ERIC Number: ED505864
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 130
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Improving the School, Family, and Community Partnership Through Increased Awareness and Collaboration
Mangum, Deborah Clarke
Online Submission, [Ed.D. Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University.]
Background: This applied dissertation was designed to increase the awareness of a parent resource center located in an urban community. The center had been in existence for 10 years. Due to a massive urban renewal project, the original residents were relocated to other areas of the city. When the replacement housing was constructed, a different, more diverse group of residents inhabited the new development. Purpose: The literature attests to the importance of a parent resource center to the community it serves. However, if residents, stakeholders, and school officials within the community are not aware of the programs and services that are available at the parent resource center, how can they take advantage of those offerings? The purpose of this study was to increase the awareness and familiarity of programs and services available at the parent resource center. The site previously served as a valued support mechanism to area schools as well as to the families of neighborhood children that were attending school in suburban locations. Setting: An urban metropolitan area, bustling with economic blight, located in the southern most state in the country. Study Sample: There were 111 participants in this study: 35 community residents, 16 stakeholders, and 60 school officials. Intervention: Based on preliminary data, the new inhabitants were not aware of services provided through the center and within the community. Therefore, a community relations program was developed to promote the programs, services, and activities available in order to thereby increase the quality of life among the targeted population. Research Design: Experimental; Data Collection and Analysis: Participants were asked to complete a familiarity and awareness survey while participating in an information session. Some of the participants took guided tours of the parent resource center facilities after the initial survey and later completed another survey, measuring their gain in awareness of featured programs, services, and activities. An analysis of the data revealed the importance of using the parent resource center as a supplementary source of information and direct services development in the low-income, primarily minority, community. Findings: The study revealed that the usage of the center's educational, self sufficiency, and assistive programs increased the opportunities for the success of residential clientele. The study also showed how the center could be accessed to enhance current school and neighborhood initiatives. Conclusion: Increasing the awareness of the parent resource center, through a targeted strategic marketing plan, resulted in a renewed interest in usage of the center's various programs, services, and facilities. In turn, usage equated to sustainability through continued funding and resources that were appropriated to keep the center's doors open. The need for the center's existence was therefore substantiated. Ten appendices are included: (1) Administrative Resource Teacher Job Description; (2) Neighborhood Service Center Strategic Plan; (3) Social Services and Education Committee; (4) Needs Assessment for the Community; (5) Awareness, Familiarity, and Usage Questionnaire; (6) Awareness, Familiarity, and Usage Discussion Questions; (7) Service Delivery Record; (8) Recruitment Materials; (9) Facility Tour Sign-Up Sheet; and (10) Open House Tour Meeting Sign-In Sheet. (Contains 10 tables.) [Doctoral Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University.]
Descriptors: Neighborhoods, Strategic Planning, Needs Assessment, Familiarity, Quality of Life, Marketing, Urban Areas, Resource Centers, Parent Education, Community Services, Suburban Schools, Surveys, Access to Information, Social Services, Delivery Systems, Recruitment, Economically Disadvantaged, Family School Relationship, School Community Relationship, Cooperation, Health Services, Access to Health Care, Family Involvement, At Risk Persons, Minority Groups, Access to Education
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A