, Southern Oregon University 

Ted Popplewell

Director, Elementary Education, Twin Falls School District 

(ID) 

Kay Purcell

Principal, St. Rose Parish School, Longview (WA)

Barbara Riley

Community/Business Representative, Missoula (MT)

Dr. Perla Rodriguez (Parent Representative)

Principal, Forest Grove School District (OR)

Dr. Doug Sullivan

Superintendent, Sidney School District (MT)

Carol VanDerWege

Teacher, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (AK)

Dr. Joan Parker Webster

Associate Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks
The poet William Stafford once 

answered a question about his influences by saying, “The influence I feel 

when I write, the voice I hear most 

clearly, is that of my mother.” I think 

about that sometimes when sitting 

down to write, and I thought of it 

again as I worked on this issue of Northwest Education. 

Stafford, of course, was speaking about an influence so 

fundamental and natural that we take it for granted—that of 

family, parent and child. But what happens when we step out 

of that inner circle and into the larger world? What if that 

world does not acknowledge the validity of that first, clearest 

voice? 

For many of us, public school is the first big step we take 

outside of our inner circle. And how those two worlds—

home and school—intersect can have lifelong effects. 

This issue of Northwest Education is about that intersection. 

The stories you’ll find here reflect the changes taking place in 

how schools interact with parents, extended family, and the 

larger community. Informed by three decades of research—

and given new urgency by the No Child Left Behind Act—

public schools are in the middle of a paradigm shift. A new 

model of sustained partnerships and shared decision making 

is beginning to find its way into the daily operation of schools 

and districts around the country. 

In many schools that model includes an emphasis on culturally responsive practices and a subtle shift in responsibility. 

As Steffen Saifer, the director of NWREL’s Child and Family Program, says, “Most schools previously put the onus on 

the family by emphasizing what the parents should be doing. 

But what happens if the school does the opposite? What if it 

says: ‘We value you, your family, your community, and your 

culture.’ That’s a much more powerful and effective message. 

And the onus should be on the school to make that happen.”

As schools learn how to take that responsibility, they’re 

also learning how to tap the incredible resources to be found 

in the community. In the schools profiled here, you’re as 

likely to find a parent or community volunteer in a classroom, counselor’s office, or resource center as you are in the 

copy room or on the playground. Here you discover stories 

of community involvement that is long term and tied to 

classroom instruction.

You will also find stories about school districts that are finding success—and increased parent involvement—by embracing Latino, Native American, Alaska Native, and other cultural 

values. While we still have a long way to go, these stories show 

the giant steps we’ve taken in the last two decades. 

Eleanor Laughlin, the principal of a brand new charter 

school in Fairbanks, Alaska, is representative of that progress. 

Laughlin, of mixed Athabascan and Irish descent, spent her 

early childhood in the Alaska interior, immersed in Athabascan culture. Later, she was sent to the public schools in 

Fairbanks and eventually to a boarding school in Sitka. “My 

school experience was about assimilation,” she says. “It was 

about getting rid of my cultural heritage, not embracing it.”

The result, says Laughlin, was a difficult adolescence and 

young adulthood. Dropping out, drifting as far from home 

as Texas, and only after many years finding her way back 

to Alaska, back to her Native culture, and into a successful career in education. For Laughlin, public education was 

about being cut off from that deepest inner voice—that initial 

influence—that Stafford refers to. Now, as the principal of a 

school that incorporates Alaska Native culture into the curriculum, she is at the center of change. Her influence, along 

with others whose voices are in these pages, will be felt for 

years to come. 

—Bracken Reed, reedb@nwrel.org

EDITOR‘S NOTE

4 nwrel.org/nwedu/
5

SPRING-SUMMER 2007 / VOL. 12. NO. 3

A new approach helps students—and parents—plan for the future 6

A federal program puts parent resource centers in every state 10

The Alaska Native community helps chart a new course in Fairbanks 12

An Oregon district connects with Latino families 16 

Reaching out to the Native American community leads a district to success 20

Five people share their perspectives on creating great partnerships 24

Volunteers boost reading in Washington schools 30

CREATING SCHOOL, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

NORTHWEST EDUCATION FEATURES

A PLACE AT THE TABLE
6 nwrel.org/nwedu/

Story by RHONDA BARTON

Photos by KARIE HAMILTON

Parents like the Wallaces started flocking to school after the district 

instituted student-led conferences that center on portfolios.
TACOMA, Washington—At Washington High, and throughout the 

Franklin Pierce School District, 

parent-teacher conferences are a 

rite of spring. But these half-hour 

sessions don’t look anything like the 

harried, perfunctory meetings that 

are typical in high schools around the 

country. As the originator of the statewide Navigation 101 guidance program, the district has pioneered a way 

to help students use the conferences to 

present clear and careful plans for their 

future, tie their coursework to their life 

goals, and boost parent involvement in 

the process. 

A student-driven system

Consider what’s unfolding in Room 201: 

Perky freshman Samantha Wallace confidently pulls out her portfolio and guides her 

parents and advisor through her grades and 

attendance record. With authority and ease 

she discusses her scores on the DRP (Degrees 

of Reading Power) and WASL (Washington 

Assessment of Student Learning) tests. She 

draws laughter from her mom and dad when 

she tells them that a recent job survey showed 

she was well suited for a career as a principal, 

bank manager, or criminal defense lawyer.

Midway through the conference, Scott Wallace asks his daughter, “How do you think things 

are going for you in high school so far?” Samantha 

pauses for a moment. “I feel like I could do better 

in PE, but I have no desire to move around,” she 

replies. “Trig is a matter of studying really hard, but 

I’m pretty happy with my grade [an 85 percent] 

because it’s one of the better grades in the class.”

Samantha asks advisor Judy Durkin if she needs 

to take more math classes after freshman year, and 

Durkin points out that colleges will be looking for 

four years of mathematics.

The conference ends with Samantha, her parents, 

and Durkin signing off on next year’s course schedule. Then, it’s on to the school’s computer lab to 

preregister for the fall semester. 

Ellen Wallace is impressed with Samantha’s first 

high school student-led conference, one of the hallmarks of Navigation 101. “I went through this school 

so it’s easy to compare my experience and hers,” she 

says. “When I was here, there were no two-year or 

four-year goals. Standards weren’t as rigorous. Now, 

kids see what it takes to get into college and it gives 

them some goals to shoot for, and the system keeps 

us apprised of how she’s doing.”

Scott Wallace agrees, “I think the process is working. It helps us hold our daughter more accountable 

for the goals she set.”

Charting the way statewide

The Wallaces aren’t the only ones who rate Navigation 101 highly. Surveys show parent attendance at 

conferences has increased significantly at Washington High—from 35 percent to 80 percent—since 

the program started here six years ago. The number 

of students and parents who say the conference is 

“worthwhile” has also jumped. Tim Stensager, one 

of Navigation 101’s developers and head of the 

district’s career education program, attributes that 

to a new context for parent participation. “In the 

past, most parents were brought in because of their 

student’s bad grades or bad attitude. We’ve turned 

from a failure focus to a success-oriented one,” he 

comments. “We’re focusing on how the school and 

the parent can be partners in helping kids succeed.” 

Navigation 101 schools across Washington also 

report dramatic increases in parent participation in 

conferences—reaching up to 98 percent in some 

high schools. Five “lighthouse districts” adopted the 

Navigation

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 7

101

A COMPREHENSIVE 

GUIDANCE MODEL GETS 

PARENTS ON BOARD 

FOR THEIR STUDENTS’ 

SCHOOL JOURNEY

E
program three years ago. They now serve as mentors to some 

of the 80 schools and districts that signed on to Navigation 

101 this year with the help of state implementation grants. 

Some districts are initiating the program in middle school; 

some are starting with high school; and Franklin Pierce 

is adding an elementary school version to its middle and 

high school offerings.

At the heart of the program is a curriculum that teaches 

students how to navigate through the educational system 

and prepare for their postgraduate lives. Delivering this 

curriculum is beyond the capacity of most schools’ counseling staff, so all certified staff members—including the 

superintendent in one district—are trained to teach 63 

prepared lessons that span grades 6–12. The Navigation 

101 classes meet twice a month throughout the school 

year, and each teacher leads a class of about 20 students 

who stay together during their middle school or high school 

careers. Students maintain portfolios, which they present at 

their annual parent-teacher conferences. In senior year, students 

share their portfolios with a panel of community members. 

Judy Durkin, Samantha’s advisor, is starting her second 

cohort of Navigation 101 students. A graphic arts teacher, she 

likes the system but admits to sometimes feeling “uncomfortable” about stepping into what’s traditionally a counselor’s 

territory. Despite the checks and balances built into the system, 

she wonders, “Am I going to be on the line if a kid gets to be a 

senior and thinks the plan I’ve helped him with is screwed up? 

If we make a mistake, the student will pay for it.”

At the same time, though, Durkin sees the positives: not 

only in “helping kids realize that real life happens at the end 

of their 12 years of [school] protection” but in getting family 

members involved. “Our expectation is that parents will find 

out more about what goes on when their student leaves the 

house in the morning,” she says.

Relationship 

building

Tina Ellis’s Navigation students are juniors 

this year. The English and journalism teacher thinks that 

having the same group of advisees is “truly advantageous ... 

they’ve been having conversations with me twice a month 

for several years now.” And, she describes the student-led 

conferences as “awesome.”

“It’s always interesting to see the dynamic between the 

kid and the parent,” she observes. “It gives you a greater 

understanding of the students—where they get their sense of 

humor or why they’re quiet or talkative.”

Talkative is the perfect descriptor for 17-year-old George 

Culver, a high-energy kid with a brilliant smile. George and 

his mother arrive for their conference 16 minutes late. Ellis 

lets George know that his tardiness isn’t appreciated and 

that he should have dressed up for the meeting. His mother, 

Stephanie Farren, shakes her head and says, “George knew 

you’d get on him about this.”

Despite the rocky start, George uses his finely honed 

public speaking skills to give an entertaining and thorough 

presentation. The student body vice president and basketball 

captain has set his sights on becoming a dentist. He acknowledges that the C’s on his report card may hurt his chances, 

but “I know I can do better in the future if I apply myself,” 

he says.

George tells his mom that everyone in his Navigation 

101 class filled out the Common Application and visited the 

nearby campus of Pacific Lutheran University. “I’m really 

interested in going there,” he says, “but I’m also looking into 

Howard because of my African American heritage.” With 

a schedule that includes physics and calculus next year, he 

thinks that he’ll be well positioned for a four-year university. 

“I realize that colleges really look at classes. If it wasn’t for the 

Navigation portfolio though, I wouldn’t be thinking about 

that until I was a senior,” he reflects.

When George finishes, his mother says she appreciated 

the conference: “It allows me to see how George is growing, 

where he’s been, and how he’s gotten this far.”

INVITING PARENTS IN

Having students lead the annual parent-teacher conferences 

is a big hook to draw in family members. As Washington High 

Principal Jim Ridgeway notes, “Parents come to the school 

with a positive aura; they come to hear their son or daughter 

talk about themselves as a learner and as a citizen.”

The school takes several steps to make sure parents and 

guardians know when conferences are scheduled:

• As part of their Navigation 101 advisory class, students 

write a letter inviting their parents to attend.

• The school mails home a postcard announcement of the 

conference dates.

• Shortly before conferences are held, the school telephones each home using the automatic dialer system. 

For more information on the program, see the Web site of 

the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public 

Instruction, www.k12.wa.us.

8 nwrel.org/nwedu/
Opposite: Washington High’s master schedule is driven by the courses 

students request during their spring conferences. With input from parents, 

students sign up online for classes. 

 Below: George, a junior, talks about his postsecondary plans during 

his parent-teacher conference.

Aiming for equity

Encouraging students like George to tackle more challenging 

courses was one of the main reasons Franklin Pierce School 

District developed Navigation 101 in the first place. That 

was especially important at Washington High—where almost 

half the students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch and 

there’s a 45 percent minority enrollment. 

“We looked at national statistics that showed the distribution of college degrees by economic quartile: 75 percent 

of the families from the upper quartile receive bachelor’s 

degrees, while only 9–12 percent of people in the bottom 

quartile do,” says Dan Barrett, a technical assistance provider 

to other Navigation 101 districts. “There are other indicators 

of poverty and postsecondary success that compelled us to 

say we’re not doing enough for our students.”

Washington High Principal Jim Ridgeway recalls those 

early discussions during Navigation 101’s conception. “We 

asked, ‘What do you think about 60–65 percent of our kids 

leaving high school without taking math? What do you think 

about only 10 percent of seniors taking rigorous courses?’ 

We either stand up and do something about it or sit back 

and let it happen.” The district took on the challenge, using 

$20,000 in school-to-work grants as seed money and scraping 

together other funds by shifting budget priorities. 

Today, about 60 percent of the juniors and seniors in 

Franklin Pierce’s two high schools enroll in chemistry, physics, and precalculus. Nearly half of low-income upperclassmen (as measured by free and reduced-price lunch rates) 

take “gatekeeper” courses—nearly double the number just 

two years earlier. In addition, the district has seen a steady 

decline in the number of graduates who need to take remedial courses at the college level and an increase in 10th-grade 

WASL scores.

Pushing students to sign up for classes like Advanced 

Placement English or chemistry has forced the district 

to adopt a more consumer-driven approach to scheduling. “It’s not arena scheduling where a teacher hands out 

30 tickets and that’s it,” says Tom Edwards, Washington 

High’s dean of students. Once students preregister for 

classes, the computer generates a master schedule. “If 

45 kids say they want to do Beginning Broadcasting, the 

computer automatically tells us we need two sections of 

the class,” he notes.

Getting teachers to buy into this system—and to the 

other demands of Navigation 101—takes “an enormous 

amount of school leadership,” according to Principal 

Ridgeway. He says starting up the program was sometimes 

“like driving through Baghdad outside the Green Zone; 

a lot of contractual things and barriers come up that you 

deal with.” But, as Edwards points out, it didn’t hurt that 

three of the four grade-band leaders who helped implement Navigation 101 at Washington were active union 

members and were quick to see the program’s value. 

With a track record of a half-dozen years in the 

Franklin Pierce School District and growing acceptance around the state, Navigation 101 has proved to be a 

winner for both students and their parents.

“We’ve seen some unintended benefits about providing 

parents with all this information about educational opportunities,” says Barrett. “As they see how their students are 

navigating the system, they’re thinking that maybe they need 

to create a plan, too, and that there are places where they can 

get help with postsecondary options.”

Right now, the state hasn’t developed formal strategies to 

help parents pursue their own educational goals, but Barrett 

thinks that could be on the near horizon.

In the meantime, Navigation 101 is helping students like 

Samantha Wallace and George Carver set a smoother course 

toward the future while also engaging their parents in the 

voyage. ■

NAVIGATION 101
10 nwrel.org/nwedu/

Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) have been 

around for a decade, but these federally funded programs are 

taking on a new look and a new focus in this era of No Child 

Left Behind. With the reauthorization of the program in 2006, at 

least one PIRC was established in every state with each center 

becoming more aligned to NCLB goals for parental involvement. 

