Find Partners
Starting an effective partnership requires multiple steps. Ideally, you will have partners in place when your program applies for 21st CCLC funding. However, you may want to involve additional partners as student needs change and as your program evolves.
- First, you want to understand your program goals and needs so you know what to ask of a partner. If you collect data such as parent, teacher or student surveys, that's a great place to start.
- Next, take stock of resources that exist in your community. Think of these as people, services or materials, and consider how these might benefit your program.
- Now, you can look for the matches between needs and resources.
- Finally, list potential partners and contact them.
- Contacting potential or existing partners involves forming or improving relationships.
Before you begin the process above, you may want to form a Partnership Committee made up of parents, teachers, students, and 21st CCLC administrators and staff. This will help you make sure all perspectives are included.
To read a summary reinforcing the value of partnerships and to see what some of the research teaches us about relationships, take a look at the Strengthening Partnerships Research Brief in the Learn More Library.
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Introduction
- 1Overview
- 2Key Terms
- 3Strengthening Partnerships Diagram
- 4Partnership Benefits
- 5Build on Strengths
- 6Potential Partners
- 7Partner Inventory
- 8Find Partners
- 9Strategies for Getting Started
- 10Identify Your Needs
- 11Identify Resources
- 12Summarize Your Needs
- 13Map Community Resources
- 14Consider How to Select Partners
- 15Create Partnerships
- 16Establish a Common Vision
- 17Clarify & Communicate Roles & Responsibilities
- 18Create an Advisory Board
- 19Communicate Regularly
- 20Share Data
- 21Ask Questions, Collect Data
- 22Make Sense of Data
- 23Distribute and Discuss
- 24Keep it Legal
- 25Final Reflection
- 26Learn More Library
- 27Acknowledgements
- 28Congratulations
- 29Check for Understanding
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Implementation Strategies
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Coaching My Staff
My Notebook
Strengthening Partnerships
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Glossary
Strengthening Partnerships
Show Strengthening Partnerships Glossary
A group of school staff, partner representatives, and possibly students, that monitors partnership progress toward meeting its goals; recommended for all partnerships but most beneficial for schools and districts with a large number of partners
A term often used to describe programs that offer student instruction and enrichment activities during nonschool hours (see also: out-of-school time, increased learning time)
Practical process for locating resources, knowledge and expertise in a community
Any of several types of organizations that serve or are located in your community, including businesses, educational institutions, faith-based organizations, health care organizations and government agencies
Federal legislation that protects a student's personally identifiable information (PII)
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires that every school district and every school receiving Title I dollars must have a written parent engagement policy and must build school capacity to effectively implement the policy. The policy must be developed jointly with, approved by, and distributed to parents of participating children and the local community. As a school partner, a 21st CCLC program can be very important to implementing and sustaining the parent engagement plan. Copies of the plan should be available from school and district offices, and may be available on their websites.
A written agreement that establishes a formal working relationship between two partnering organizations; generally includes details such as the services to be provided, the responsible party, and the time period
A formal or informal process to identify and prioritize the differences between services that are currently available and services that are necessary to serve students and families; for example, a lack of a dance program and a high interest level among students indicating the need for a dance program
The ability of a school or community organization to provide resources or services for students
Hours outside of the regular school day, and they are often used for student enrichment activities that augment regular school-time instruction. Out-of-school time can occur before or after school, or in the summer.
A systematic process designed to build understanding about how a program works and what results it produces; this could include monitoring participation and attendance or comparing students who participate in a program with those who do not participate
A process used to identify potential partners in a geographic area; this can be initiated through direct contact with organizations or by reviewing Internet websites
A partnership that includes a common vision, goals, defined roles and shared responsibilities; one that involves both open communication and regular data sharing
Students are invited to express opinions and make choices about planning and implementing their own learning experiences