On The Same Page Summit

Calendar and Events

New York State PTA

One Wembley Court

Albany, NY 12205

Phone: 1-518-452-8808

Toll Free: 1-877-5NYSPTA

or 1-877-569-7782

Fax: 1-518-452-8105

Email: pta.office@nyspta.org

On the Same Page Summit Wrap-up 2008

The first ever “On the Same Page” Summit for Family Engagement in Education was recently presented by the NYS PTA, Parent Information and Resource Centers of New York (PIRC) and EPIC-Every Person Influences Children.

The Summit gathered more than 100 high-level community and educational leaders from across New York State. The Summit’s vision was to begin to support systemic change in the NYS Educational System through strategic dialogue and action on family involvement as a catalyst for closing the achievement gap in Title I schools. Summit attendees examined parental involvement as a key instructional strategy for improvement, while assessing the current environment and sharing opportunities for advancement and successful implementation of the Regents Family Engagement policy. Robert Bennett, Chancellor of the NYS Board of Regents served as Honorary Chair for this event.

The program was highlighted by a keynote address from nationally recognized family engagement expert Dr. Karen Mapp, Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Mapp spoke of identifying ways for educators to work with parents to increase the level of participation in their children’s education. “Parents today come with diverse cultural and economic backgrounds,” Dr. Mapp explained, “but each share a common desire for their children to be successful.” Also keynoting the program was Dr. Heather Weiss, the Founder and Director of the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) and Senior Research Associate and Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As Director of the HFRP, Dr. Weiss continually works to support the creation of more effective practices, interventions and policies that promote children’s successful development from birth to adulthood. Her research is a key component in developing and evaluating family involvement policies and practices.

The two-day Summit featured action teams, working on topics including: school quality indicators, creating an assessment tool for schools to measure family involvement, engagement of diverse families, including the business community, involving social welfare/healthcare organizations, and recognizing and supporting the importance of high quality professional staff development opportunities.

The NYS PTA was proud to work in cooperation for this Summit, co-sponsoring along with the Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRC’s) who provide face-to-face services to parents, teachers, and community members through parenting and literacy discussion groups, training opportunities for both parents and teachers, and informational events on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the NYS Learning Standards. The other co-sponsor, EPIC-Every Person Influences Children, is a national not-for-profit organization providing parents, teachers, and school administrators with effective programs and resources that help adults raise responsible and academically successful children. EPIC combines an award-winning parenting program with a school-based character education curriculum, offering leadership training in many areas.

Click here to view a collage of photos from the event (PDF document)

For more information please select a link below:

Annual Convention

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Event Workshop/Keynote Speaker RFP

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