Debbie Ellis, a project director in the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory’s Center for School, Family, and Community, 

heads the new Oregon PIRC. The center will coordinate family 

involvement activities and provide resources and information 

throughout the state with a special emphasis on reaching lowincome and Hispanic families. She spoke with Northwest Education about how the new centers have evolved.

What was the original purpose of the PIRC program? 

The original PIRCs were created in 1997 

under a five-year grant. The focus was at the early 

childhood level—helping parents get their children ready for 

school. In 2002 a one-year extension was offered in which the 

federal government shifted the focus to the No Child Left 

Behind Act—things like helping parents understand their 

rights and responsibilities under NCLB and increasing their 

awareness of school choice, supplemental services, teacher 

qualifications, adequate yearly progress (AYP), and their 

school’s report card. 

And then in Oregon there was a gap between the end of that first 

grant cycle and the beginning of the current funding? 

Right. There was another three- or four-year grant given out, 

but there wasn’t a PIRC in Oregon, or in several other states, 

during that time. For this new grant cycle, the federal government chose to award at least one PIRC to every state, with 

several states having two for greatest statewide impact. 

And how has the scope of work changed?

The federal government has expanded the focus, combining early childhood with NCLB issues. They also wanted to 

make sure these grants are statewide, rather than local, and 

put special emphasis on serving low-income families and 

schools that are struggling to meet adequate yearly progress. 

What else is different about the new PIRCs? 

There is also a new emphasis on active collaboration 

among groups that are already doing this work. The U.S. 

Department of Education wants us to bring the state Title I 

parent involvement coordinator to the table along with the 

state PTA director, the state Parent Training and Information Center, and any other partner groups in the state. Here 

in Oregon, for instance, the Chalkboard Project has a really 

strong emphasis on parent involvement. And the Oregon 

Council for Hispanic Advancement also has a strong parent 

leadership focus. So, we’re partnering with both of those 

organizations, as well as with the Oregon Department of 

Education. Our role is to help all these organizations work 

together more effectively—share resources, collaborate—so 

that we can all have a bigger impact and we’re not all 

reinventing the wheel.

How will you go about doing that?

One thing we’re planning is an annual family-school 

partnership summit where we invite a lot of these partner 

organizations to bring their newest products and provide 

information about their services to schools and families. 

A lot of these groups have already produced some really 

great resources, but many are only in English or are written at 

a level that isn’t accessible to a lot of parents. We want to help 

these organizations get their materials translated or provide 

audiovisual additions and enhancements to their trainings, so 

that parents with lower literacy levels or limited English skills 

can have more access to the existing resources.

We also want to bring all these organizations to the table 

and say, “OK, what’s out there already? What’s missing? How 

can this group of people—who are all interested in parent 

involvement and school partnership issues—make the best 

use of all the existing resources and have a bigger statewide 

impact? That kind of networking and collaboration is a big 

part of the new PIRCs. 

STRONG PARTNERSHIPS

The New Parent Information and Resource Centers 

Q:

Debbie Ellis
How do you decide who you’re going to serve? 

In Oregon the population of Hispanic students has been 

growing at an amazing rate—there’s been a 17 percent 

growth just in the past two years, for instance. Now, one of 

every six students in Oregon is Hispanic, and that’s expected 

to rise significantly over the next few years. 

Our PIRC grant didn’t require a Hispanic focus, but we 

chose that because of how quickly that student population is 

changing and the needs that increase generates in our state. 

An additional focus is on low-income families: Fifty percent 

of our funding has to serve low-income families. That’s built 

into the grant. 

As far as delivering service, we’ve got a three-level system. 

Level one services will be provided statewide. That means 

all schools, all parents, all teachers can have access to the 

materials. We’ll have a lot of Web-based resources in order to 

reach the largest number of people. Level two services are for 

high-needs districts and schools. And level three is generally 

the schools that are in “improvement” status and have high 

numbers of Hispanic and low-income families. Level two 

schools will get more outreach as far as e-mail and telephone 

technical assistance, while level three schools will receive 

personal site visits from our staff. 

Is there funding to deal with all the schools that are in improvement?

In order to expand our funding and work with as many 

schools as possible, we’ve been working in collaboration with 

NWREL’s Improving School System’s Unit and with the 

regional school improvement coordinators who have already 

established relationships with the schools. That way we’re 

not just one more person going to a school and saying, “I’m 

here to help you with your parent involvement!” Instead, 

we work directly with the coordinators to help the school 

identify their parent involvement needs, then set up a specific 

plan on how we can best help them meet their goals. ■

Each state has its own PIRC with a focus on statewide issues. 

Here are the PIRCs in the Northwest region:

Oregon PIRC

Debbie Ellis, Project Director

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

101 S.W. Main Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97204-3213

800-547-6339, ext. 522, 503-275-9552, ellisd@nwrel.org

Alaska PIRC

Julie Staley, Alaska State PIRC Director

SERRC, 210 Ferry Way, Juneau, AK 99801

907-586-6806, julies@serrc.org

Alaska has set up a unique system with satellite representatives based in the communities that need the most assistance. 

Those representatives speak the language and know the 

culture(s) of the community(ies) they serve. 

Idaho PIRC

Pat Stephens, Idaho State PIRC Director

Family Advocate Program

3010 W. State, Suite 104, Boise, ID 83703

208-345-3344, pat@familyadvocate.org

The Idaho PIRC consists of a partnership among five different nonprofit agencies, one each in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho 

Falls, Pocatello, Boise, and Caldwell-Nampa. Approximately 

71 percent of services are provided in direct, in-person trainings using the Parents as Teachers model. Other resources 

include a Web site, a newsletter, and statewide presentations. 

Idaho has maintained a similar PIRC system since receiving 

its original grant in 1997. 

Montana PIRC

Naomi Thornton, Montana State PIRC Director

Word, Inc., 127 N. Higgins, Missoula, MT 59802

406-543-3550, futures@wordinc.org

The Montana PIRC will focus on expanding, supporting, 

and providing resources to parents and schools, particularly 

in communities with high poverty and a large Native American population.

Washington PIRC

Sue Schlegel, Washington State PIRC Director

Columbia Basin College Foundation

P.O. Box 6877, Kennewick, WA 99336

509-544-5770, sschlegel@esd123.org

The Washington PIRC system includes five centers in 

rural areas with high-minority populations: North Franklin 

County, Pasco, Prosser, Othello, and Walla Walla. Services 

include on-site activities and bilingual Web-based resources. 

Some activities will also be statewide. As part of the grant, 

Washington will conduct a three-year research project that 

studies a home-visit model for the parents of two-year old 

children in each of the service areas.

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 11
12 nwrel.org/nwedu/

NEW 

SCHOOL

An eighth-grade student at 

Effie Kokrine Charter school 

braves subzero weather to learn 

the art of setting animal traps.
The Fairbanks North Star

Borough School Districts

teams with a coalition of

Alaska Native parents,

educators, and community

members to start a Nativefocused charter school. 

Story and photos by BRACKEN REED

OLD

Ways of Knowing

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 13

FAIRBANKS, Alaska—It’s the first week of March and spring 

is still a far-off dream. For now, it’s 10 below zero, snow is 

packed hard on the roads, and the air feels like it could crack 

teeth. Outside a local diner, those grabbing a quick breakfast 

have left their cars running, the exhaust fumes whipping in 

the wind like dry ice. “Warming up a little out there, eh?” says 

an old man as he enters the diner. He’s grinning at a group 

of fellow retirees already tucked into a corner booth, but he 

means it. It’s just a normal day in Fairbanks. 

Later that morning on the north end of town students 

begin to arrive at the Effie Kokrine Charter School. Like 

teens everywhere, most of these middle and high school students have not dressed for the weather. Thin hoodies, jeans, 

basketball shoes, and T-shirts far outnumber winter coats 

and warm gloves. Mention the weather and they shrug. “This 

is nothing, bro,” says one young man, who at least had the 

sense to wear a thick, crewneck sweatshirt. 

Like most of the students here, as he passes down the 

hallway, you can imagine the stories trailing after him. Stories 

of weather—30 below zero at his home village on the Yukon 

River. Stories of moose hunting and sled dog racing. Tragic 

stories of alcoholism and suicide. Beautiful stories of grandmothers, laughter, and family picnics in the snow. 

Everyone has stories, of course, but the students at Effie 

Kokrine seem to have life experiences far beyond their years. 

For many, home is a village in the northern interior—places 

such as Huslia, Tanana, Galena, and Nulato. The distance 

between Fairbanks and those villages is more than physical. 

It’s the distance between two cultures—the treacherous confluence of traditional and mainstream worlds that all indigenous people have to navigate. 

In the current climate of public education, the psychological, social, and spiritual pitfalls of that journey are boiled 

down to a well-documented achievement gap between 

American Indian and Alaska Native students and their peers. 

Other indicators, such as a dropout rate that is double that of 

white students, or a suicide rate that is four times the national 

average tell more of the story. But the real story cannot be 

told by statistics. The real story is currently walking down the 

hallway, barely dressed for the weather. 

The Effie Kokrine Charter School serves slightly more 

than 100 students in grades 7–12. Ninety-eight percent of 

those students are of Alaska Native heritage, the majority 

Athabascan. And while not all of them fit the profile of the 
Native student who has failed to thrive in the typical public 

school, all of them have deliberately chosen to be here. 

Only a year and half old, Effie Kokrine Charter School 

is an experiment in culturally responsive education, a place 

where Native people meet the world of public education on 

their own terms; a place that—although students of any race 

and ethnicity are welcome—is essentially of Native people, by 

Native people, and for Native people. It’s a place named for 

an Athabascan hero, “Grandma Effie,” a three-time winner 

of the Women’s North American Sled Dog Championship 

in the early 1950s. A woman who, for 82 years, cut her own 

trail—with grace, humor, and flair—between the Native and 

mainstream cultures. This is not her story, but you might sense 

her spirit, just behind that student walking down the hall. 

RISING FROM THE COMMUNITY 

The Effie Kokrine Charter School at the Howard Luke Campus, as it’s officially known, can be hard to find. Snow often 

covers the school sign and towering evergreen trees camouflage the single-story building from the road. Prior to being 

a charter school it was the site of the Howard Luke Academy, 

the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s alternative junior and senior high 

school. Howard Luke, an 

Athabascan elder who lives 

across the river just outside Fairbanks, is actively 

involved with area schools 

and has lived a life as colorful and free-spirited as Effie 

Kokrine’s. While the alternative school was dissolved 

shortly before the new 

school started, the district 

honored him by keeping his name for the campus. 

Naming the school and campus after two respected and 

beloved elders is a sign that the district not only “gets” what 

the new school is about, but fully supports it. In fact, some 

credit for the creation of the school can be given to the school 

district and to Superintendent Ann Shortt in particular. 

In November 2001, a coalition of organizations held the 

first Alaska Native Education Summit in Anchorage. By all 

accounts the summit was a huge success and had a ripple 

effect throughout the state. One of those ripples was Ann 

Shortt’s decision to hold a similar, local summit for the Fairbanks district. 

Eleanor Laughlin, the current principal at Effie Kokrine was 

the district coordinator of Alaska Native Education at the time. 

“We held two different summits,” she says, “and out of those 

summits came the recommendation to try a Native-focused 

charter school. From the beginning Superintendent Shortt 

was one of the strongest supporters of that. She stood behind 

us all the way.”

The process of turning that recommendation into a reality 

would take another three years. “There were a lot of interested parties,” says Laughlin. “We formed a planning committee and we had a lot of discussions about what we wanted 

to see in such a school. It wasn’t something we just threw 

together. It was very deliberate, very carefully planned, and it 

involved representatives of the entire Native community.”

A STRONG FOUNDATION

Ray Barnhardt was a key figure in that planning and continues to serve on the school’s governing board. Barnhardt is 

a long-time professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks 

(UAF), and a pioneer in documenting Alaska Native knowledge systems and developing school curricula and teaching 

practices that incorporate that knowledge. Through programs such as the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) 

and its offshoot, the Alaska Native Knowledge Network 

(ANKN), Barnhardt has spent the last 12 years gathering 

evidence, conducting research, and developing programs that 

promote school reform based on a Native world view. That 

work—much of it funded and reviewed by the National Science Foundation—forms the foundation of Effie Kokrine’s 

curriculum and its unique structure.

“We based the curriculum on the S.P.I.R.A.L. Curriculum 

Framework that we developed at the Alaska Native Knowledge 

Network,” says Barnhardt. “It centers around 12 broad cultural 

themes that are essential to Alaska Native subsistence culture.” 

In addition to the Native-focused curriculum, the school 

made several decisions based on research into Native ways of 

learning. The day begins at 10 a.m., for instance, and ends at 

3:40 p.m. Mornings are reserved for core subject areas such 

as math, science, and language arts, taught much as they are 

in a typical public school, but with frequent references and 

examples drawn from Alaska Native culture. Afternoons 

put a more direct emphasis on Native cultural practices via 

hands-on projects and field trips. 

Parent and community involvement is essential. A school 

based on Native cultural knowledge and values would be an 

empty enterprise without the inclusion of parents and elders, 

notes Barnhardt. “So much about how Native people learn has 

14 nwrel.org/nwedu/

“ WE HAVE MORE PARENT AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT HERE THAN I’VE 

EVER SEEN IN A SCHOOL,” says Meckel. 

“Parents, grandparents, elders—they’re a 

major part of what we do. Without that open 

dialogue and collaboration this approach just 

wouldn’t work.”
to do with the interaction between children and parents and 

between young people and elders. In Native culture, the idea 

of education is not really distinguished from normal interactions among children, parents, and the larger community.”

Accordingly, parent and community involvement is less 

structured at Effie Kokrine than at a typical public school. 

Yes, a Parent-Teacher Organization meets monthly, and official parent-teacher conferences are held at least once every six 

weeks, but the most meaningful involvement happens naturally—and frequently—in the course of a typical day. To see 

this in action and to see the philosophy of the school brought 

to life, you can follow another student down the hall and into 

Kathleen Meckel’s seventh-grade classroom. 

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

At Effie Kokrine, seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms are 

self-contained. Except for math, during which students are 

grouped by their appropriate level, all subjects are taught 

by the same teacher. There are two eighth-grade teachers at 

the school and Meckel teaches the only seventh-grade class. 

Artwork, posters, plants, and learning materials cover nearly 

every surface of her room. Parents are such frequent visitors 

that you barely notice their presence. Students are focused, 

intent on their work, engaged. 

On this afternoon, Meckel and her students have just 

returned from a field trip to the UAF campus, where they 

took part in an Internet teleconference on global warming. 

Students in Fairbanks and students at the opposite end of the 

earth, in Ushuaia, Argentina, had the opportunity to talk to 

scientists from UAF, Boulder, Colorado, Washington, D.C., 

and Argentina about the effects of global warming on polar 

regions. The field trip is typical of the kind of learning opportunity Meckel offers her students. Also typical is the presence 

of several parents who either went along for the ride or have 

come to meet their kids afterward. 

