questions for home visit project – PRO EXPERT WRITINGS

1. What are the funds of knowledge? Refer to the text to support all claims made.
2. What institutional practices may influence to what extent, if any, the funds of knowledge framework may or may not be incorporated in schools?
3. To what extent, if any, do power, privilege, and prejudice influence to what extent marginalized populations’ lived experiences are embedded throughout school practices?
4. To what extent, if any, does context matter? Remember to refer to the text.
5. Whose funds of knowledge are valued on your campus? In your district?
6. To what extent, if any, is the funds of knowledge framework incorporated into your curriculum? Pedagogy? Homework? The way in which we communicate with families? Why or why not?
7. If you were asked to incorporate the framework into your school practices, what would be your first step? Make references from the text to support all claims made.
8. Create an action plan to assess to what extent the funds of knowledge is utilized on your campus. Make references from the text to support all claims made.
9. After reading http://www.nea.org/home/34090.htm and http://www.nea.org/tools/16935.htm, how do these ideas compare to the Funds of Knowledge?
10. After reading the article in the Plain Dealer regarding parent participation http://www.cleveland.com/bernstein/index.ssf/2012/11/parental_involvement_in_educat.html how would the authors of this text respond? Use the text to support all claims made.
11. To what extent, if any, can lessons from the funds of knowledge be incorporated to strengthen students learning? Use references from the text to support all claims made. To what extent, if any, might your proposed ideas strengthen school community relations? Please explain.

• Begin a conversation regarding home visits/assignment
• Identify in Class the Members on Your Community Relations Team

F2F 9/22 Discuss Book #2 (Funds of Knowledge) and share your Web of Understanding co-created by you and your assigned partner.

*Read book #3 (School, Family, and Community Partnerships) on your own. Co-create a Web of Understanding with your assigned partner. Be ready to share this Web of Understanding next week in Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.

Assigned Partners:
Harding, Jessica and Aljuaidan, Eman

Thorpe, Alyssa and Del Re, Ariana

Bryndel, Krystal and Patti, Ryan

Alhumaid, Fadiyah and Craig, Melissa

Remley, Debra and Aldosari, Layla

Powers, Corinne and Bondi, Elizabeth

*Discuss with your supervisor which students/families you will visit virtually for the home visits and discuss with your supervisor which project you are leaning toward for the final (two options).

PROJECT #1 Home Visit Project see BlackBoard
Candidates will choose to virtually visit three students’ families for this assignment. The candidate is responsible for scheduling a meeting with the principal/superintendent to review the assignment as well as choosing which families to visit before making the visits.
1. The purpose of the home visits is to deepen understanding regarding student learning by building bridges between home and school.
2. Candidates will create 13-15 questions to ask each family during the virtual home visit. Virtual home visits can range between 30-90 minutes. They are to take place at the convenience of the family (i.e., location, date, and time).
3. After conducting each virtual home visit, write down the responses to each of the questions asked.
4. Candidates will include the following for the assignment:
Part I (Respond to these questions for EACH home visit.)
• Whom did you virtually visit? To what extent, if any, did the readings influence whom you chose to visit? Why or why not?
• Describe your relationship with this student. Describe your relationship with the student’s family.
• How did you communicate with this family in the past?
• Why did you visit this student and family?
• What steps did you take in informing the family of your interest to facilitate a home visit?
• How did the student respond to the steps made? How did the family respond? How was a date/time established?
• What were your expectations for this virtual home visit?
• Walk the reader through your experience the day of the visit. What happened before the visit? Describe the community.
• What happened during the visit? Who attended? Identify each question asked, who responded, and the actual response.
• How did you conclude the home visit?
• Any surprises?
• What were the reactions of the family members?
• What did you learn about the student? About the student’s family?
• What are their funds of knowledge?
• What are their strengths?
• What challenges do they face?
• To what extent, if any, will this home visit inform your practice as a teacher and your vision as an administrator?
• How did the student respond to the visit the following day/week while teaching the student?

