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Richland County School District One

Richland County School District One

Columbia, SC

Latorsha Murray, Consultant – Parent and Family Engagement

Latorsha.Murray@richlandone.org

Strengthen Leadership for Partnerships

Virtual Workshops for Clusters of Schools on Family Engagement

Richland County School District One consists of seven clusters of schools linked to each other in feeder patterns. Within each cluster, elementary school students move on to the cluster’s middle school and, then, on to high school. The goal is for all students to move successfully through the grades and graduate from high school.

Each cluster is guided by a Family Engagement Specialist who gives individual attention to each school’s Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) and the school’s program of family engagement.  They also foster connections among schools in the cluster.  The district’s Strategic Plan includes an overarching goal for strong partnerships in every school to advance student learning at all grade levels. 

Last year, under COVID-19 conditions, all of the Specialists worked together to plan family and community engagement activities to unify efforts and reduce duplicative work. At the same time, the cluster leaders wanted to be responsive to the unique needs of families in the schools in their clusters. Guided by the district Coordinator for Family Engagement, each Specialist identified topics for a series of virtual workshops for teachers, staff, and parents. Then, they divided tasks to create agendas, set up online platforms, obtain speakers, create invitational flyers, seek business and community partners for prizes for parent attendees, and create PowerPoint presentations.

The Specialists combined efforts so that each could conduct the workshops for and with the families in their areas.  They met weekly to report progress, solve challenges, and complete details for the workshops. They left room to customize or tailor the workshops for the parents in their own cluster of schools.  For example, one cluster added an exercise period. Another invited students to attend the workshop with their teachers, parents, and family partners. Teachers, administrators, and community partners served as speakers on their topics of expertise.  

Over 200 parents attended the combined cluster workshops. Many discussions focused on how parents can support and encourage students with learning at home, social-emotional learning, developing interests and talents, and just having some fun during the COVID-19 challenging period. Parents had particularly positive reactions to sessions on district and community summer programs for children.  

This approach—planning for workshops across clusters and customizing information within clusters—is one example of teamwork that saved time and benefitted from many good ideas.  Efficient and effective is a win-win for leadership for partnerships.

Read more about Virtual Workshops for Clusters of Schools on Family Engagement in Promising Partnership Practices 2021.