“This kind of opportunity goes right to the heart of what 

we’re about here,” says Meckel. “We’re looking at how global 

warming is affecting the traditional food supply of our Native 

cultures. We try to teach in a way that’s place-based and that 

ties learning and knowledge to cultural values. At the same 

time, what you find is that many of those values are really 

global.”

Meckel, who is Athabascan, is both a passionate advocate 

for the experiment that is the Effie Kokrine Charter School, 

and also one of its most pointed critics. A master at using a 

learning styles-approach to teaching, she is wary of having a 

packaged curriculum—even one with a Native focus. 

“We’ve got a long way to go here,” she says, “but I do 

believe in what we’re doing. This school is about trying to 

help kids through the experience of being an Alaska Native 

in an urban setting, and we do a good job with that. Putting 

these kids with their peers and in a system that embraces 

their culture, I’ve seen them blossom unbelievably.”

At the heart of that, she says, are the families and the larger 

Native community. “We have more parent and community 

involvement here than I’ve ever seen in a school,” says 

Meckel. “Parents, grandparents, elders—they’re a major part 

of what we do. Without that open dialogue and collaboration 

this approach just wouldn’t work.”

Asked for an example, Meckel gets typically passionate. “A 

while back we were having students do research on a mammal that Native people use for subsistence,” she says, “and 

we had a grandparent fly in here from up in the Arctic to talk 

about winter trapping camp. Now that’s family involvement, 

wouldn’t you say?”

Near the end of the day, you can follow another student 

down the hall and into a classroom. This student is 17, a 

junior. He is thin, good-looking, with a wisp of facial hair, 

and soulful eyes. He stands near a window, watching other 

students get ready to board a bus. He acts a little bored, 

maybe a little shy. Playing it cool. On first glance he might 

seem like a typical American teen—passionate about basketball, music, movies. At home in the world of MySpace, 

blogs, and text messaging. But in his quiet voice you can hear 

another story. He is Athabascan. His home village is Huslia. 

He recently won a medal in the eight-dog class of the Junior 

North American Dog Sled Championships. His name is 

Curt Kokrine. “Grandma Effie” was his great aunt. 

Ask him why he has come to this school, what he likes 

about it. “You don’t have to be here ’til 10,” he says with a 

hint of sarcasm. He glances at one of his fellow students, 

another young man, obviously a friend. 

“We get to play basketball every day,” says the friend with 

a big smile. 

Curt laughs and looks back out the window. “Yeah,” he 

says, “basketball every day.” 

There is something in his faraway look that hints at what 

he will not tell a stranger—tradition, the future, home, Fairbanks, family. The journey across two cultures. 

“I’ve been to school other places,” he says, finally, “and 

I didn’t like them. I like it here.” ■

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 15

Parents are a daily presence in Kathleen Meckel’s seventh-grade classroom.
16 nwrel.org/nwedu/

BIENVENIDOS A 

FOREST GROVE

Parents learn the ways they can help their children succeed in school during an evening literacy event at Cornelius 

Elementary. 
Story by RHONDA BARTON

Photos by CHASE ALLGOOD

FOREST GROVE, Oregon—As the dinner hour wanes, Marcia 

Andrew-Camacho welcomes parents and their students to her 

fourth-grade classroom. “How many of you have heard the 

story of La Llorona?” she asks in Spanish. The question is met 

with knowing murmurs, nods, and smiles. “La Llorona” or 

“The Sobbing Woman” is as familiar to Latino adults as Snow 

White is to Anglo moms and dads raised on Disney movies. 

And, it’s likely that each person brings to the circle a different 

version of the folk tale, reflecting where he or she grew up.

The rich oral tradition of Mexican towns and villages is a 

touchstone for the first of six weekly family literacy nights at 

Cornelius Elementary School. The small, informal gathering 

is meant to impart an important lesson: Even though parents 

may not be formally educated themselves, they still have a lot 

to teach their offspring. “This shows them that they are the primary model for their children and there is huge value in their 

life stories,” says Camacho. “The more they interact and tell 

stories, the more it strengthens the child’s home language.” 

Valuing what all parents bring to the educational system 

is a leitmotif in the Forest Grove School District. Nestled in 

rolling farmlands some two dozen miles west of Portland, the 

district covers 225 square miles in four separate towns: Forest 

Grove, Cornelius, Dilley, and Gales Creek. Forty percent of 

the students are Hispanic and more than half of all students 

are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. However, 

traditional barriers of language and poverty are challenged 

by the “pragmatic, sincere belief ”—in Superintendent Jack 

Musser’s words—“that parents are our partners, not our 

adversaries.” Musser goes on to say, “You have to start with 

that, and get staff believing that they must involve parents in 

every aspect of their child’s education.” 

Partnering With Parents and Business

Reaching out to parents takes many forms in Forest Grove. 

Bilingual front office staff members greet families in six of 

the district’s 11 schools. Most schools conduct parent meetings in Spanish and English or provide devices for simultaneous translation. School bulletin boards and the district Web 

site prominently feature information in both languages. And, 

all mailings go out in high-quality translations. As Cornelius 

Elementary Principal Perla Rodriguez notes, “I wouldn’t 

insult parents by sending things home in poor English, so 

why have a different standard in Spanish?” (For more of 

Rodriguez’s advice on outreach, see page 24.)

Each school also has a volunteer coordinator—in some 

cases a paid staff member and in others a true volunteer. 

Public Information Officer Connie Potter oversees the effort 

districtwide and brings coordinators together each month to 

talk about recruiting, managing, and recognizing parent and 

community volunteers. The group pays particular attention to 

attracting Latino families through literacy nights, family fiestas, 

participation in strategic planning groups, and meetings that 

focus on topics from gang awareness to public housing rights.

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 17

AN OREGON 

SCHOOL DISTRICT 

MAKES SURE THE 

WELCOME MAT 

IS OUT FOR 

LATINO FAMILIES 
In building participation, the district has learned some lessons: “Our meetings have taken on more of a social flavor,” 

says Potter. “Typically we provide snacks or dinner and child 

care.” Schools are careful not to schedule events that conflict 

with religious and cultural observances. For example, Latino 

families were noticeably absent when the high school held a 

parents’ night on Ash Wednesday. 

“Culturally there are differences in how you interact with 

parents,” interjects Claudia Yakos, the district’s Hispanic outreach director and Potter’s office mate. “Some of our Hispanic 

parents are well-integrated; some are migrants or new to the 

system. You have to address them differently until you get 

them to feel comfortable and able to navigate the system.”

Yakos, whose salary is covered by a three-year grant, deals 

directly with parents, teachers, counselors, and students. “I 

try to leverage what works in one school and bring it to other 

schools,” she says. Part of her work involves forging partnerships 

with community organizations like Centro Cultural. The center 

offers adult English classes, driver education, and other skills 

training in cooperation with Forest Grove High School.

Potter also devotes a lot of attention to nurturing community connections through T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone 

Achieves More), a program that’s garnered national recognition. As a town best known for producing rutabagas and 

barbershop quartets, Forest Grove doesn’t have a lot of big 

corporations to draw on. Instead, Potter has paired 40 small, 

“homegrown” businesses with teachers in projects that 

enhance student learning.

Insurance company employees serve as pen pals to elementary school classes, sending e-mails back and forth to 

hone student writing. A local printing firm turns out handsome softbound books of student drawings and essays. A 

veterinarian visits middle school science classes to discuss 

animal care. “The business community has always been supportive with donations and participating in job shadows, but 

we wanted to get them involved in what’s happening in the 

classroom,” says Potter.

Staying Connected in Person and Online

Going beyond the classroom, the district collaborates with 

the YMCA and county in operating the Family Resource 

Center. Located in a former gym on the grounds of the upper 

elementary school, the center serves some 2,000 families 

with medical referrals, clothing, or information about where 

to get free legal advice and mental health counseling. Racks 

of flyers in Spanish and English line the walls and a walk-in 

pantry overflows with beef stew, soup, and pasta to supplement meager family diets.

Martha Ochoa has run the place for a decade. Although 

it’s a school district program, Ochoa says the fact that the 

center is separate from a particular school helps families feel 

less stigmatized in asking for help. “I provide support outside 

of academics so families can meet their needs and kids can 

stay in school.” As if to illustrate her point, a high school student wanders in: He’s about to become homeless and Ochoa 

offers sympathetic and practical advice—in Spanish—on 

how to support himself and continue with his classes. She 

gives him leads for a part-time job and directs him to an 

agency that will help with housing. 

Across the field from the Family Resource Center, 

Tom McCall Upper Elementary School is another place 

where families can easily find useful resources. A bilingual 

ENGAGING HISPANIC FAMILIES

In a study of high-performing Hispanic schools in Texas, 

Scribner, Young, and Pedroza found three important practices 

for promoting parent involvement:

1. Understand cultural values—Place school-family relationships in the context of supporting the child’s total wellbeing.

2. Build on the strength of the extended family—Create a 

sense that parents are part of the school family.

3. Commit to learning about Hispanic culture—Invite families 

to share their values, stories, and traditions with students 

and staff.

For more on the researchers’ findings, see Scribner, J.D., 

Young, M.D., & Pedroza, A. (1999). Building collaborative 

relations with parents. In P. Reyes, J.D. Scribner, & A. Paredes-Scribner (Eds.), Lessons from high-performing Hispanic 

schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. 

18 nwrel.org/nwedu/

Fourth-grade teacher Marcia Andrew-Camacho includes her daughter in 

the discussion group she conducts for Hispanic parents and their children.
BIENVENIDOS A FOREST GROVE

bulletin board at the front entrance posts contact numbers 

and important information. Monthly Hispanic parent nights 

bring in community and school experts to talk about adolescent development issues. A family mentoring program, 

where parents can help each other, is in the planning stages.

Assistant Vice Principal Chandra Wilson explains that the 

school got “creative” with administrative assistance hours 

last year and created an Hispanic outreach position. In that 

job Margo Troolines does daily attendance calls and is able 

to explain to non-English-speaking parents why the school 

is concerned when a son or daughter doesn’t show up for 

classes. Teachers also routinely call parents to invite them to 

conferences and focus group meetings on how the school can 

be made more accessible to all families. 

“All of our teachers know the value of that home-school 

connection,” says Wilson. “Whenever there’s a conversation 

with a teacher who’s having trouble with a student, I ask 

‘Have you let the parents know?’” Wilson also makes it a 

point at staff meetings to recognize those who’ve gone the 

extra mile in making home visits or phone calls.

Sometimes that extra effort can make all the difference. Before sixth-graders are scheduled to go to Outdoor 

School—a traditional five-day camping trip with a hands-on 

science curriculum—the middle school hosts a special family 

evening to explain the program. “We do a lot of work with 

our Hispanic parents because sending your child away on an 

extended trip is not a cultural norm,” says Wilson. “Five years 

ago, before we started having these parent meetings, lots of 

parents wouldn’t let their kids go. Now, on average, only two 

or three of our 220 sixth-graders don’t make the trip.”

Forest Grove High School has also learned the value of 

engaging parents as partners. All parents can check on their 

student’s progress through Edline, an online program that 

shows current grades, missing homework, upcoming assignments, and class expectations. According to Principal John 

O’Neill, “Our last schoolwide survey in November revealed 

that 96 percent of our students have Internet access at home. 

This resource is an extra support opportunity for our kids 

and a way for parents to become directly involved in their 

child’s education.” 

Quarterly Latino parent nights and monthly Latino parent 

advisory meetings also keep parents in the loop. At the spring 

forecasting meeting for all parents of incoming freshmen, 

non-English-speaking family members can take advantage 

of simultaneous translation headsets. At this year’s meeting, 

O’Neill extols the benefits of the Edline system and walks 

parents through a new online program called Naviance that 

contains information about all of the nation’s colleges and 

universities. “We’re going to download our data into the system so it shows where your child is in relation to a college’s 

accepted class,” says O’Neill. It’s never too soon to start 

thinking about college, O’Neill reminds the crowd, adding 

that all students should strive to take honors and Advanced 

Placement classes whenever possible.

Among the child-sized chairs and desks in Marcia AndrewCamacho’s classroom, the high school journey still looms far 

in the future. But parents here are getting the message that 

they play an important role in helping their youngsters achieve 

success along the way. Blanca Avalos, the mother of three, feels 

good about her experiences at Forest Grove. “I like coming 

because everyone welcomes me with a smile,” she confides 

through a translator. “I feel like it’s my home.” ■

GETTING THE MOST FROM SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS

Forest Grove School District is $1.6 million richer, thanks to 

its volunteers. That’s the amount it would have cost if the 

district paid its volunteers salary and benefits during the 

2005–2006 school year.

To help volunteers (and school district staff) make the 

most of that service, Forest Grove has a volunteer handbook 

posted on its Web site in both Spanish and English. It outlines 

the goals of the district’s volunteer program as well as its 

expectations. And, it tells volunteers what their rights are:

• To be treated as a coworker, not just free help

• To receive a suitable assignment, with consideration for 

personal preference, temperament, and life experience

• To be trained or to receive the instruction needed to 

perform specific tasks

• To be able to offer suggestions and/or an honest opinion

• To be recognized through day-to-day expressions of 

appreciation

The handbook also informs volunteers that their most 

important qualities are punctuality, dependability, and confidentiality. You can access the complete handbook at www.

fgsd.k12.or.us.

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 19

Language is not a 

barrier for parents 

like Blanca Avalos, 

thanks to school 

meetings conducted 

in Spanish.
BOX ELDER, Montana—U.S. Route 87 

between Great Falls and 

Havre, Montana, is a wide 

open road. The two-lane 

ribbon of blacktop spools 

out over what locals call 

the “west bench”—a part of 

the Great Plains that sits high 

above the Missouri River and 

stretches westward to the Continental Divide. To the east, the wide 

Missouri flows just out of sight and 

the low buttes and soft slopes of the 

Bear’s Paw Mountains beckon in the 

distance. It’s a landscape of grain fields 

and prairie, where the slightest vertical—a 

telephone pole, a grain silo, a small stand of 

willows—can take on the iconic status of a 

skyscraper. You can see things coming from a 

long way off.

The

Road

 to

 Success

 A rural school district in 

 North Central Montana 

 finds success by getting 

 parents and community 

 members back in the mix.

 

 Story and photos by 

 BRACKEN REED 

20 nwrel.org/nwedu/
Students from the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation make up 

98 percent of the Box Elder School District’s population.
On a clear spring day in 2002 Dave 

Nelson was riding his Harley-Davidson 

down Route 87. A native Minnesotan 

who still speaks in a rapid-fire upperMidwest accent, Nelson had been a 

PE teacher for the past four years in 

the Box Elder School District. Before 

that he had spent two decades teaching in the grain-growing town of Big 

Sandy, 20 minutes to the south. Nelson 

loved the area. An avid motorcyclist, he 

took every opportunity to ride over the 

sparsely traveled prairie roads. 

That same day, Box Elder School 

District Superintendent Robert Heppner was heading down Route 87 in 

the opposite direction. Heppner, wildhaired and all western—from his lanky 

frame to his drawling storyteller’s 

voice—had come to the district at the 

beginning of the 

school year. Outwardly, he gave 

the impression 

of an old-timer 

slouched over 

coffee at the local 

diner trading tall 

tales, but he was 

passionate about 

education. He’d 

been “in the 

game” for nearly 

three decades. 