Part II (Respond to these questions for all three home visits.)
• What were the emerging themes from the home visits?
• How would Kohl respond to your experience? Use references from the I Won’t Learn from You to support all claims made.
• How would Epstein respond to your experience? Use references to support all claims made.
• How would Gonzalez, Moll, and Amanti respond to your experience? Use references from Funds of Knowledge to support all claims made.
• What did you learn about yourself as an educator and school leader?
• To what extent, if any, would home visits improve school-community relations? Why or why not? Use scholarly references to support all claims made.

Rubric for Home Visit Activity
Beginner:
0-4 Novice:
5-11 Intermediate:
12-18 Expert:
19-25 Total
Score
Reflection
Assignment
For Home Visit The content of the reflection is unclear and serious editing issues are present. The content of the reflection is clear and few editing issues are present. Questions and responses were included in the reflection. The main idea of reflection is evident and clearly presented. The student’s claims/ideas are aligned with course objectives/readings. Questions and responses were included in the reflection. The information and analysis include insight regarding the significance of home visits. The information and analysis was supported by 1 of three of the required texts. The reflection is clear and concise with a unique perspective of developing school-community relationships with families/students. The reflection is supported through readings and cited using APA formatting. The information and analysis include insight regarding the significance of home visits supported with scholarly references from all three texts.

F2F 9/29 Share your Web of Understanding from Epstein text with your assigned partner (see above for your assigned partner). Meeting school leaders in the field through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra who engage in building school-community relations.

F 10/6 Work on home visit project.

F 10/13 Work on home visit project.

F 10/20 Work on home visit project and begin PROJECT #2.

PROJECT #2 Present in Class the Final School Community Relations Project and See Blackboard for Due Date/Time

Each one of us plays a critical role in starting new beginnings for those we serve. School leaders are presented with opportunities to respond in meaningful ways. In order for change to occur, aswe know, there is usually some type of struggle. This struggle may involve contemplating ideas, ways of knowing, and current school practices. Leadership positions afford opportunities to give meaning to the voices of those served, especially those who live on the margins. It is within these spaces that school leaders must begin. If we listen, they tell us where to begin. We need to reconsider ways to start in the same space as those we serve. Building relationships is a process. It begins with words and actions, and calls for school leaders to use their words and actions to do what is in the best interest of children and society. This is not a distant goal−it focuses on the here and now.

The purpose of this project is to critically assess school-community perceptions, strengths, and challenges in an effort to build bridges and strengthen school-community relations. This comprehensive project involves a myriad of school-community members, who are often overlooked and silenced. This project creates spaces for students to take the wheel, read the compass, and set a new course aligned with the needs of children, families, and community.

Students will present this inquiry-based project to the principal/superintendent before moving forward. The final presentation will be presented as a PowerPoint and/or Prezi to a team of school-community members decided upon by the principal/superintendent. Students will use APA 6th edition formatting throughout the presentation. Students will attach any supplemental material as a pdf on the Discussion Board as artifacts presented to the school-community team.

*PLEASE NOTE: STUDENTS CAN EARN UP TO THE TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE IF THEY PRESENT THE REQUIRED INFORMATION/DATA/FINDINGS TO CLASS ON THE DAYS NOTED IN THE CLASS SCHEDULE. IF STUDENTS DO NOT BRING IN THE REQUIRED INFORMATION/DATA/FINDINGS TO CLASS, STUDENTS CAN LOSE UP TO HALF OF THE POSSIBLE POINTS FOR THAT SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT SECTION.

Option #1: Virtual Comprehensive Needs Assessment via Virtual Community Walks and Arts-Based Approaches
See http://news.psu.edu/story/388157/2016/01/19/research/walking-and-talking
Create a School-Community Committee under the guidance of your supervisor. Consider the significance of including K-12 students, families, community members, staff, teachers, business members, school board members, politicians, community organizational members, central office personnel, and/or school leaders.

