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Beacon Hill Elementary (Seattle)
Beacon Hill Elementary in Seattle is a bastion of diversity as
more than 90 percent of its student population consists of
minorities, including 52 percent Asian and 30 percent Hispanic.
Four years ago, the school started its Latino Family Group,
which meets once a month to socialize, bond and learn about the
school. It exists, in part, through the efforts of Chilo Granizo,
a parent volunteer who now serves as the school’s bilingual
instructional assistant.
“I became very involved with this school because I was living
across the street and my children were here and every time they
were needing somebody to translate, I was understanding every
time a little more, a little more,” Granizo said.
Granizo leads a Kindergarten parent language program where
Latino parents are invited to learn and read with their children
in Spanish and English. It’s a true partnership program.
“We have so many refugee and immigrant families here whose
experience in their country has not been that they would be
involved in school,” Beacon Hill Principal Susie Murphy said.
“So they bring their children to school and expect we’re the
experts and we’re the ones who are going to help their children
learn to read. And we have to help them see that here, our
expectations is that we work together.”
Beacon Hill’s Latino Family Group model was an inspiration to
start a similar program with the school’s heavy influence of
Asian families, mostly from China and Vietnam.
“We started out using the same model of bringing the families in
and saying, ‘All right, tell us what you need,” Murphy said.
To learn more about Beacon Hill Elementary’s family outreach
programs, download and watch their story from the DVD
“Successful Schools: Families Matter” by
clicking here.
Federal Way School District
Two years ago, the Federal Way School District, a state leader
in family partnership efforts, sought alternative ways to reach
male minority students not meeting academic standards. Through
those efforts, the idea of a Heritage Leadership Camp evolved
where community members would serve as mentors.
“As we started trying to figure out how we could have a greater
impact on the students that we have in the district who weren’t
being successThe ful, we knew we had to broaden the involvement
beyond people who worked for the school district,” Federal Way
Superintendent Tom Murphy said.
The Heritage Leadership Camp meets three times during the school
year for daylong workshops. Twelve mentors promote leadership
and academic excellence to 60 middle school students. Some of
the mentors also meet individually with students throughout the
year.
“Now what we’ve noticed is because we’ve respected their time
and have honored what they could give us, they have started off
with relationships that have compelled them to give a little
more than they originally thought they could,” said Trise Moore,
the Family Partnership Advocate for Federal Way.
To learn more about Federal Way School District’s Family
Partnership program, download and watch their story from the DVD
“Successful Schools: Families Matter” by
clicking here.
Grandview High School
Wanting to further engage students and their families in
education, Grandview High School adopted the popular Navigation
101, a guidance program that starts during a student’s freshman
year and ends at graduation.
Grandview adapted the Navigation 101 model, first developed at
the Franklin Pierce School District in Tacoma, to meet its local
needs. They customized the program and called it “GEMS.”
Advisory classes, led by teachers and certified staff members,
meet four times each week with classes of 20 students. Students
work with the same advisor during their four-year high school
stay.
“We’re helping those students go from a 14-year-old freshman to
being an 18-year-old who’s prepared for a successful after-high
school experience,” said Carol Bardwell, a counselor at
Grandview High.
Students work with their advisors on goal setting, communication
skills, academics and their portfolios, which they present at
student-led conferences two times a year. Students plan and lead
the conferences and advisors and family members are invited
guests. The conferences help students plan for life beyond high
school and help parents further participate in their child’s
education.
”I have a really strong view that kids need to be in charge of
their own education,” said Arcella Hall, former prinicipal at
Grandview who now works at the Office of Superintendent of
Public Instruction. “I want them to understand that high school
is supposed to prepare them for their future, not just be
something that they survive, but something that is here for
them.”
To learn more about Grandview High School’s GEMS program,
download and watch their story from the DVD “Successful Schools:
Families Matter” by
clicking here.
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