He’d taught and 

been an administrator in several farflung outposts of the West, including 

a previous five-year stint at Box Elder 

near the beginning of his career. Along 

the way, he’d formed the opinion that 

hiring was more than half the battle. 

Find the right person for the job and 

so many other things would fall into 

place. As an administrator, Heppner 

was a firm believer in research, professional development, and careful planning. But when it came to people, he’d 

learned to trust his instincts. 

At the moment, Heppner was in 

search of the right principal. The Box 

Elder school district—a single K–12 

campus with approximately 360 students—was in disarray. Everyone 

agreed on that. It’s why the school 

board offered him the job and it’s why 

he took it. Like Nelson, he loved the 

area and he knew the people. He knew 

these kids could learn. 

Nearing the end of his first year, 

however, he could tell he was in over 

his head. Not only did he serve as 

superintendent, he was also the only 

principal. There was simply too much 

work for one person. Just dealing with 

disciplinary problems was taking more 

than half his time. 

Nelson may not have seemed like 

the obvious choice. Yes, he was a veteran teacher, the athletic director, and 

the football coach for the school’s 

ragtag six-person football team—but 

he had no administrator’s license, no 

experience, and had never expressed an 

interest in taking an administrative leadership role. But Heppner had a hunch. 

He’d seen Nelson successfully argue a 

case before the state athletic board and 

he’d seen him in staff meetings. He 

was great with his fellow teachers, great 

with kids, great with parents. Heppner 

saw real leadership potential, but was 

the desire there? Driving down U.S. 87 

that day he decided there was no better 

time to find out.

As Nelson remembers it, Heppner 

waved him down on an empty stretch 

of highway and put it straight to him. 

“He told me he needed a principal for 

the elementary school and he thought 

I’d make a good one. He offered to get 

the district to help [pay for the coursework needed to get an administrator’s 

license]. And he gave me five minutes to make up my 

mind.”

As it turned out, 

Nelson had been 

doing his own thinking. He had some 

opinions about the 

problems in the district and also some 

ideas about fixing 

them. “I wanted to 

make a change here,” 

he says. “I’d been 

feeling that way for 

quite awhile, so it 

didn’t take me five 

minutes to say yes.” 

Heppner had his 

principal, though it 

would take two summers and a lot of online courses before 

Nelson earned his license. In the meantime he would serve as an administrative intern and start taking some of the 

load. “I thought it was really important 

to hire somebody who knew the community and the school and had already 

built trust,” says Heppner. “That was 

critical. In order to turn things around 

we needed to create ties to the parents 

and the community, and Dave was 

already doing that.”

A Dramatic Turnaround

The Rocky Boy Indian Reservation is 

the smallest in the state of Montana, 

with close to 2,600 Chippewa-Cree 

tribal members in residence. Box Elder, 22 nwrel.org/nwedu/

A state character 

education grant 

helped Box Elder 

incorporate Native 

American cultural 

values into its 

curriculum.
population 800, is the largest community on the reservation, although part 

of the town actually extends beyond 

the reservation boundary. On that 

sliver of land—just over the “border” 

and adjacent to Route 87—sits the 

Box Elder Public Schools campus. Less 

than 15 minutes to the east, the reservation has its own school system, Rocky 

Boy Public Schools. It’s a less than 

ideal situation. In the past, Box Elder 

schools were seen as the “off-reservation” district and had an uneasy relationship with the Indian community. 

Fifty percent of the student body and 

nearly all the staff were white. But that 

has changed. White “west benchers” 

began sending their kids to Big Sandy 

in the early 1990s. Gradually, reservation residents looking for alternatives 

began sending their kids to Box Elder. 

Ninety-eight percent of the current 

student body—and a growing number 

of certified staff members—are now 

Native Americans of Chippewa and 

Cree heritage. 

Dave Nelson likes to begin 

presentations about the Box 

Elder School District with a 

list of then-versus-now statistics that are undeniably 

attention grabbing. In the 

2002–2003 school year the 

district had 1,200 student 

“write-ups” for disciplinary 

problems. In a single semester, 114 students transferred 

in and 112 transferred out—a 

turnover of almost one-third 

the total student body. Teacher 

turnover was nearly as bad. 

An average of five teachers 

left each year at the elementary school and 15 districtwide. Out 

of 35 students who entered as freshmen only six would typically graduate. 

Several elementary classrooms were 

housed in World War II-era prefabs 

bought from the military, which were 

literally falling apart. Both morale and 

test scores were extremely low, and the 

elementary, middle, and high schools 

were all in improvement status for not 

making adequate yearly progress (AYP) 

for two consecutive years. 

By spring 2006, things had changed 

dramatically. The elementary school 

was off improvement status, the middle school had made AYP for one year, 

and the high school came tantalizingly 

close. In January 2007, the National 

Association of Title I Directors named 

Box Elder Elementary a National Title I 

Distinguished School. Test scores were 

up across the board. The third-grade 

reading scores were among the highest 

in the state at 89.5 percent proficient. 

Student disciplinary write-ups were 

a quarter of what they had been. The 

student transfer rate had been cut in 

half and there was zero staff turnover 

the previous year. A new wing of the 

school had been built and most of the 

prefabs either torn down or remodeled for nonclassroom use. Morale 

was high. The district—and especially 

the elementary school—were thriving. 

What had happened? 

Both Heppner and Nelson are quick 

to deflect the credit. When Nelson says 

“it starts at the top” he’s not referring to 

his superintendent, he’s talking about 

the community and the school board. 

And Heppner agrees. “Community 

and school board support—that’s what 

has made the difference,” he says. “We 

have an extremely aggressive board. 

They want the best education for their 

kids that they can possibly have and 

they do what it takes to get there.”

One area of support might sound 

insignificant to an outsider, but in 

many ways set the tone for all that followed. “In Indian Country basketball 

is a way of life,” says Heppner. “I’ve 

been around Indian schools where that 

was the number one priority, no doubt 

about it. From the school board on 

down, academics were a distant second. 

And that’s not the case here. We appreciate the importance of basketball to 

the community, but we took the stance 

that academics would be number one 

here. That starts with the board and 

goes on down the line.”

Bring the Family

The Box Elder story is one of systemic 

reform—from a change in management 

style to what’s served in the cafeteria to 

nearly everything in between. Nelson 

gives credit to B.J. Granberry and the 

Title I staff at the Montana Office 

of Public Instruction for their ongoing support, and also lists a multitude 

of grants that have provided 

everything from new equipment to new staff positions 

to a new wing of the elementary school. Those include a 

K–3 Reading First grant that 

radically changed the elementary reading curriculum; 

a 21st Century Community 

Learning Center grant that 

funds after-school tutoring 

and summer school courses; 

and a very generous Carol 

M. White Physical Education 

Program grant from the U.S. 

Department of Education, 

among others. That funding 

is essential in a school that is 

100 percent high poverty. But, as Heppner is quick to point out, money alone 

is not the answer. “You can compare us 

to other districts with the same kind 

of high-minority, high-poverty population and the same kind of funding 

opportunities based on that population, 

and you’re not going to see this kind of 

success very often,” he says. 

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 23

See SUCCESS, page 35

Elementary school principal Dave Nelson helped forge mutual trust and 

respect between the school and the Native community. 

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS
VOICES

FROM THE COMMUNITY

for our parents 

to be involved, 

then we could 

be spinning our 

wheels.

I think we at 

Cornelius have 

worked really hard 

at valuing the 

involvement our 

parents do bring. 

Some of it is logistical: Everyone in 

our front office is 

bilingual, so if you 

come in, both of the secretaries will be 

able to help our families in Spanish or 

English. Everything is sent home bilingually in high-quality translation. The 

standards we have for our Spanish 

translations are just as high as our English materials. I wouldn’t insult parents 

by sending things home in poor English, so why have a different standard in 

Spanish?

We do a lot of personal contacts at 

home. Kindergarten begins a week and 

a half later here. We use that time to 

make a home visit to every single 

incoming kindergarten family—there 

were 85 this year! It gives us a chance to 

meet the parents in an environment that 

they’re comfortable in. We read 

with the kids, take 

pictures. Since 

i m p l e m e n t i n g 

that we’ve noticed 

more parents 

come to our conferences because 

they already know 

the teachers—the 

relationship is set. 

Some colleagues might say that kindergarten is only a half-day to begin 

with, and to think that we’d lose a 

week and a half of an already shortened 

experience for kindergarten kids isn’t 

necessarily favorable to a lot of people. 

But we understand that what happens 

in that week and a half actually accelerates learning. 

The number one error I see in 

schools and districts that are having 

conversations about getting all parents at the table is this idea that we 

somehow have to fix parents: that we 

have to teach them to be good parents. 

PRINCIPAL 

PERLA RODRIGUEZ

A father worried about immigration problems 

finds it easy to confide in Perla Rodriguez. 

She may have a doctorate in education and 

be the principal of Cornelius Elementary, but 

she’s also Latina—the daughter of Mexican 

immigrants who settled in eastern Oregon in 

hopes of a better education for their children. 

The fact that Rodriguez and her staff care 

about their students and families is apparent 

the moment you step inside the doors of this 

rural Oregon school where three-fourths of 

the children are Hispanic. For Rodriguez, 

who serves as the parent representative on 

NWREL’s board of directors, making parents feel valued and involved is “about so 

much more than having them make copies 

for teachers.” 

The first step in creating a welcoming environment is doing an inventory. 

We have to be in agreement as a school, 

as a building, about why we want parent involvement, about what it looks 

like, and about the benefits and challenges. I think there’s an assumption 

that everyone knows it’s good, so we 

should all just work hard to get parents 

there. But, if we don’t take time to 

really understand why it’s important 

Moms, dads, teachers, principals, community volunteers, trainers, 

and local business leaders—many different people contribute to 

today’s successful school partnerships. We asked five individuals to add 

their voice to the ongoing dialogue about what works, what doesn’t, 

and where we can go from here.

By RHONDA BARTON and BRACKEN REED

24 nwrel.org/nwedu/
There’s such a level of arrogance in 

that thought. 

I’ve worked with hundreds and 

hundreds of parents in my life and I’ve 

never met anyone who I believed just 

plain didn’t care about their kids. I’ve 

never met that parent. I’m not going to 

go so far as to say they don’t exist, but 

I’ve always experienced parents who 

do what they believe is best based on a 

whole bunch of things: their own experiences, their beliefs, their resources. 

It goes back to the first thing I want 

us to do at Cornelius. Take a look in 

the mirror and ask yourself what do 

you understand about your families? 

I would encourage people to take a 

hard look at your own belief systems 

about the families you work with and 

to applaud what assets these families 

do bring to your school. It’s real easy to 

point a finger at everything that parents 

aren’t doing right. But, what are they 

doing right and how do you build on 

that? How do you embed that in the 

system that you have?

And then, ask parents what they 

would be interested in doing at your 

school. Don’t assume that you know 

what parents need. 

Good luck reaching your goal!

PARENT 

MARCY 

HAYMAN

Marcy Hayman lives 

in Wallace, Idaho, a historic mining town in the 

Northern Idaho panhandle. Born and raised in 

Wallace, Hayman 

attended public school 

there and now has two 

children in the district. 

Four years ago she helped 

form a parent volunteer 

program, called Students 

in Transition, which mentors high school students 

on the transition to postsecondary life. In 2006 the 

program was recognized 

by the Idaho Department 

of Education as a statewide best practice. In the 

2005–2006 school 

year the program 

helped Wallace High 

School seniors garner 

more than $900,000 

in college scholarships 

and military appointments. 

Four years ago 

our community 

built a new school. 

I was involved with the group that got 

the levy passed, and then I was part of 

the dedication committee that hosted 

the big party to unveil the new school 

to the community. Coming in with the 

new school was a new school counselor, Robert Benfit. At the dedication 

party he asked anyone interested in 

working with students as a mentor to 

please sign up. Four parents, including 

myself, originally signed up. We got 

together with Robert about the second 

or third week of school and he reached 

out to us. He said, “I’m new to this and 

I’m looking for some community 

involvement. What would you 

guys like to see? 

What do you think 

needs to be done?” 

So we talked with 

him about where 

we saw our students going and 

where we thought 

there was a need. 

The biggest need 

at that time, we 

felt, was to help 

educate students as to their options 

after high school.

Our first step was to go through the 

stacks and stacks of scholarship applications that had been collected throughout the years by the previous high 

school counselor. Each of us took a 

handful and called around to see if they 

were still active and what was currently 

out there. From that we developed the 

scholarship database, which includes 

current scholarship applications and 

information about what the students 

need in order to qualify. That information changes all the time, so we’re 

constantly updating the database. 

After we built the database we started 

thinking: How do we get this information out to the students and also educate 

the parents about these opportunities 

at the same time? As a mining 

town, a lot of our parents didn’t go to 

college. Historically, when you 

graduated from high 

school in Wallace, if 

you couldn’t get a job 

in the mine, you got 

a job wherever you 

could. College wasn’t 

an option. We decided 

that the only way to 

inform both the parents and the students 

was to get them all 

together. That fall we 

organized a Senior 

Orientation Night. 

We contacted all the 

parents and sent out 

invitations and we had 

a really great response. 

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 25

Kindergarten begins a 

week and a half later 

here. We use that time 

to make a home visit to 

every single incoming 

kindergarten family—

there were 85 this year! 
At that point we 

realized there was a 

great need for this 

kind of guidance, 

both for students 

and for parents. 

E v e r y t h i n g 

we’ve done since 

then has been in 

direct response to 

a need that we saw 

or that was brought 

to our attention. For example, from the 

beginning we saw the need for direct, 

one-on-one mentoring, and so each 

of the volunteers took on a mentoring 

role for seven or eight senior students. 

We typically have a small graduating 

class that ranges from about 38 to 55, 

so it works out well. We are the primary 

contact for that student—if they have 

any questions they can ask us. With that 

in place, it’s really hard for any senior to 

fall through the cracks. 

Slowly, through evolution, we’ve 

been able to get ahead of the students—mentoring them in the earlier 

grades so that they know what’s going 

to be required. We started a Junior Orientation Night so that we could start 

having this conversation with students 

and parents before the senior year. And 

then we started working with ninthand tenth-graders to help them build 

their community service hours, for 

example, which are often criteria for 

college scholarships. We put together 

a list of volunteer opportunities for 

them, and we also put together a PowerPoint® presentation about some of the 

things they should be working on. 

In addition to these programs we 

also staff the counselor’s office a couple 

days a week and last year we started 

what we call our KRASH Night, which 

stands for Kids Reaching Academic 

Success Head-on. Every Monday night 

students can come in from 5 to 7 

p.m. We have eight computers here 

for their use, our scholarship database, 

and a lot of scholarship applications. 

We help them go online, research the 

college they want to go to, find out 

if there are supplemental applications 

they need to fill 

out, help them do 

their financial aid 

paperwork, schedule their ACTs and 

SATs—whatever 

they need. 