PHASE ONE/UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTEXT:

*Students may create 1-2 slides per question to provide documentation to support responses.
• Describe the community-at-large.
• Describe the school community.
• How do you understand school-community relations? How did you come to this understanding?
• How do you understand school-community relations in this district?
• Are you aware of goals pertaining to improving school-community relations at the campus level? At the district level? If yes, what are they?
• To what extent, if any, are there opportunities for students, teachers, families, school leaders, and community members to learn how to strengthen school-community relations?
• To what extent, if any, are you familiar with school policies that support strengthening school-community relations? If yes, what are they? If no, why do you think that is?
• What does it mean to listen to school-community members? What are we listening for? To what extent, if any, are we listening to school community members? If yes, whom are we listening to? What are they telling us? How is this data collected? Analyzed? To what extent, if any, are these findings shared with students? Teachers? Families? School leaders? Community members? Community organizations? Why or why not?

PHASE TWO: CHOOSING THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES (No less than a total of 15 community walks)
• Discuss with your supervisor who you will invite to participate in the community walks.
• How many students and families will participate? Why these students and their families?
• Create an invitation for the students and their families (15 students and 15 families). You may want to share the link above
• Identify what you are doing and how this information will improve school-community relations.
• Let them know they will engage in artmaking and what that will entail.
• Send out the invitations and confirm participation.

PHASE THREE: ENGAGING IN COMMUNITY WALKS AND ARTMAKING
• In this phase, you will work with students and families to identify important places outside of school.
• In this phase, you will work with students and families to identify important places inside school.
• Film students and families outside of school through community walks. What are the most important places and why? Ask students to create art expressing what these significant places mean to them. Work alongside students to provide support as students make meaning from their art and the impact these significant places play in their development.
• Film students and families inside school through community walks. What are the most important places and why? Ask students and families to create art expressing what these significant places mean to them. Work alongside students and families to provide support as students make meaning from their art and the impact these significant places play in their development.

PHASE FOUR: IDENTIFYING AT LEAST THREE EMERGING THEMES
• What are the most important places noted by students?
• What are the most important places noted by families?
• Who are the people in those places?
• To what extent are the places within the community involving school? Why or why not?
• What are the emerging themes of significant places outside of school?
• What are the emerging themes of significant places inside school?
• Who are the people/animals/relationships identified within those places?
• When are those places experienced?
• How do the students understand the significance of those places in understanding themselves?
• How do families understand the significance of those places?
• How do students feel about those places outside of school? Inside school?
• How do families feel about those places outside of school? Inside school?

PHASE FOUR: IDENTIFYING STRENGTHS AND ONE CHALLENGE ALIGNED WITH EPSTEIN’S SIX SPHERES
• Identify at least three strengths any of Epstein’s six spheres that emerged from the community walks and artmaking:
• Communicating
• Parenting
• Volunteering
• Learning at Home
• Decision-making
• Collaborating with the Community
• Candidates will identify at least three challenges that emerged from the data collected. Candidates will choose ONE of these challenges to address in this project.

For example:

Challenge #1
Challenge #2
Challenge #3

Challenge chosen to focus on for this inquiry-based project: Challenge #3

• Identify ONE challenge from ONE of Epstein’s six spheres that emerged from the community walks and artmaking:
• Communicating
• Parenting
• Volunteering
• Learning at Home
• Decision-making
• Collaborating with the Community

PHASE FIVE: PROPOSING RESEARCH-BASED SOLUTIONS
• Propose two research-based solutions with at least two scholarly references to overcome this challenge. Use APA 6th edition formatting to support all claims made. See Purdue Owl for a FREE resource: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html

Example:
School-Community Relations Challenge #1 (One sentence)
Research-Based Solution #1 (2-3 slides with scholarly references embedded throughout.)
Research-Based Solution #2 (2-3 slides with scholarly references embedded throughout.)
Candidates will at cite at least three scholarly references from the list below with a total of at least ten scholarly references for the analysis section.
Students will use APA 6th edition formatting throughout the proposed solutions.

