Principals Matter

Mavis G. Sanders is assistant professor of education in the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education, research scientist at the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR), and senior advisor to the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of many articles on the effects of school, fam­ily, and community support on African American adolescents’ school suc­cess, the impact of partnership programs on the quality of family and community involvement, and international research on partnerships. She is interested in how schools involve families that are traditionally hard to reach, how schools meet challenges for implementing excellent programs and practices, and how schools define “community” and develop mean­ingful school-family-community connections. Her most recent book is Schooling Students Placed at Risk: Research, Policy, and Practice in the Education of Poor and Minority Adolescents (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000). She earned her PhD in education from Stanford University. Steven B. Sheldon is a research scientist with the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships and director of research of NNPS at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of many publications on the implementation and effects of programs for family and community involvement. His work explores how the quality and outreach of school programs of partnerships affect parents’ responses and student outcomes, such as student attendance, math achievement, student behavior, reading, and state achievement test scores. His most recent book guides principals in their leadership and work on school, family, and community partnerships (with Mavis Sanders, Corwin Press, 2009). In his current research, Sheldon is studying the influences of parents’ social networks, beliefs, and school outreach on patterns of parental involvement at school and at home and results for students. He earned his PhD in educational psychology from Michigan State University.

"The book provides a vast overview of the many key aspects of partnerships between schools, families, and communities grounded in data and research that illustrates the positive impact that strong stakeholder partnerships have on student achievement. The examples, vignettes, and stories provide rich material to illuminate the points addressed."

• AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsIntroduction: Standards for School, Family, and Community PartnershipsPart I. Laying the Foundation1. Policy, Theory, and Research on School, Family, and Community PartnershipsPartnerships and Academic OutcomesPartnerships and Nonacademic OutcomesWhy This Matters for PrincipalsReflection Questions2. Reculturing Schools for School, Family, and Community PartnershipsSchools as Community InstitutionsDeveloping a Coordinated Program of School, Family, Community PartnershipsPrincipal Leadership and School OutcomesObstacles to Effective School, Family, and Community PartnershipsSteps Toward Recultured SchoolsWhy This Matters for PrincipalsReflection QuestionsPart II. Responding to Diversity3. Fathers and School, Family, and Community PartnershipsWhy Fathers MatterFather DemographicsThe Role of FathersGuidelines for Developing Partnership Efforts to Involve FathersWhy This Matters for PrincipalsReflection Questions4. Families of Children With Disabilities and School, Family, and Community PartnershipsIDEA and Children With Special NeedsDistrict and School Outreach to Families of Children With DisabilitiesSpecific Needs and Experiences of Families of Children With DisabilitiesEngagement Strategies for the Families of Children With DisabilitiesCreating Inclusive Environments for Special Needs PopulationsWhy This Matters for PrincipalsReflection Questions5. Linguistically Diverse Families and School, Family, and Community PartnershipsGrowth in Immigration and Limited English Proficient Students and FamiliesLEP Students and FamiliesLEP Students and NCLBStrategies to Facilitate the Involvement of LEP FamiliesCulturally Intelligent Principal LeadershipWhy This Matters for PrincipalsReflection Questions6. Families Living in Poverty and School, Family, and Community PartnershipsChallenges Faced by Low-Income FamiliesAvoiding a Deficit PerspectiveA Collaborative ApproachWhy This Matters for PrincipalsReflection QuestionsPart III. Maximizing Outcomes7. Evaluating Programs of School, Family, and Community PartnershipsPlanning an EvaluationCollecting DataPresenting the FindingsWhy This Matters for PrincipalsReflection QuestionsConcluding ThoughtsReferencesIndex