Meeting the challenges means that practices will be responsive to the diverse needs of families, students, and communities, and will inform and involve all families in various ways. One key challenge of Type 1 - Parenting is to provide information from workshops and other school activities to families who cannot attend. Action Teams in schools across the country in the National Network of Partnership Schools are working hard to meet these and other challenges. For example, to meet the first challenge, the Action Team for School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Cross Country Elementary School in Baltimore City makes sure that summaries of all school events and activities are available in the school's Parent Room.
Parents can stop by to pick up the summary of a workshop they missed.
Summaries also appear in the school's monthly newsletter. Someone at the school replies to the comments or questions by phone or in the next newsletter. Classes with 100 percent returns win pizza parties, are announced over the intercom, and are recognized in the next newsletter. This helps strengthen students' understanding of the part they play in school, family, and community partnerships. By meeting these challenges, schools are taking steps to ensure that all families receive and have opportunities to respond to important school information.