Email Message from Crissina Johnson

Here's an email Crissina sent out, she said I could post it here; thanks, Crissina!

Greetings and good Sunday afternoon.

The past few weeks have been quite intense, to say the least, for all of us. As we begin to turn our hearts and minds toward the coming school year, there are a number of concerns I would like us to work together toward resolving within the next few weeks.

As you know, the mission and passion of my heart is to see all parents (when possible) engaged, informed and actively involved on the campuses where their children attend school. According to The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievements and Adjustment: A Literature Review by Professor Charles Desforges research report RR433, A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement [a review of recent research published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (2002)] and the eloquent comments of Dr. Lewis King Ph.D. who recently addressed a small group of parents and administrators at Westchester High School, high student achievement is directly linked to high levels of parent involvement.

With this being said, there are three area I sincerely hope we can work together to 'reform' (change) between now and August as it relates to the LMUFoS:

1: ALL parents be required to attend a "Parent Orientation" prior to the first day of school with additional opportunities being made available throughout the school year. An orientation which details the school's Parent Compact, the various school site groups that exist on campus, their functions and information on how our parents are "working" to improve student outcomes through improving on-site parent involvement.

This orientation would be included in the registration process, parents/students would not receive programs (WHS) until this orientation has been attended and all related documents (free lunch apps) are submitted and facilitated by current parents who would share their enthusiasm, experiences and commitment to our schools and improving student outcomes;

2. On-site parent centers and parent groups conduct parent training workshops to aid parents in navigating the school's campus and equipping them to function on campus in symphony with administrators, staff and teachers.

These weekly or bi-monthly 'parent engagement workshops' would also be facilitated by parents (parent peers).

3. Lastly, possibly more specific to Westchester High, I would like to know what system is in place to secure free lunch applications from enrolling and re-enrolling families. We have discussed that students would not receive their programs until this document was submitted.

Understandably, these adjustments are aggressive and represent great change, however, I believe that if these systems are in place, all of our schools, teachers, families and students will begin to thrive and improve.

My hope is that LMU, LAUSD and 'Design Schools' in concert with parent and community supporters will be able to facilitate these much needed changes.

We cannot say we are 'working' or even 'fighting' to improve student outcomes while neglecting to acknowledge the data which states parent involvement directly impacts student achievement. It is our obligation and duty as a school community to aggressively explore and passionately pursue ways to inform, empower and involve parents and families in the day to day operations of our schools.

Unfortunately, to date, funds have not been identified or allocated to support such programs and work; however, this work MUST continue. The National Alliance of Parents for the Advancement of ALL Students (a project of Congressional District Programs, Inc. - a registered 501 (c) (3) public charity birthed out of the efforts of POWWOW) is aggressively endeavoring to raise and acquire funds which will be instrumental in supporting this valuable and priceless effort.

Thank you so much for all your encouragement and support over the course of the past year and I look forward to hearing from you soon so that we can determine the best way to accomplish these goals.

Have a wonderful Sunday!!

Sincerely,

Crissina D. Johnson

POWWOW/NationalPALS