House Meetings: One LA - IAF works to build relationships between teachers, parents, administrators, classified employees and other adult stakeholders. The initial step in One LA - IAF's work in schools is to begin to break down the barriers between these constituencies through small group conversations known as "house meetings". House meetings, which can take place anywhere (not solely a home), are conversations of between 6 to 12 parents, teachers and other adults concerned with education who exchange stories, challenge each other's stereotypes and raise issues of concern to them. Through house meetings, parents, administrators and teachers develop the trust necessary to see each other as allies rather than adversaries.
Achievement Academies: In order to train parents and teachers in developing partnerships of trust, One LA - IAF leaders organize Achievement Academies - workshops for adults interested in deepening the relationships within their school and between the school and other community institutions. During these Academies, workshops are held through a six-week to eight-week period in which parents, teachers and community members together develop the tools required to impact student achievement. Each academy is different, designed and taught by parents, teachers and administrators at each site, but all cover three broad areas that affect the education of children:
- High Expectations: Achievement Academies work to break down the common assumption that the education of children is the responsibility of the school alone. All adults in a child's life must understand what is required for that child's success. In Achievement Academies, adults learn the requirements for college, ideas of pedagogy and educational theory and the year-by-year expectations necessary to ensure educational opportunity for children.
- Trust and Collaboration: Achievement Academies train adults to listen to each others' stories and to tell their own stories in an effort to disrupt stereotypes and encourage relationships. Through learning the arts of house meetings and one on one meetings, adults in Achievement Academies learn to build the public relationships required to advocate on behalf of children.
- Constituency Building for Power: Through Achievement Academies, One LA - IAF works to build a strong constituency so that the decisions that affect school sites, from No Child Left Behind federal guidelines to district budget decisions, involve the participation, input and knowledge of the practitioners who work with children every day.
For press on One LA - IAF's Achievement Academies, click here.
Walks For Success: Many schools operate as institutional islands separated from the life of the communities in which they reside. "Walks for Success" are neighborhood conversations where hundreds of parents and school personnel walk door to door talking with neighbors about their community and the school. School personnel hear stories from the community of challenges, obstacles and resources, learning about the context in which they work. Community members begin to see the school not as an impenetrable fortress but as an institution invested and interested in the life of the neighborhood. Through such walks, parents, teachers, administrators and community members develop relationships and networks on behalf of children and families.
For press on "Walks for Success," click here.