We also started 

what we call Focus 

Night, which is 

just for parents. 

The first Monday 

of every month they can come in and 

meet with a volunteer in a conference 

room separate from the students, and 

we bring them up to speed on where 

their student is—what they’ve accomplished and what the parents could be 

working on to help support them. 

In the earlier grades, we don’t talk 

to students about if you go to college, 

we approach it from the standpoint of 

when you go to college. But at the same 

time, we talk to them about the options 

rather than preaching to them, and they 

appreciate that. We talk about career 

pathways and any other questions they 

have about life after high school. By 

the time they’re seniors and have 

been exposed to all the options, 

then we can ask, “OK, what’s 

your plan and how can we 

help?” Whether that’s 

going to college or 

into the military or into 

the workforce, 

we’re here to help 

them down any 

path they choose 

to take. We just 

want that to be 

a well-informed 

choice.

As a parent, you 

should never be 

afraid to ask the 

school: What can 

I do to help? All 

you can do is offer. 

You can’t be afraid 

to venture out 

of your comfort 

zone. Just because 

you don’t know 

the answers already, doesn’t mean you 

can’t find them. What you learn along 

the way can benefit your own children—let alone other students—and 

that’s a completely valid reason for getting involved. 

RESEARCHER 

STEFFEN SAIFER

Closing the cultural gap goes a long way 

toward closing the achievement gap. That’s 

one of the truisms Steffen Saifer has learned as 

head of the Child and Family Program at the 

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. 

Saifer led a team of NWREL researchers in 

studying how educators can strengthen family and community partnerships by making 

instructional and curricular practices more 

culturally responsive. The three-year project, 

which drew on the experiences of almost 

two dozen schools and districts around the 

Northwest, was captured in the publication 

Classroom to Community and Back (www.

nwrel.org/partnerships/c2cb/c2c.pdf).

It’s important for teachers and 

administrators to have an awareness 

of the cultural lens that we all use to 

view the world, because we’re largely 

unconscious of it. I like the metaphor of cultures being an iceberg: 10 percent is visible and 

90 percent is invisible. If 

you’re aware of that, 

you can begin to 

see how other 

cultures are 

different and, 

armed with that 

information, you 

can try to bridge 

the cultural gap.

Some of the differences are profound, such as how 

cultures view the 

purpose of schooling. Then, there 

are the very specific, “micro” kinds 

of things like different meanings 

for body language 

and personal space. 

The whole range of 

cultural differences 

26 nwrel.org/nwedu/

As a parent, you should 

never be afraid to ask the 

school: What can I do to 

help? All you can do is 

offer. You can’t be afraid 

to venture out of your 

comfort zone.
greatly impacts the relationship between 

school staff and families. 

You’re not going to be effective in 

the broad task of helping kids be successful in school unless you accept the 

challenge and do the work of knowing 

about every cultural group in your 

school, no matter how many there 

are. I don’t think it’s as hard as it 

seems. You can always find allies in 

the community who are willing to 

help. Schools are reluctant to ask for 

help from the community, which is 

not so much a mistake as shortsightedness. There was a 2001 Public Agenda 

report on this topic titled Just Waiting 

to Be Asked (www.publicagenda.org/

specials/pubengage/pubengage.

htm). I see that so often. There are 

people who are interested and want 

to help the school connect better with 

families and the community that they 

serve, but nobody is asking. Paul T. 

Hill described the relationship between 

schools and communities as having a 

“hermetic seal” between them; anything that pries open that hermetic seal 

is critical to do.

There’s a whole body of literature on 

the skills needed to be culturally competent. It includes things like listening 

and other open communication skills; 

questioning assumptions; asking questions as opposed to making statements; 

being aware of differences in etiquette; 

and trying to meet the person from 

another culture at least halfway.

Many companies—at least the better ones—provide cultural training on 

etiquette and customs before sending 

their staff to different countries. Perhaps 

principals could call on community 

members to do that same kind of training to inform the whole staff, because 

everyone from the bus driver to the cafeteria worker to the custodian and up to 

the principal really needs to know those 

things. What else can school leaders do? 

Support teachers and help them keep 

their curriculum goals while using 

more culturally responsive strategies to meet those goals.

One of the things that 

a lot of immigrant 

families have in 

common is that 

they’re poor and 

they lack resources. 

Things like creating a one-step service center in your 

school helps all 

these families and 

sends a very critical 

message that we’re 

here to help you, not 

make your life more 

complicated and difficult, which is often 

a feeling families get 

from schools.

Starting a resource center is a big 

thing, and requires finding the time 

to write grants. But even a small gesture can go a long way. If you drive 

by Atkinson School in S.E. Portland, 

there are signs on the outside wall of 

the school saying welcome in 10 different languages. That sends a very clear, 

powerful message to the families. It 

needs to be backed up with action, but 

it’s a good first step.

STUDENT 

EMILY RYAN 

Emily Ryan has served on the Multnomah 

County Youth Commission, a youth advocacy group based in Portland, Oregon, for 

the past four years. By her own admission, 

Ryan was far from the typical youth commissioner—or the typical student—when 

she first joined the organization. Not many 

students serve on their high school student 

leadership committee, run for class president, 

earn letterman’s awards, graduate with honors, join the youth commission, and start college, while “couch surfing,” living in youth 

shelters, or occasionally on the street. Ryan, 

now 21 and a student at Portland Community College, has always had ambition 

and a desire to make a difference through 

political involvement, no matter what her 

living situation. Her passion and ambition 

have carried her through hard times and 

into a bright future. Never shy of a 

challenge, Ryan hopes to run for 

the Portland City Council in 2008. If elected, 

she would be the 

youngest person to 

serve on the council. If 

that doesn’t work out, 

she plans to head for 

journalism school.

When I was 16 

I had some trouble 

in my family and 

eventually became 

homeless. I “couchsurfed,” went to shelters, things like that. 

I went in and out 

of programs while I 

was trying to finish 

high school. I went from psychologist 

to counselor to psychiatrist to family 

counselor. Between ages 16 and 18, I 

probably saw at least 20 different counselors. I had a nervous breakdown at 

the age of 18. I had a really bad stealing 

problem.

Eventually I checked myself into 

a mental hospital. I stayed there for a 

couple weeks and really thought about 

things. But it still took me a while to get 

things worked out. When I left there I 

started sleeping on the street and doing 

really random things, ending up in 

strange situations. That’s when I finally 

decided that there was a homeless 

youth system for people my age and I 

should take advantage of it. So I started 

going through the system. I lived for 

a year in a shelter and that helped me 

realize that this was definitely not the 

direction I wanted to be going in my 

life. Honestly, I think it was my own 

ambition that got me through. I kept 

looking to my parents and others for 

help, but I didn’t really get it. I did get 

a lot of help from friends and various 

people at the shelters, but it was my 

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 27

... [T]here are signs on 

the outside wall of the 

school saying welcome in 

10 different languages. 

That sends a very clear, 

powerful message to the 

families. 

VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY
own drive to do something meaningful 

with my life that kept me going. 

While I was living at Outside In 

transitional housing, I saw a flyer 

for the Multnomah County Youth 

Commission on their bulletin board. 

I thought it was a job, but even after I 

found out it was a volunteer position 

I was still interested. That was in the 

summer of 2003, and I was accepted 

as a youth commissioner for the 

following school 

year.

At 19, I was 

kind of a late 

bloomer with the 

youth commission. A lot of the 

other commissioners start at the 

beginning of high 

school, and there 

have even been a few middle school 

students. I came into it just out of 

high school. At first I was a little iffy 

about what I should be doing and who 

these people were, but over the years 

it’s grown on me. I always wanted to 

get involved politically. That started in 

high school. I was involved in student 

leadership my junior and senior years, 

and in my senior year I ran for student 

body president. I lost, but it was a great 

learning experience. It gave me the 

fuel I needed to move forward and get 

involved and become an activist.

Another step in that direction also 

came when I was 18. While living at 

Outside In I got an internship with 

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden’s office. 

I stayed in that office for about six 

months and then took another internship in his campaign office for three 

months. That fueled my hunger for 

change and political activism even 

more. So, by the time I got involved 

in the youth commission it felt like the 

perfect vehicle to put all my drives and 

ambitions into focus and to really make 

things happen. 

One of things I was passionate 

about, because of my experience with 

being homeless, was getting homeless 

young people involved in the system 

that supplies their services. Not as a 

recipient of those services, but as an 

active voice in developing policies and 

making decisions. It turned out that 

other people on the commission were 

interested in doing that as well, so my 

idea became a committee, one of six we 

had that year. 

Heading the committee on homeless students 

really helped 

me develop my 

leadership skills. 

Eventually the 

committee started 

holding meetings in which we 

invited homeless 

youth to come 

in and discuss 

county governm e n t – r e l a t e d 

issues. The majority of the funding for 

the homeless youth continuum comes 

from the county. On that committee 

we had a staff person from each of 

the major homeless youth agencies in 

the county—New Avenues for Youth, 

Outside In, and Janus Youth Programs, 

and we had a representative from the 

county. So there was myself, a couple 

other youth commissioners, 10 to 15 

homeless youth, and a couple staff 

members from the various agencies at 

each meeting. It was really intimidating 

at first, but it was an amazing confidence builder. I learned so much from 

that experience. Having the support of 

other young people who were interested in homeless youth issues really 

helped make my own political activism seem like a reality, like something 

that could actually bring about change. 

Although I saw the other side of that 

reality as well—how hard it can be to 

actually get things done. 

Another great experience I’ve had 

on the commission was working on 

the Children and Youth Bill of Rights, 

which is currently run through the city, 

but will hopefully be adopted by the 

county in the future. The Bill of Rights 

was an initiative put forward by Portland Mayor Tom Potter, and the youth 

commission was really key in eventually getting it realized. It’s not a legally 

binding document, but it’s meant to be 

educational and to guide policy at the 

city, county, and even state level.

One thing I’m proud of is how 

we’ve helped change the commission 

in the past four years. We’ve tried to 

shift the committee structure from 

one of projects to one of policy, and 

the Bill of Rights is an example of that. 

Instead of addressing the root causes 

through different programs or projects 

we’re starting to address them by actually trying to change policy at the city 

and county level. Most of us thought, 

when we joined, that the commission 

was going to be about impacting government, but that hasn’t really been 

the case in the past. In my time on the 

commission we’ve tried to make that 

more of a reality—to make it an entity 

with a real political voice. 

This is my last year on the commission. You have to be between the ages 

of 13 and 21, and I’ll be 22 this summer. 

I’ll probably continue to volunteer, but 

I won’t be a voting member. It has been 

a really positive, empowering experience. It helped provide some structure 

and an outlet for my political activism 

at a time of transition for me. And it’s 

helped set my direction for the future. 

Serving on the commission gave me 

the confidence to interact with adults 

in a political context—that I could 

stand side by side with them and help 

establish policy and create meaningful change. I think that’s an invaluable 

experience for a young adult to have. I 

know it helped me take a direction of 

empowerment and activism instead of 

one of alienation and cynicism, which 

would have been easy to do. 

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER

STEVE LEVY

Salma, a shy Somalian teen swathed in a 

head veil, haltingly reads the nonsensical lines 

of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. Three 

months ago she was sitting in a refugee camp 

in Kenya rather than a high school cafeteria 

in Portland, Oregon. Just across from Salma, 

community volunteer Steve Levy offers gentle 

prompts. Two hours a day, four days a week, 

28 nwrel.org/nwedu/

One of things I was 

passionate about, because 

of my experience with 

being homeless, was getting 

homeless young people 

involved in the system that 

supplies their services. 
Levy helps newly arrived immigrants tackle 

reading, simple math, and the not-so-simple 

ways of living in a strange land.

I work primarily with seven Somali 

kids and to a lesser degree with two 

Burmese students, all of whom came 

to this country within the last two 

years. They arrived completely illiterate in their own language, so they 

could neither read nor write and they 

couldn’t add or subtract. I was literally 

teaching some of them to count three 

plus one on their fingers because they 

couldn’t do it in their heads. They 

didn’t have the concept of addition and 

there was no program here to deal with 

kids at that level.

The ESL classes at Cleveland High 

generally don’t have preliterate 

students. The teachers 

are teaching to the 

average level 

in the class. 

They can’t 

dumb down the 

class because there 

are two or three 

preliterate students 

when they have 12 

or 15 that are much 

higher. So, these 

kids would tend to 

get lost. For some 

of them, their first 

year here in school 

was almost a waste. 

I retired about 

11 years ago from 

Bonneville Power Administration as a 

fish and wildlife manager. I don’t have 

children of my own and I had this urge 

to work with kids. My partner Sue, 

who teaches art here, connected me 

with a math teacher and I started tutoring in his class. But I realized my time 

could be better spent working with 

some of the ESL students. Initially it 

wasn’t just with the Somali kids but it 

ended up that way because the teachers 

don’t have time to give them the attention they need. It’s not the fault of the 

teachers, but the kids need so much 

one-on-one.

Everyone I’ve dealt with here—from 

the principal to the office staff to ESL 

teachers to the counselors—has welcomed me with open arms. The support has been unbelievable. We’ve got 

our own shelf in the library that they 

assigned to me. There’s a small selection 

of books that is appropriate for [these 

kids’] reading level and I have a collection of books I’ve acquired myself.

Most of the kids have no memories 

of Somalia at all. They’re Bantu, which 

is the lowest of the classes. Their ancestors were slaves who originally came 

from Mozambique and Tanzania and 

were only freed from slavery in the 

m i d - 1 9 2 0 s to late 1940s. 

W h e n the civil 

war broke out in 1991, things got even 

worse for the Bantu and they fled to 

Kenya. 

They have nothing. To see what 

these kids have come through ... all 

of them have seen family members die 

... their attitudes, their humor, the life 

that’s in them is really inspiring in so 

many ways. It puts things in perspective for me. 

Volunteerism is not done out of 

altruism. That’s part of it, but it’s 

not enough to motivate people to do 

things. I enjoy doing it; it gives me great 

satisfaction. The rewards are watching these kids learn, figuring out that 

g-i-a-n-t is “giant,” seeing them grow. 

I took Ismail downtown last Thursday 

so he could practice riding the bus and 

finding his way to the Upward Bound 

program. He went on for about five 

minutes talking about a movie he had 

just seen: the plot, the characters, how 

he liked it. It was very entertaining. He 

couldn’t have done that just a couple of 

months ago.

During school vacations I’ll often 

work with them in their apartment 

complex. Sometimes I’ll take them to 

a movie. Last summer, I took them 

hiking several times. So, we do a few 

things outside of school. I try to do 

these things for them because they 

have so many things to learn—all the 

ways of living in America. 

I’m Jewish and the Talmud says something 

like “to save one 

life is to save 

the world.” You 

can send checks to 

Oxfam or UNICEF, 

but it never has the 

same connection as 

working with kids 

one-on-one. I can’t 

save all the kids in 

the refugee camps, 

but I can help these 

kids. You do what 

you can. 