Candidates will need to utilize at least three scholarly references from the following journals:
Educational Administration Quarterly
Journal of School Leadership
International Journal of Leadership in Education
Journal of Educational Research
International Journal of Education
Journal of Research in Educational Leadership
International Journal of Educational Management
Educational Management and Administration
Journal of School Public Relations
Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership
American Educational Research Journal
Social Justice Research
Remedial and Special Education
Educational Researcher
Planning and Changing
Exceptional Education Canada
Urban Education
Journal of Educational Administration
Journal of Curriculum and Instruction
Curriculum Inquiry
Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy
Journal of Studies in International Education

PHASE SIX: PROPOSING A 3-YEAR ACTION PLAN
Students will create a 3-year PLAN OF ACTION aligned for each proposed solution. This could be in the format of a pdf and/or chart illustrating how each research-based solution will be implemented. The plan of action will include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Time (Dates)
• People/Organizations involved
• Cost
• Data Collection
• Evaluation

PHASE SEVEN: SELF-REFLECTION
Students will reflect on their experience as aspiring school leaders by responding to each of the following questions and will support claims made with at least at total of THREE scholarly references throughout the responses using APA 6th edition formatting:

• How did the school-community team respond to the findings?
• How did the school-community team respond to the proposed research-based solutions?
• How did you understand the inquiry-based process and its influence on strengthening school-community relations?
• To what extent, if any, did this experience influence your ways of knowing about what it means to engage in this work?
• What does it mean to build bridges among ourselves and school communities?
• What role will you play in implementing these research-based solutions?
• What did you learn about yourself as an aspiring school leader?

PHASE EIGHT: ANNOTATED REFERENCES

• List references using APA
• Under each reference, document in 100 words or more why you chose to utilize this reference, what you learned from this reference, and why this reference was the most appropriate reference to support the claim(s) made.
PHASE NINE: PRESENT THIS INQUIRY-BASED PROJECT TO THE SCHOOL-COMMUNITY TEAM
• Present your multimedia presentation
• Provide a printed copy of the rubric for EACH committee member to complete
• Create a pdf with the completed scored rubrics and upload the pdf to Blackboard

Option #2: Comprehensive Needs Assessment Via Interpersonal Interviews and Other Data
COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Create a School-Community Committee under the guidance of your supervisor. Consider the significance of including K-12 students, families, community members, staff, teachers, business members, school board members, politicians, community organizational members, central office personnel, and/or school leaders.
Candidates will conduct a Comprehensive Needs Assessment through interviews, data collection (e.g., surveys, focus groups), analysis, and reflection utilizing Epstein’s six spheres as a framework:
1. Communicating
2. Parenting
3. Volunteering
4. Learning at Home
5. Decision-making
6. Collaborating with the Community

SCHOOL-COMMUNITY VIRTUAL FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS
Candidates will begin by conducting at least two interviews from each (i.e., and a total of 15) of the following school community members (with permission from the principal and/or superintendent):
• teachers
• students
• community business members/community organization representatives
• families/guardians
• central office personnel
• school leaders
• staff
• and others (as suggested by the principal and/or superintendent)

