NORTHERN HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ELLPTA MEETINGS BELLINGHAM SCHOOL

NORTHERN HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ELL/PTA MEETINGS BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT Susan Kagel Family Engagement Project ELL 433 Spring 2014

NORTHERN HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY Enrollment – 452 Students Transitional Bilingual – 47 students Student Race/Ethnicity: White 63% Hispanic/Latino 17% Asian 8% Asian/Pacific Islander 8% African American 2% Source: OSPI Washington State Report Card

INTERVIEW WITH NORTHERN HEIGHTS ELL SPECIALIST Andrea Quigley § ELL Specialist at Northern Heights, Silver Beach, Geneva and Happy Valley Elementary Schools § Works with small groups, individual students, provides professional development for teachers, contact for ELL families, and organizes events for ELL families § Working at Northern Heights for 3 years

PARENT TEACHERS ASSOCIATION (PTA) Most school PTAs are affiliated with the Washington State PTA § WSPTA Vision § Making every child's potential a reality WSPTA Mission § PTA is a powerful voice for all children § PTA is a relevant resource for families, schools and communities § PTA is a strong advocate for the well-being and education of every child http: //www. wastatepta. org/about_us/vision_mission. html Local Parent-Teacher Associations § Plan school events § Organize fund raising for school § Recruit volunteers to help with school functions § Guest speakers share information of interest to parents § Communicates between parents, students, teachers and the community

NEED FOR COMBINED ELL/PTA MEETINGS Data showed that ELL parents were participating in: § school social activities (movie nights, sock hop, etc. . ) § Parent-Teacher conferences § Curriculum Night No ELL parents participated in PTA meetings

ELL/PTA COMBINED NIGHT Goal: To increase the participation of ELL parents in their children’s education and involvement in the school Organization: Bi-monthly, ELL parents met with the ELL specialist for 30 minutes before the scheduled PTA meeting then joined the PTA meeting ELL Parents shared what they talked about with the PTA and then moved onto the regular business of the PTA meeting Interpreters and childcare were available during the ELL and PTA meetings

RECRUITING PARENTS TO ATTEND ELL/PTA MEETINGS Translated flyers were sent home to all ELL families with information about the meetings Interpreters called each family inviting them to attend Each meeting had approximately 25 ELL parents attend

FEEDBACK FROM MEETINGS ELL Specialist: § Met with PTA Board to create support for ELL/PTA meeting § Met with PTA Board after first meeting to hear comments and concerns § ELL parents gave feedback after every meeting Results of Feedback: § Concerns from PTA Board about changes to established organization of the PTA meetings § Questions about the reason for having a joint ELL/PTA meeting

RECOMMENDATIONS Update PTA presence on Northern Heights Website § Encouraging all parents to participate § Explaining what a PTA is and how all parents can be involved Create a working group of PTA and ELL parents to jointly organize meetings with common goals and objectives Encourage ELL parents to run for officer positions on the PTA board to diversify parent representation Develop an on-going dialog between ELL and non-ELL parents to discuss issues and support each other, and make the school more welcoming to all

CITATIONS/REFERENCES Gaitan, C. (2004). Sharing Information with Latino Parents. Involving Latino families in schools: raising student achievement through home-school partnerships (). Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Corwin Press. Slide 1 (picture) Zervas. (n. d. ). Northern Heights Elementary. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http: //www. zervasgroup. com/projects/educational/northern-heightse l e m e n t a r y / h t t p : / / w w w. z e r v a s g r o u p. c o m / p r o j e c t s / e d u c a t i o n a l / n o r t h e r n - h e i g h t s - e l e m e n t a r y/ Slide 1 OSPI Washington State Report Card. (n. d. ). Washington State Report Card. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http: //reportcard. ospi. k 12. wa. us/summary. aspx? group. Level=District&school. Id=3304&report. L evel=School&org. Link. Id=3304&yrs=2012 -13&year=2012 -13 Slide 4 http: //geneva. bellinghamschools. org/sites/default/files/geneva/cmitchel/parents%20 packet %20 -%20 join%20 the%20 geneva%20 pta%20 for%20 letter. pdf Slide 4 Welcome to Washington State PTA. (n. d. ). Welcome to Washington State PTA. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http: //www. wastatepta. org/about_us/vision_mission. html Quigley, Andrea. (2014). Personal Interview.