Could anybody do 

this? You bet. If you 

know how to read, 

there are kids in any school who could 

use your help. You fall in love with 

these kids and you get your reward by 

seeing their successes. You fall asleep at 

night feeling good about yourself. ■

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 29

VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY
30 nwrel.org/nwedu/

PARTNERING

FOR SUCCESS
Washington students make gains, 

thanks to innovative programs that 

draw on volunteer tutors and mentors

Story and photos by RHONDA BARTON

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 31

VANCOUVER, Washington—It’s anything but a typical Friday night at the Starbucks in a suburban 

strip mall. Instead of Generation Y couples sipping lattes and checking e-mail, the café is mobbed 

with the under-10 set and their parents, celebrating the 50th birthday of Dr. Seuss’s immortal 

Cat in the Hat.

At center stage is the Cat himself in towering red and white top hat, animatedly reading from 

the beloved text. Members of the Washington Reading Corps (WRC) dispense free books, bookmarks with reading tips for parents, and slices of blue-frosted cake. Two hours and six gallons of 

hot chocolate later, another WRC Family Literacy Night draws to a close.

Parents like John McMillan, with his six-year-old daughter in tow, proclaim the event a success. “The kids who come tonight see reading as a positive experience. Their friends are here and 

they’re having a good time,” he says. Jessica Calderon, a former WRC worker who brought two 

of her children, agrees: “The best part is it makes kids happy to read and it gets so many different 

parts of the community involved in literacy.” Starbucks manager Lisa Colbert says she regularly 

partners with the Reading Corps as a way to connect to families at neighborhood schools.

Promoting literacy, leveraging community resources, and tutoring struggling readers are all part 

of WRC’s mission. Founded almost a decade ago by Governor Gary Locke and the Washington 

state legislature, the Reading Corps works in 84 elementary schools across the state and has been 

replicated around the country. State and federal funds combine to support 230 AmeriCorps and 60 

VISTA members who make up the WRC teams. 

Serving 8,000 students a year, the Corps’ track record is impressive. According to Program 

Coordinator Shannon Skye, schools that participated in WRC since 1999 have raised their state 

reading scores by almost 31 percent, compared to a statewide average of 22 percent. “Threefourths of the students tutored either met state grade-level standards in reading or gained at least 

one grade level,” Skye says. “That’s a significant achievement.” 

Skye adds that all WRC members get a thorough grounding in the research on how kids learn 

to read, and they receive further training at their individual sites.
Small groups and one-on-one 

At Vancouver’s Minnehaha Elementary, WRC’s presence is 

hard to miss. “They are an integral part of keeping our reading 

program running,” reports Reading Specialist Emmi McLarty. 

“They’re the cheerleaders for our families, putting on a literacy event every month that can average up to 250 people. They 

get donations so every kid gets a book and some of our kids say 

those are the only books they own. And with their help, I have 

enough volunteers to do one-on-one tutoring.”

McLarty trains and coordinates the four WRC members 

based at her school. She makes sure they’re fluent in the 

Read Well® scripted phonics program used in the lower 

grades and the Houghton Mifflin curriculum that’s found in 

upper classrooms. The team’s three AmeriCorps members 

work with youngsters who are reading one to two grade 

levels below their peers. These small-group sessions have 

no more than four students and last anywhere from 15 to 30 

minutes, four days a week.

In the common area outside a cluster of classrooms, WRC 

member Nicole Wilson gently instructs three squirmy little 

boys to read a sentence and then draw a picture. She’s quick 

to praise their efforts and add big red “smiley faces” to their 

worksheets.

Wilson, who previously taught in a home for autistic 

children, plans to earn her master’s in teaching when her 

101⁄2-month WRC commitment is up. After a packed morning working on leveled reading with kindergarten and firstgrade students, she’ll spend her afternoon with small groups 

of second-graders. These students are two years below grade 

level and are getting a double dose of Read Well®. “I extend 

what’s happening in the classroom with games that reinforce 

vowel sounds or blends. It’s always an interesting task to keep 

all the kids on the same page because of frequent absences,” 

she notes. Another part of her afternoon is devoted to helping third-graders prepare for the all-important WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) tests.

Before Wilson’s group scurries back to the classroom, 

she encourages them to grab a selection from the book 

exchange—something they can take home and bring back 

in a few days. “Don’t forget,” she cheerfully reminds Artem, 

“you can read it to your cat or dog, your mom or dad, or your 

brother and sister!” Often, she’ll pick out a special book for 

a child: “It makes a difference when they know someone is 

paying attention to them.”

Drumming up community support

Down the hall, in the school’s Learning Center, some three 

dozen children are getting lots of attention with one-on-one 

tutoring. The tutors are ninth-graders from nearby Hudson’s 

Bay High School who come to read with these youngsters 

every day. WRC member Tom Agnew floats around the bustling room, troubleshooting and making sure the peer tutors 

follow the lesson plans in students’ folders.

Agnew’s role differs from the rest of the Reading Corps 

team. As a VISTA worker his job is to hustle up resources and 

work on program sustainability rather than instructing kids. 

Agnew comes to the task after 28 years as a school counselor 

in Virginia. As a recent transplant to Vancouver—where his 

grandchildren live—he sees this assignment as a great way to 

get to know his new community.

He starts his day at Minnehaha by greeting kids—usually 

up to 160—who arrive for breakfast and a morning story 

time. Then, he’s on the phone recruiting community volunteers and securing donations for literacy events. That can 

mean everything from raffle prizes to refreshments, books, 

and even a kiddie rock band.

“Everyone on our team has different talents and there’s 

a lot of diversity,” he observes, mentioning that one WRC 

member just graduated from high school, while he himself 

has a PhD. “In my previous position I had a lot of authority; 

now, I’m the low person on the stick and I’ve learned from 

that. I appreciate that everyone has to work together if we’re 

going to help kids. It’s strengthened my resolve that the 

community has to be involved in the schools.” 

“Tom is out there making contacts in our community and 

bringing in live bodies,” comments McLarty appreciatively. 

“He’s developed liaisons with local companies, enlisting their 

support for our literacy events. In the past, I used to think if 

we got 30 people at one of these events it would be a good 

turnout. But this year we’ve been getting 100, 150, and even 

275. It’s mind-boggling and I absolutely know it’s a direct 

result of WRC’s outreach.”

Principal Jackie Merz-Beck acknowledges that her staff 

simply doesn’t have the time to organize monthly family 

events. Having a WRC team is like adding four extra staff 

members, even though it requires “a lot of work on the 

front end” to orient and train them. She says that one of the 32 nwrel.org/nwedu/

A Cat in the Hat birthday party draws family, school, and community 

partners together.
PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS

reasons the program works so well is that she and McLarty 

are actively involved in picking people who will be a good fit 

for the school, where half of the 540 students are eligible for 

free or reduced-price lunch. (For more suggestions on working with volunteers, see sidebar at right.) 

The WRC team at Minnehaha is one of nine Reading 

Corps groups administered by Educational Service District 

112, which serves six counties in Southwest Washington. 

“Each school has a literacy specialist who acts as the site 

supervisor,” explains Project Supervisor Jennifer McFarland. 

“We try to fit into what’s already happening at the school 

so we’re not reinventing the wheel.” VISTA Team Leader 

Brittany Morgan—who sometimes doubles as the Cat in the 

Hat—says she and McFarland work with Corps members to 

determine what services schools need most and to make sure 

that the schools are using members appropriately. And, they 

also focus on evaluating the Corps’ impact—from tracking 

the number of readers who no longer need remedial services 

to surveying parents at literacy events and measuring the 

effectiveness of volunteer recruitment efforts. 

Linking AP and mentors

ESD 112—headquartered in a sprawling former industrial 

warehouse—operates some 300 different programs and services. Besides the region’s WRC tutoring program, the ESD 

is home to two other innovative projects that draw parents or 

community partners to the schools.

The newly launched MAP or Mentoring Advanced Placement program matches local business professionals with AP 

teachers and high school students enrolled in the demanding 

classes. Mentors and their assigned teachers develop a yearlong plan that parallels the students’ AP curriculum and exam 

preparation.

The mentors meet two to four times a month with students—and more often by phone or e-mail—to 

discuss courses, tie classwork to real-world applications, and explore career and college options. 

So far, the roster of 20 mentors works with close 

to 100 students in AP physics, calculus, chemistry, statistics, and biology. AP English language 

and comprehension will be added next year. 

High tech executive Scott Keeney dreamed 

up the program two years ago. “At my 20th high 

school reunion I was comparing notes with some 

of my friends on how well-prepared we were for 

college. We found that we weren’t,” remembers 

Keeney, head of nLight Photonics, a semiconductor component manufacturer. That conversation 

prompted Keeney to think about ways to help 

high school students prepare for the rigors of 

higher education and for the competitive world 

beyond. He wound up putting a lot of “sweat 

equity” into getting MAP off the ground with the 

help of ESD 112 and the Southwest Washington 

Workforce Development Council. And, he went 

several steps further by encouraging his employees to volunteer as mentors, funding a MAP 

scholarship, and promoting the program to fellow 

CEOs at the Clark County High-Tech Council.

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 33

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Principal Jackie Merz-Beck can’t say enough good things 

about the Washington Reading Corps members who tutor 

struggling readers and marshal volunteers and donations for 

Minnehaha Elementary. But, she’s learned a few things over 

the years to make the relationship go smoother:

1. Get actively involved in the placement process and don’t 

be afraid to say no if the tutor/volunteer isn’t a good fit for 

the school.

2. Spend a lot of time with orientation: Introduce the person 

to your staff, explain their role, and be clear on what they 

can and can’t do.

3. Provide training on literacy and your school’s interventions.

4. Try to make the person feel like an integral part of the school 

team by providing a dedicated workspace and supplies.

5. Take advantage of their creativity.

“These volunteers come in and see things with fresh eyes,” 

Merz-Beck remarks. “Don’t be afraid to give them responsibility 

and let them run with it!”

As one of almost 300 Reading Corps members assigned to Washington schools, 

Tom Agnew recruits volunteers and drums up community resources to promote literacy.
34 nwrel.org/nwedu/

This year mentors from nLight have been joined by scientists and engineers from Hewlett Packard (HP), Sharp 

Electronics, Krieger IP, and Underwriters Laboratories. HP 

engineer Bob Stavig mentors seven physics students, challenging them with tasks like tearing apart an inkjet printer. 

He frequently travels to Asia on business and says it’s evident 

the U.S. is falling further and further behind in the technology sector. “I think that’s because we’re not stressing math 

and science enough,” he says. “I’d like to think that through 

this program there’ll be a few more engineers who go on to 

the U.S. marketplace.”

Coordinator Natalie Pacholl, who is employed by ESD 112, 

believes that MAP is breaking new ground. “There are other science mentoring programs and programs that are geared toward 

specific groups [such as girls or minorities], but this aims to 

serve any AP student,” she says. “We hope to challenge high 

school students to succeed in more rigorous academic subjects 

and to create future innovations in a global economy.”

Getting ready to read

Another program at ESD 112 has smaller but no less lofty 

goals. The Early Childhood Learning pilot, a statewide 

expansion of the Washington Reading Corps mission, targets the youngest learners. A WRC member works with the 

Southwest Washington Childcare Consortium at two preschools to build foundational literacy skills through stories, 

games, and conversation. 

In another branch of the program, WRC members help 

organize weekly group activities for children from birth to 

age five and their caregivers. These “Read and Play” times 

focus on developmentally appropriate songs, stories, and 

movement. They also bring new parents into their neighborhood schools. 

“Oftentimes, parents didn’t have a good experience with 

schools growing up,” notes Program Specialist Joanne Jacobs. 

“This gets them into the schools, makes them comfortable, 

and builds relationships with teachers and staff. We hear stories all the time about how the program is helping parents 

connect with schools before their kids hit kindergarten.”

Like the more-established WRC tutoring program, the 

early learning pilot tries to communicate to parents the 

importance of reading for school success. By sowing the 

seeds of reading readiness early on, Reading Corps members 

may be lucky enough to some day work themselves out of a 

job—building strong readers from the very start.

For more information, check out www.esd112.org/wrc/

and www.esd112.org/apmentoring/. ■

NWREL GIVES MENTORS AND TUTORS A HELPING HAND

When groups like the Washington Reading Corps need help 

educating volunteers or attracting mentors, they can turn to two 

powerful resources at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. The Laboratory is home to both the National Mentoring 

Center and the Volunteer Leadership Center (VLC). The two 

centers offer training and technical assistance—online and faceto-face—to thousands of programs that work in schools and 

communities around the nation.

Throughout the past decade, VLC has helped Washington 

Reading Corps (WRC) members develop tutoring skills, build 

relationships with youth, manage difficult student behavior, 

work with English language learners, and learn various literacy 

strategies. “Although our program has a national focus, our 

proximity to WRC and ESD 112 has allowed us to provide extensive volunteer training in a very cost-effective way,” says Nicky 

Martin, who directs the VLC’s LEARNS program. “To help build 

volunteer training capacity across Washington, we’ve worked 

with VISTA members and WRC key area coordinators so they 

can deliver our training to others in turn.” 

The National Mentoring Center also works on building 

program capacity. Originally created by the Office of Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the U.S. Department of 

Justice, the center was designed to assist mentoring program 

leaders working with at-risk and adjudicated youth. Today 

mentoring has expanded from the traditional Big Brothers 

Big Sisters model to faith-based, school-based, group, and 

e-mentoring programs. “We help people with program structure 

and management issues, putting practical tools in their hands,” 

says the center’s Michael Garringer. Those resources include 

toolkits for starting mentoring programs, policy and procedures 

manuals, and tips for marketing and sustaining programs. 

An estimated 65 million Americans engaged in service activities in 2004–2005. As their number and contributions continue 

to grow, so will the need for programs like NWREL’s that help 

them make more of an impact in their communities. 

For more information visit the National Mentoring Center at 

www.nwrel.org/mentoring/index.php and the Volunteer Leadership Center at www.nwrel.org/vlc/. 

An innovative mentoring program pairs local professionals with students 

taking rigorous Advanced Placement courses.
NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 35

The key, according to both Heppner and Nelson, is 

people. The school board, yes, but also parents, community 

leaders, and tribal elders, as well as a dedicated, highly qualified staff that understands and is closely tied to that larger 

community. To foster that kind of support, the school had to 

overcome some heavy baggage. 

“A lot of the people in this community still associated 

public schools with the boarding school concept,” says Heppner. “They were scared of the school. They saw it as a place 

where you’re always getting your hand slapped; a place that 

steals your culture. They really didn’t want anything to do 

with it.”

When Nelson started as full-time principal, parent-teacher 

conferences were attended by “maybe two or three parents,” 

he says. “It was pretty bleak.”

Heppner paints an even grimmer picture. “I’d often be 

in the office and a parent would come in wanting to pick up 

their student, for one reason or another,” he says, “and they 

wouldn’t know where they were. I’d ask, What grade are 

they in? Elementary. Which grade? I don’t know. Well, who’s 

their teacher? I don’t know. What does that say about their 

relationship to the school?”