Examples of interview questions include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Describe the community at large.
2. Describe the school community.
3. How do you understand school-community relations? How did you come to this understanding?
4. How do you understand school-community relations in this district?
5. Are you aware of goals pertaining to improving school-community relations at the campus level? At the district level? If yes, what are they?
6. To what extent, if any, are there opportunities for students, teachers, families, school leaders, and community members to learn how to strengthen school-community relations?
7. To what extent, if any, are you familiar with school policies that support strengthening school-community relations? If yes, what are they? If no, why do you think that is?
8. What does it mean to listen to school-community members? What are we listening for? To what extent, if any, are we listening to school community members? If yes, whom are we listening to? What are they telling us? How is this data collected? Analyzed? To what extent, if any, are these findings shared with students? Teachers? Families? School leaders? Community members? Community organizations? Why or why not?
9. How do schools communicate with families? With students? With the community at large? Who are some of the organizations or community members who partner with schools? With the district at large? With community partners?
10. To what extent, if any, do school community members (i.e., teachers, staff, school leaders, parent representatives) facilitate home visits to deepen their understanding of those they serve? If yes, who conducts these visits? What is the purpose of the visit? How often do families meet school community members? If no, why not? To what extent, if any, might this benefit student learning? School-community relations?
11. How do schools involve families in this district? Please provide specific examples.
12. How are volunteers recruited? What do volunteers do within the school community? What data supports this claim? How many volunteers work within the school community? What data supports this claim?
13. How do families from marginalized populations feel about their involvement in the school district (i.e., Families of Color, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer families, families whose native language is not English, recent immigrants, single parents, foster families, families who live in poverty)? How do you know this perception is accurate?
14. To what extent, if any, were families from these marginalized groups involved in the planning process of those activities?
15. To what extent, if any, are families asked to come to the district for meetings/planning sessions/dialogue? How many families attend school events? What data supports this?
16. To what extent, if any, are families involved in deciding what is taught in school? How content is taught in school? How do you know this perception is accurate?
17. To what extent, if any, does homework involve family life? Family experiences? How do you know this perception is accurate?
18. To what extent, if any, do families understand what is taught in school? To what extent, if any, are there opportunities for families to understand what is taught in school? If yes, what are these opportunities? What percentage of families attend school conferences and similar events? How do families feel about their new understandings? How do you know this perception is accurate?
19. What are some examples of effective school-community relations in this district? What does it mean to have ‘effective school-community relations’?
20. Do you know of any effective school-community relations in other districts? If yes, what do they do? How do you know they are ‘effective’?
21. To what extent, if any, is curriculum development considered significant to strengthening school-community relations? Why or why not?
22. To what extent, if any, is the way we teach (i.e., pedagogy) considered significant to strengthening school-community relations? Why or why not?
23. To what extent, if any, is what we teach (i.e., content) considered significant to strengthening school-community relations? Why or why not?
24. To what extent, if any, is the development of meaningful and caring relationships discussed as a means to strengthen community relations? If yes, what is discussed? If no, why not?
25. What are some areas in which the district may improve upon their school-community relations?
26. To what extent, if any, are you involved in planning school-community relation projects?
27. To what extent, if any, have you been invited to participate in school-community relation projects? Why or why not?
28. How do you understand family involvement and literacy?
29. To what extent, if any, are partnerships evaluated in this district? If yes, what tools are used to collect data? How is the data analyzed? How is it shared?
30. To what extent, if any, do schools utilize data to improve school-community relations? If yes, how so? How do you know this perception is accurate? How is ‘improvement’ measured?
Candidates will transcribe the interviews above and identify emerging themes for each of the interviewees for each of the six areas identified in Epstein’s framework.
For example, under “Communicating”, students will identify the emerging themes regarding “Communicating” for:
• Teachers
• Students
• Community business members
• Parents/guardians
• Central office personnel
• School leaders
• Staff
• *Others (*according to direction from the principal and/or superintendent)

Parenting
Volunteering
Learning at Home
Decision-making
Collaborating with the Community

DATA COLLECTION CONTINUED

Candidates will continue to conduct a comprehensive Needs Assessment by collecting data/artifacts within Epstein’s spheres:

Parenting
Communicating
Volunteering
Learning at Home
Decision-making
Collaborating with the Community

ANALYSIS

• Candidates will identify three emerging themes from the data collected.
• Candidates will identify at least three challenges that emerged from the data collected. Candidates will choose ONE of these challenges to address in this project.

