Mr. Paul Harvey has been working as a parent advocate consultant with the families of Lincoln Middle School for nearly two years. During that time Mr. Harvey has worked closely with the PTO and staff to develop new ways to reach out to and involve the families for the support of the school and their children.
Specifically Paul has formed a group of family representatives nominated by staff members. The group has met monthly, since last February, and has formulated several plans to improve communication and a friendly, cooperative atmosphere between our school and the student’s homes. They have devised a flyer of programs available for students and families and are working with me to design a quarterly calendar to inform Lincoln families of all school events and activities. They initiated an end of the year “Thank you” campaign to encourage parents and guardians to work with their children to express written thanks to any staff members who have impacted their lives in a positive fashion. They are repeating this effort during Thanksgiving based on the positive reaction to the letter. The group has developed a climate survey and is now working on determining a focus for their new efforts. They have a diverse background and are committed to reaching out to all Lincoln families; especially those that have shown a reluctance to be involved with the school.
Mr. Harvey has also worked with our staff on a Chronically Tardy program which had real results with the majority of the families contacted.
Finally Paul, working with our staff, initiated a dinner for all the families of the students eligible for the AVID program, a special resource program for average students. Mr. Harvey also called all the families who were invited which I feel was a major cause of the well attended event.
All of Mr. Harvey’s efforts have been in conjunction with our schools’ PBIS and “Community of Caring” initiatives which have a major focus on involving those students with poor academics, attendance and behavior, and their families in an effort to achieve success..
Yours sincerely,
Rob DiFlorio
Principal, Lincoln Middle school