Sitting back and waiting for that relationship to change 

was not going to work. Nelson, in particular, pulled out all 

the stops at the elementary school. Among other things, he 

made an offer to students: Get a parent or family member to 

come to the next parent-teacher conference and I’ll take you 

on a trip to Havre for pizza. The results were startling. The 

next conferences were overflowing, and the school used their 

new charter bus for a triumphant trip to Havre. It helped set 

the tone. From that time forward, parent participation has 

continued to be around 100 percent, no gimmicks necessary. 

“We had to get them in here,” says Nelson. “We had to make 

that original contact. They had to meet the teachers and the 

staff and develop a relationship. They needed to see us as 

human beings and see that we cared about them and their 

students. After that we could downplay the gimmicks.”

Staff retention was another key. It was impossible to 

develop parent and community relationships with a big 

chunk of the staff leaving every year. Heppner and Nelson 

placed an emphasis on developing strong staff relationships, 

sharing leadership, and developing a positive school culture. 

That strategy began to pay off immediately. Staff turnover 

slowed to a trickle.

Another strategy was to actively hire Native American 

staff members. “Almost all of our classified staff here are 

Native American now,” says Heppner, “and a lot more of our 

certified staff as well. We’ve made that a priority.” 

Funding from another grant, the Families and Schools 

Together (FAST) program, helped hire one such staff member. Karen Blackbird serves as the elementary counselor and 

helps run the FAST program, which helps at-risk students 

Success

Continued from page 23

and their parents form a strong connection with the school. 

“We try to do counseling the minute the students come in,” 

says Blackbird. “We find out about their home situation, their 

background, what they need. We try to make both the students and the parents feel comfortable with the school from 

the very first contact.”

Building Character, Finding Success

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place when the district 

received a state character education grant. Officially called 

the Honor, Respect, and Responsibility (HR2) Grant Project, the program is directed by Peggy Azure at the Montana 

Office of Public Instruction. The grant helped focus Box 

Elder’s reform effort by tying it to Native cultural values. 

Each month of the school year highlights a single character 

trait, incorporating it into the daily curriculum. “When we 

first started the project we tried using a packaged program,” 

says Azure, “and we found that it just didn’t work with the 

Native populations we were trying to serve.”

Box Elder, one of the first five districts to receive the grant, 

helped the state create its own, Native-focused curriculum. 

“They really took this and ran with it,” says Azure. “And it’s 

had an amazing effect on their district.”

Promoting parent and community involvement is a major 

goal of the project, and Box Elder has done that in multiple 

ways. The district established or strengthened its relationship 

to several local agencies, for example, including the community health services organization. But even more important 

is the way they included parents and tribal elders. The district sought the help of elders when putting the curriculum 

together. “We’d take a certain trait and ask them how it 

related to the Native culture,” says Nelson. “Everything from 

what color represents that quality to the nuances of how it 

plays out in every day life. They talked with us about that and 

then we built it into the lessons and activities.”

Those activities include end-of-the-month assemblies that 

give the entire community an opportunity to celebrate what 

has been learned, both about the particular character trait and 

about the Native culture. Turnout has been extraordinary. 

“It gives parents a positive, celebratory reason to be at the 

school,” says Nelson.

At Box Elder, celebrating is becoming part of the routine. 

By breaking down cultural and historical barriers and bringing parents and the community back into the school, they’ve 

found themselves on the road to success. It’s a long road, 

stretching as far as the eye can see. Just a few years ago, you 

could have seen Box Elder far in the distance, moving in 

the opposite direction. Now, you might want to wave them 

down. They’ve got something to tell you. ■
36 nwrel.org/nwedu/

REGION AT A GLANCE

Parent Involvement Activities by Richard Greenough

According to a recent survey of K–12 principals, public schools in the Northwest are taking many different paths toward the goal 

of building parent, family, and community partnerships. While not all of these strategies, activities, and resources are equally 

supported by research, we list them here as a convenient source of ideas. What is your school doing?

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

A reliable system of 

communication with parents, 

such as newsletters or phone

A log of parent participation 

maintained by parents or staff

A staff member assigned to

work on parent involvement

A requirement that teachers send 

information home to parents 

explaining school lessons

Services to support parent 

participation, such as providing 

child care or transportation

A requirement that teachers 

provide suggestions for activities 

that parents can do at home 

with their child

A requirement that teachers 

create homework assignments 

that involve parents

A parent drop-in center 

or lounge

Source: NWREL staff analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey SY2003-04 initial release file, 

November 2006
RESEARCH BRIEF

Not Just Participants But Partners: The Impact of Family-Community Involvement By Rhonda Barton

Schools are redefining the role of 

families and community groups today. 

As Henderson, Mapp, Johnson, and 

Davies (2007) point out, such partnerships have moved from the category of 

“luxury” to “necessity.” 

The No Child Left Behind Act’s 

commitment to parent involvement is 

primarily driving the attitudinal shift. 

Under NCLB, parents are treated not 

simply as participants but “informed and 

empowered decisionmakers” in their 

children’s education (Gomez & Greenough, 2002, p. 1). Another motivating 

factor in forging stronger relations is a 

solid 30-year research base that consistently links meaningful family involvement to student success in school.

The most comprehensive research 

synthesis on this topic was completed 

by Henderson and Mapp in 2002. They 

summarized 51 studies—31 of which 

looked at the relationships between 

student achievement and parent-community involvement. The researchers 

concluded, “When schools, families, 

and community groups work together 

to support learning, children tend to do 

better in school, stay in school longer, 

and like school more” (p. 7). 

Many of the studies showed that 

students with involved parents were 

more likely to have higher grades and 

test scores; enroll in higher level programs; be promoted; pass their classes; 

attend school regularly; have better 

social skills and improved behavior; 

graduate; and pursue postsecondary 

education. And, the benefits cut across 

socioeconomic class, ethnic/racial background, and parents’ education level.

Several studies pinpointed specific 

family involvement activities that make 

a difference. For example, teacher outreach to parents (holding personal 

meetings, sending materials home, and 

communicating about progress) was 

tied to consistent gains in students’ 

reading and math performance. Reading and math scores also went up as a 

result of workshops showing parents 

how to help their children at home.

When it came to engaging families 

from very diverse backgrounds, Henderson and Mapp found successful 

schools share three key practices:

• They focus on building trusting, 

collaborative relationships among 

teachers, families, and community 

members

• They recognize, respect, and address 

families’ needs, as well as class and 

cultural differences

• They embrace a philosophy of partnership where power and responsibility are shared (p. 7)

Five years after their synthesis was 

published, Henderson and Mapp—

together with Johnson and Davies—put 

forth a rubric describing four versions 

of school-family-community partnerships (2007, p. 14):

• The Partnership School believes that 

all families and communities have 

resources to share; it does whatever 

is necessary to work together so 

every student is successful.

• The Open-Door School provides 

many different opportunities for 

parents to become involved; it asks 

for—and receives—help from the 

community.

• The Come-if-We-Call School 

believes there’s only so much parents can do and emphasizes parents’ 

role in helping children at home. 

It knows where to go in the community for help, but doesn’t access 

those resources on a regular basis.

• The Fortress School thinks that parents belong at home and that community groups should mind their 

own business.

While providing tools for developing so-called “Partnership Schools,” 

the authors stress that positive results 

aren’t automatic. Careful planning and 

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 37

Photo by Karie Hamilton
38 nwrel.org/nwedu/

RESEARCH BRIEF

program execution are needed to build relationships and 

trust. 

The importance of developing trust between home and 

school has been explored by a number of researchers (Brewster & Railsback, 2003). In a study of Chicago schools, Bryk 

and Schneider (2002) found higher student achievement 

where staff members trusted parents and each other, as measured through the qualities of respect, competence, integrity, 

and personal regard. Teachers in schools with student scores 

in the top quarter exhibited high trust, while those in the 

lowest quarter showed little or no trust.

Similarly, Goddard, Tschannen-Moran, and Hoy (2001) 

looked at the link between trust and family involvement in a 

study of 47 Midwest elementary schools in a large urban district. They also discovered that students do better in schools 

where teachers report greater trust. And, they rated poverty 

more than ethnicity as a factor in hindering trust in urban 

schools. According to the researchers, “trust seems to foster 

a context that supports student achievement, even in the face 

of poverty” (p. 14).

Adams and Christenson’s (2000) survey of 1,234 parents 

and 209 teachers in a large suburban school district found 

both teachers and parents believed that improving homeschool communication was “a primary way to enhance 

trust in the family-school relationship” (p. 491). They also 

reported that the kinds—rather than frequency—of interactions between parents and teachers were better predictors of 

trust and there was a significant correlation between trust 

and performance indicators like credits earned, grade point 

average, and attendance. 

While three decades of studies indicate that school-family 

(and in some cases, community) partnerships can help boost 

student achievement, it’s clear that they can’t do the job 

alone. Family and community involvement must be coupled 

with high-quality initiatives to improve teaching and learning. Indeed, as an EdSource (2006) study of low-income California schools shows, factors such as experienced teachers 

and rigorous academic content can be more influential even 

where there’s a correlation between student performance and 

parents’ involvement. ■

REFERENCES

Adams, K.S., & Christenson, S.L. (2000). Trust and the family-school relationship: Examination of parent-teacher 

differences in elementary and secondary grades. Journal of 

School Psychology, 38(5), 477–497. 

Brewster, C., & Railsback, J. (2003, December). Building 

trust with schools and diverse families: A foundation for 

lasting partnerships. By Request. Portland, OR: Northwest 

Regional Educational Laboratory.

Bryk, A.S., & Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in schools: A core 

resource for improvement. New York, NY: Russell Sage 

Foundation.

EdSource. (2006, June). Similar students, different results: Why 

do some schools do better? Mountain View, CA: Author. 

Retrieved March 21, 2007, from www.edsource.org/pdf/

simstusumm06.pdf

Goddard, R.D., Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, W.K. (2001). 

A multilevel examination of the distribution and effects of 

teacher trust in students and parents in urban elementary 

schools. Elementary School Journal, 102(1), 3–7. 

Gomez, R., & Greenough, R. (2002, October). Parental 

involvement under the new Title I & Title III: From 

compliance to effective practice. Topical Summary. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. 

Retrieved March 21, 2007, from www.nwrel.org/planning/ 

reports/pi/pi.pdf

Henderson, A.T., & Mapp, K.L. (2002). A new wave of evidence: The impact of school, family, and community connections 

on student achievement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational 

Development Laboratory, National Center for Family & 

Community Connections with Schools. 

Henderson, A.T., Mapp, K.L., Johnson, V.R., & Davies, D. 

(2007). Beyond the bake sale—The essential guide to familyschool partnerships. New York, NY: New Press.
END NOTE

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 39

Family stories

At Cornelius Elementary School, students dipped into their family 

histories to find rich material for a writing exercise. Fourth-graders 

in Marcia Andrew-Camacho’s class interviewed each other about 

an interesting family member, asking questions about the person’s 

appearance, likes and dislikes, and unusual experiences. They wove 

the information into stories and then created “trading cards” to 

illustrate them. Students were invited to exchange the cards, 

keep them, or combine them in a class collection.

Photo by Chase Allgood
If you are the parent of a K–12 student, there’s a good chance 

you’ve heard him or her talk about “word choice” and “sentence fluency” while writing a paper or telling you what 

they learned at school. That’s because 

thousands of classrooms around the 

globe use these characteristics of effective writing as part of the 6+1 Trait®

Writing Model of Instruction & Assessment. Teachers like the model because 

it provides a clear, common language to 

communicate with even the youngest 

students about what good writing looks 

like and how students can assess their 

own writing. Now parents can get to 

know the traits and establish a foundation for talking to their children about 

writing throughout their school lives 

with the latest edition of Dear Parent: A 

Handbook for Parents of 6+1 Trait® Writing 

Students.

Nearly a decade had passed since 

the second edition of Dear Parent was 

published, and a major renovation was 

in order. Peter Bellamy, lead trainer for 

NWREL’s 6+1 Trait Writing Model, 

has made significant updates to the 

third edition. Major differences of the 

delightfully redesigned book include the 

addition of presentation (the “plus one” 

trait), as well as new writing samples by 

grade level. 

“Many schools do not have—or do 

not make—time for writing instruction, 

even though it’s a pivotal skill for students’ future ability to communicate,” 

explains Bellamy. “Parents can serve a 

critical supplemental role in supporting 

their students’ development in writing 

and speaking simply by listening and occasionally interjecting thoughtful questions that encourage kids to elaborate or 

be more specific in their sharing, whether it is verbal or in 

writing.” The handbook offers practical ways parents can 

support their childrens’ efforts to become strong, confident, 

and skilled writers and speakers.

“One of the easiest ways parents of young students can 

incorporate the trait vocabulary into the daily routine is to 

read to them from quality literature and then talk about the 

writing skills they hear,” suggests Bellamy. “This has the dual advantage of 

addressing the skills of both writing 

and reading as well as demonstrating 

for youngsters the connection between 

the two.” Dear Parent proposes several vehicles for promoting the reading-writing connection throughout the 

day: newspaper articles during breakfast, billboards along the commute to 

school, recipe books while cooking 

dinner, writing the parent has done 

for work or the student has done for 

school, and so on. Taking advantage of 

everyday opportunities to discuss and 

assess writing of all kinds and forms 

is a constructive way to support your 

student-writer’s progress.

The third edition of Dear Parent is 

presented in a bright, fun, and easy-toread format that parent and student can 

use together. In addition to a plethora of 

tips and resources, a scoring guide shows 

parents what students are using to assess 

their own work. Before-and-after writing examples, with teachers’ comments 

included, reveal how teachers use the 

traits to score student writing. Another 

section offers concrete ways to make 

writing stronger, trait by trait.

Member schools can purchase sets 

of 20 handbooks for the low price of 

$21 plus shipping. Individual copies for 

members are only $2.50. 

To order copies and to find out 

about all of NWREL’s 6+1 Trait Writing products, upcoming 

events, and services visit www.thetraits.org. Copies of Dear 

Parent: A Handbook for Parents of 6+1 Trait® Writing Students can 

also be obtained by calling 800-547-6339, ext. 519. ■

Practical, Fun-To-Use Handbook Gets Parents Involved in the Traits of Effective Writing

NWREL NEWS

40 nwrel.org/nwedu/

A Handbook for Parents of 6+1 Trait® Writing Students

DEAR PARENT

“One of the easiest ways 

parents of young students 

can incorporate the trait 

vocabulary into the daily 

routine is to read to them 

from quality literature, 

and then talk about the 

writing skills they hear,” 

suggests Bellamy.
NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 41

Anyone who has been the target of ongoing teasing or bullying 

knows that the adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones 

but names will never hurt me,” couldn’t be further from 

the truth. Preventing and Countering School-Based Harassment, 

a booklet produced by the Northwest Regional Educational 

Laboratory, warns about the effects of bullying and harassment on a student’s educational progress and the attainment 

of future goals. These effects can include isolation, fear for 

personal safety, loss of self esteem, and dropping out of a class 

or out of school altogether.