For example:

Challenge #1
Challenge #2
Challenge #3

Challenge chosen to focus on for this inquiry-based project: Challenge #3

• Candidates will identify at least 3 strengths any of Epstein’s spheres noted above utilizing data (with artifacts if possible).

For example: Communicating

Strength #1
Strength #2
Strength #3

• Candidates will select ONE school-community challenge and propose at least two research-based solutions based on research from the journals noted below.

3-YEAR ACTION PLAN PROPOSAL
Students will create a THREE-YEAR PLAN OF ACTION aligned for each proposed solution. This could be in the format of a pdf and/or chart illustrating how each research-based solution will be implemented. The plan of action will include, but is not limited to, the following:
• Time (Dates)
• People/Organizations involved
• Cost
• Data Collection
• Evaluation

REFLECTION
Students will reflect on their experience as aspiring school leaders by responding to each of the following questions and will support claims made with at least a total of THREE scholarly references throughout the responses using APA 6th edition formatting:

ANNOTATED SCHOLARLY REFERENCES

PRESENT THIS INQUIRY-BASED PROJECT TO THE SCHOOL-COMMUNITY TEAM
• Present your multimedia presentation
• Provide a printed copy of the rubric for EACH committee member to complete
• Create a pdf with the completed scored rubrics and upload the pdf to Blackboard

*This rubric (see below) should be copied and pasted into a separate Word document and distributed to all school-community team members. These forms should be scanned and uploaded as ONE pdf on the Discussion Board.

General Criteria and ELCC Standards Rubric for School-Community Relations Audit
Instructions for Assignment
Candidates conduct a School-Community Relations Audit to deepen their understanding of school-community relations among K-12 children, families, school community, as well as the community-at-large. Candidate creates a School-Community Relations Audit team under the guise of their school-community supervisor, assesses the school-community’s strengths/challenges, engages in critical dialogue regarding data collected, analyzes the data, propose research-based solutions, creates an action plan to implement these solutions, and reflects on the inquiry-based experience as an aspiring school leader.
Instructions for Evaluation
Your SCR Audit must focus on the appropriate organizational level; if you are pursuing Principal Licensure, you are to be evaluated on the ELCC Building standards and the unit of focus is the SCHOOL. If you are pursuing Administrative Specialist Licensure, you are to be evaluated on the ELCC District standards and the unit of focus is the DISTRICT. Your evaluation on the standards will be completed in accordance to your goals.

Sections
Creation of a School-Community Audit Team Candidate creates a school-community team for the audit, which is a tool to assess the extent all children, families, community, and school community members are included in the school (i.e., decision-making, utilizing their funds of knowledge, policy making, curriculum, program development and implementation). [Meeting requirements noted in ELCC 7.3]
Facilitating Critical Dialogues with School Community Candidate facilitates critical dialogues with the school community and may consider Epstein’s 6 spheres as means of guiding these conversations.
[Citation requirements noted in ELCC 4.4]
School-Community Walks/Interviews/Focus Groups/Town Hall Meetings If candidate chooses story walks: Candidate requests the school community members to document their various routes and locations via a multimedia device/artmaking. The candidate will compare these various routes and locations among the school community members by group and within the group. The candidate will identify moments in which school community members paused and shared their longest stories during their sensory walks. The candidate will encourage school community members to elaborate on particular aspects of their surroundings throughout the story walks.
If candidate chooses to utilize the 6 spheres: Candidate will use surveys, interviews, focus groups, written/oral narratives, and/or artmaking to capture their lived experiences with the school community.
[Walks/Interview/Focus Group requirements noted in ELCC 7.1]
Data Collection Candidate must share data with the school community audit team in a multimedia format (i.e., website, digital video, digital audio, photographs, artmaking, maps, and narratives).
[Thematic requirements no

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