The recent tragedy at Virginia Tech reminds us that the 

consequences of harassment and bullying can affect many 

more lives than that of the individual being bullied. According to the March 2007 Look @ Equity newsletter published by 

NWREL’s Equity Center, U.S. Secret Service and Department 

of Education investigations show that incidents of targeted 

violence at school are carefully 

planned and that perpetrators 

report being bullied by others 

prior to the attack.

Hearing about violent 

attacks on school grounds 

across the country can naturally lead students to wonder, 

“Could my school be next?” 

When students are distracted 

by fear and anxiety, their 

focus on learning suffers. As 

President Bush stated in the 

aftermath of the Virginia Tech 

tragedy, “Schools should be 

places of safety and sanctuary 

and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is 

felt in every American classroom and every American community.”

The Equity Center at NWREL serves schools in the 

Northwest and Pacific regions by working toward the goal 

of ensuring that all children, regardless of race, gender, or 

national origin, have equal access to quality education and the 

opportunity to develop high academic standards. To this end, 

the Equity Center offers training and technical assistance to 

school communities in the development of:

• Strategies for preventing bullying and harassment

• School policies for dealing with bullying and harassment

• Crisis response strategies for schools and parents

• A crisis response plan

PARENT INVOLVEMENT IS KEY

According to Equity Associate Moses Wambalaba, parents 

can play a crucial role in keeping their children safe from the 

devastating effects of harassment and bullying. The Equity 

Center’s workshop, Parents’ Role in Preventing and Countering School-Based Bullying and Harassment, provides 

parents with information on:

• Identifying harassing and bullying behaviors—or characteristics of victimization—in their children

• Strategies they can use to prevent their children from 

becoming victims or perpetrators, including making sure 

their own behaviors at home aren’t contributing to their 

children becoming victims or perpetrators 

• Effectively responding to their children’s complaints 

about bullying by their peers (important since children are 

often reluctant to report bullying)

“In addition to holding workshops, schools can 

involve parents by including 

them on the school’s crisis response team or on the 

school safety plan,” suggests 

Wambalaba. “Additionally, 

schools should encourage 

parents to share any information, concerns, or suspicions 

about safety issues at the 

school with school officials or 

law enforcement agencies.”

Most of the services offered 

by the Equity Center are free 

to public schools and agencies 

in the Northwest and Pacific 

regions of the U.S. Some 

cost sharing may be involved 

depending on the number and duration of services requested. 

For more information on NWREL services related to school 

safety and crisis response, contact Joyce Harris, Equity Center 

director, 800-547-6339, ext. 603, or harrisj@nwrel.org. ■

Preventing Bullying and Harassment: A Critical School Safety Issue

SCHOOL SAFETY AWARENESS QUESTIONS

• Does your school have a threat assessment team to assist with 

identifying, assessing, and managing students who may pose a 

threat of targeted violence? 

• Has your school developed safe and confidential ways for students to report potentially violent incidents?

• Does your school have safety officers or security guards? If yes, 

are they adequately trained to de-escalate potentially violent 

situations?

• Have all school employees received training on school safety 

and crisis preparedness issues? 

• Have school personnel been trained in the early detection of 

potentially violent behaviors?

• Are roles and responsibilities of school staff during an emergency clearly defined?

• Are portable communication devices available to teachers and 

students? 

• Does your school have a bullying/harassment policy which is 

understood by school staff, students, and parents?

Source: http://crime.about.com/library/blschoolquiz.htm
NWREL NEWS

What’s New on the Web

The new and improved NWREL 

Web site, www.nwrel.org, made its 

debut in March. News about the latest events, products, and services—as 

well as articles of interest to Northwest educators—is now front and 

center and updated frequently. “With 

more than 20,000 pages of information 

being viewed by more than 400,000 

visitors each month, the old design 

had outlived its usefulness,” explained 

NWREL Webmaster, Vicki Jean Beauchamp. “The new design presents the 

wealth of information in a more userfriendly, dynamic way.” 

external test users, the site was ready to 

launch. According to NWREL’s Marketing and Outreach Services Director, 

Caridan Craig, “The primary goals in 

redesigning the Web site were to create 

a more visually appealing and structured set of core pages and to put an 

increased emphasis on current events, 

projects, and services. The new site 

achieves both.” 

Visitors are encouraged to explore 

the site at their leisure and bookmark pages of particular interest. Send 

questions or comments to the appropriate contact listed at www.nwrel.org/

comm/contact.php. ■

As befits a research and development organization, the redesign went 

through nearly a year’s worth of rigorous data collection, development, and 

testing. A working group of NWREL 

Web developers initiated the process, 

which included online surveys of current site users, interviews with staff, 

input from the executive cabinet, and 

research into the latest Web technology. 

The group also utilized an independent 

consultant to conceptually bridge the 

gap between the old and new sites. 

Once it had passed the test by getting overwhelmingly positive remarks 

from a large group of both internal and 

Conference Call

Visit NWREL’s online calendar of 

events at www.nwrel.org/events/ for 

content and registration information 

on upcoming events.

NORTHWEST SUMMER INSTITUTES BUILD 

MASTERY IN MATHEMATICS

NWREL’s Center for Classroom 

Teaching and Learning is presenting 

Mathematics Summer Institutes that 

will provide professional development 

for teachers of grades K–2 and 3–5. 

The five-day institutes for each 

grade span are scheduled concurrently 

in five locales spanning the Northwest 

region. The 2007 dates are: 

• Anchorage, AK: June 11–15

• Billings, MT: July 9–13

• Eugene, OR: July 23–27

• Boise, ID: August 6–10

• Spokane, WA: August 13–17

Teachers of grades K–2 will expand 

their knowledge of number sense and 

algebraic reasoning. Participants will 

leave with a solid understanding of what 

number sense and algebraic reasoning 

is; how children develop it; and what 

6+1 Trait Writing Model for Trainers 

Institute

July 18–20, 2007

The Resort at the Mountain, Welches, OR 

6+1 Trait Writing Assessment: Introductory Institute

• October 9–12, 2007

 Surfsand Resort, Cannon Beach, OR 

• December 11–14, 2007

 NWREL, Portland, OR

INSTITUTE FOR YOUTH- AND EDUCATIONFOCUSED VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

The LEARNS partnership provides 

training and technical assistance to volunteer programs on tutoring, mentoring, 

literacy, and out-of-school time. Attend 

the Corporation for National and 

Community Service/LEARNS institute 

September 18–19, 2007 in Portland, 

Oregon, to build skills and professional 

networks with others who develop programs and/or supervise members and 

volunteers to meet the needs of children 

and youth. ■

instructional strategies help K–2 students 

grasp these foundational concepts.

Teachers of grades 3–5 will increase 

their comprehension of the integration of arithmetic and algebra in the 

elementary classroom. Topics such as 

using relational thinking, understanding equality, and representing conjectures will be covered. Contact Cathy 

Clark Thomas, 800-547-6339, ext. 662; 

clarkc@nwrel.org.

6+1 TRAIT® WRITING MODEL: 

INTRODUCTORY AND TRAINERS INSTITUTES

Whether you want to learn the basics or 

you’re interested in becoming a trainer 

in NWREL’s internationally acclaimed 

writing instruction and assessment 

model, there’s a workshop happening 

soon. The 6+1 Trait Writing model 

is a powerful framework developed to 

help teachers use a common language 

to refer to characteristics of writing 

and to create a common vision of what 

good writing looks like. Contact Sharon Northern, 800-547-6339, ext. 572; 

northers@nwrel.org.

42 nwrel.org/nwedu/
Flashback

AUTHOR FACILITATES WORKSHOP ON USING WEE CAN WRITETM

Teachers of “wee” writers from Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, 

Montana, Oregon, Texas, and Washington came to NWREL 

in April for the Using Wee Can WriteTM workshop. The soldout event was facilitated by Carolyn McMahon, coauthor of 

the best-selling guidebook, Wee Can WriteTM: Using 6+1 Trait®

Writing Strategies With Renowned Children’s Literature. Described 

by McMahon as a 

“learn it today ... 

use it tomorrow” 

workshop, participants learned a 

range of practical 

and creative activities for introducing the traits of 

effective writing 

to the youngest 

students (preK–1). Participants 

were also some of the first educators to get a sneak peak at the 

hot-off-the-presses Wee Writers’ Continuum poster set and 

the Wee Can CountTM guidebook. 

OREGON EDUCATORS ATTEND READING FIRST INSTITUTE

Teachers Dany Chhy and Juana Garcia from Hillsboro, 

Oregon, participated in a training institute in February for 

Head Start teachers involved in Project ExCEL, an Early 

Reading First program implementing the Building Language 

for Literacy Plus (BLL+) curriculum in 13 classrooms across 

Oregon. BLL+ integrates student activities that develop selfregulation and high levels of literacy. NWREL’s Child and 

Family Program administers Project ExCEL, which includes 

a comprehensive three-year professional development system (coaching, 

training, technical assistance, 

and support) to 

assist 45 teachers to implement 

an exemplary 

early childhood 

program for 

children from 

l o w - i n c o m e 

families. 

6+1 TRAIT® WRITING MODEL FOR 

TRAINERS INSTITUTE

Teachers from as far south as 

Colombia, as far north as Canada, and several places in between 

attended the Assessment Unit’s 

6+1 Trait Writing Model for 

Trainers Institute at NWREL in 

February. After participating in 

the intensive three-day workshop facilitated by Peter Bellamy, 

these new trainers can now teach other educators in their 

communities how to use the internationally popular writing 

assessment model. 

LEADERSHIP TEAMS FOCUS ON IMPROVING LITERACY AND 

MATHEMATICS SCHOOLWIDE

Educators from 15 Beaverton (OR) School District middle 

and high schools convened at NWREL’s headquarters for the 

Center for School and District Improvement’s workshop, 

Improving Adolescent Literacy and Mathematics: Professional Learning Teams in Action, in April. Teams learned 

strategies and developed plans for improving classroom practices, providing support for middle and high school students 

struggling with core content areas, and leading meaningful 

and useful professional learning teams. ■

NORTHWEST EDUCATION / SPRING-SUMMER 2007 43
View NWREL’s complete product catalog and check out our easy and secure online ordering system at www.nwrel.org/comm/catalog/

Our complete catalog of education services is available at www.nwrel.org/edservices/catalog/

NWREL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

44 To order: nwrel.org/comm/catalog/ or call 800-547-6339, ext. 519

Lesson Study

Pioneered in Japan, lesson study is a 

professional development practice in 

which teachers collaborate to develop 

a lesson plan, teach and observe the 

lesson in order to collect data on 

student learning, and use their observations to refine the lesson. Lesson 

study provides a structured framework for teachers to research the 

impact their instructional decisions 

have on student understanding.

NWREL’s Center for Classroom 

Teaching and Learning can help 

your school implement lesson study 

through a series of workshops and 

follow-up visits. These can be customized for any of the following 

participant groups: K–12 teachers in 

all subject areas, local and state education administrators, professional 

development providers, and university professors (education and disciplinary faculties). To find out about 

bringing NWREL’s lesson study services to your school or district, contact Melinda Leong: leongm@nwrel.

org; 800-547-6339, ext. 172.

Leading Lesson Study: A Practical 

Guide for Teachers and Facilitators

Another excellent resource on the 

topic is a guidebook published by 

Corwin Press in a joint effort with 

NWREL and Learning Point Associates. Experienced and novice lesson study teams, administrators who 

want to start lesson study programs, 

and inservice and preservice professors who want to teach lesson study 

to their students can all benefit from 

Leading Lesson Study.

“This is the first book to share the 

stories of teachers’ lesson study experiences in urban, suburban, and rural 

schools across the United States,” 

says coauthor Gary Appel. “Our 

extensive work helping teachers conduct lesson study grounds this book 

in the real world of the classroom.” 

(2007; 207 pp.)

Member price: $31.95 + shipping

Nonmember price: $34.95 + shipping

Wee Can CountTM: Teaching Beginning 

Mathematics Using Renowned Children’s 

Literature for Grades K & 1

From the authors of the bestselling 

teacher’s guidebook, Wee Can WriteTM, 

comes Wee Can Count. This colorful book offers a wealth of classroom 

activities based on beloved children’s 

literature classics such as One Hundred 

Hungry Ants; Alexander Who Used to Be 

Rich Last Sunday; Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3; 

The Doorbell Rang; Each Orange Had 8 

Slices; and The Grouchy Ladybug. 

Wee Can Count teaches students how 

to work with numbers and introduces 

basic mathematics while reinforcing 

writing across the curriculum using 

the 6+1 Trait® Writing Model of 

Instruction & Assessment. Each activity includes clear instructions for the 

teacher and student, a convenient list 

of required materials, and copy-ready 

reproducibles. (2007; 210 pp.)

Member price: $22.65 + shipping

Nonmember price: $25.70 + shipping
Wee Can CountTM Laminated Student 

Instruction Set

Each of the 36 Student Activity Instruction Sheets from Wee Can CountTM are 

beautifully presented in color and laminated for durability. Instead of photocopying the student activities from 

the book in either dull black and white 

or expensive color, use these sheets, 

which are cheerful, ready for action, 

and can be used over and over for years 

and years! (2007; 36 pp.)

Member price: $28.00 + shipping

Nonmember price: $31.00 + shipping

To order: nwrel.org/comm/catalog/ or call 800-547-6339, ext. 519 45

Page 1

 

CRAYON

Book

CRAYON

Check-up

Book

Book

Classroom to Community and Back: 

Using Culturally Responsive, 

Standards-Based Curriculum 

To Engage Families and Increase 

Student Achievement

Learn to enhance student motivation and interest; improve schoolfamily-community partnerships; 

and create a rigorous, relevant curriculum with culturally responsive, 

standards-based (CRSB) teaching. 

This program provides strategies to 

actively engage students (especially 

those who are typically disengaged) 

by tapping into their family, community, and youth culture. The strategies can be used in any subject area 

and can range from small changes to 

the existing curriculum to designing 

extensive projects—all while adhering to state and local standards. As 

a result, families are positively and 

directly connected to the school and 

their children’s education—which 

research shows has a positive impact 

on student achievement.

NWREL’s Center for School, 

Family, and Community can customize half-day, daylong, and two-day 

workshops to meet the needs of K–12 

teachers, staff development specialists, administrators, and educational 

leaders in a school or district. To 

find out about bringing NWREL’s 

Classroom to Community and Back 

services to your school or district, 

contact Steffen Saifer: saifers@nwrel.

org; 800-547-6339, ext. 150. 

The Classroom to Community and 

Back guidebook contains tools, 

resources, and examples of K–12 

classrooms to show how CRSB teaching engages all students in learning. 

Using the guidebook, schools can 

learn to build relationships between 

the classroom and the outside world, 

and to create opportunities for families and community members to support student success in and out of 

school. (2005; 179 pp.)

Member price: $27.55 + shipping

Nonmember price: $29.70 + shipping
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PERMIT NO. 250

NORTHWEST REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY 

101 S.W. Main Street, Suite 500

Portland, Oregon 97204

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For questions regarding 

Northwest Education

call 503-275-9515

For all other inquiries 

regarding NWREL 

call 503-275-9500

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