Congratulations, Janet Cumbee!
Janet, principal at Sycamore Elementary in
Talladega, has successfully defended her dissertation. She will be receiving her EdD in Educational Leadership from Samford University in Birmingham, AL.
Great going, Janet!!


Not One, But TWO Grants Awarded Charles Lake Elementary
Congratulations, Kathy Francescani and Jodi Snyder, on the writing of two successful proposals for their school in Cleveland:

  • $60,000 - Ohio Reads Grant which will provide $30,000 worth of guided reading books that will span multiple levels and varied genre; an additional $30,000 will support "strategies libraries" for K-4 teachers for teaching deep structure strategies, along with a small amount to be spent on take-home books.
  • $2,000 - MBNA Grant will support the purchase of two video cameras, tripods, cases, and TV/VCR. Kathy and Jodi plan to develop a video library of effective crafting sessions of the deep structure strategies.


Parents Share at Northern Regional Conference -- February 2002

Charmaine Higgins - Scranton - Cleveland - Parent

  • New to Cornerstone, daughter in 2nd grade (was in coach's class in Kindergarten), son with special needs - teacher interested in what she was doing at home that made her daughter so successful.
  • What she does: library set up in child's room with games, toy area, books of all levels; decorated room; reads to both children together and they read to each other; watch little TV - play together instead

Evangelina (Angie) Rivera - Scranton - Cleveland - Family Liaison

  • 4 daughters, 10 grandchildren; Children and grandchildren all have home libraries; Angie active in Social Club and work in the community; as Family Liaison at Scranton serves also as nurse, counselor, social worker, PT secretary
  • Writing up grant to set up library for tapes and tape recorders and for parents to write a book
  • Created little books at Christmas - parent/child story on facing pages, in English and Spanish - hung on Christmas tree with chairs around so parents or children could gather and read. (Snowmen was the theme this year)

Donna Sweeney - Charles Lake - Cleveland - Parent of 2nd grader - Educational Aide in two Kindergartens

  • Connected to school through son, then invited by principal to work in school
  • Surround son with environment where he will enjoy learning and reading (not see reading as a chore or a punishment);encourage self initiated reading by having books on things he's interested in (eg. books on stars and planets before the recent meteor shower in Cleveland, sports); read to him; reinforce interests in more than one way (eg. chemistry set and notebook to record experiments; books about snakes and visits to places where he can look at snakes)
  • Monthly Family Literacy Nights beginning on Valentine's Day; booths with take home activities; encourage family engagement with older siblings; bag with a book to take home, bag gets filled over the night by activities at each booth; Pizza and drinks served

Preasha Brittingham - Cadwalader - Trenton - 3rd grade niece at Cadwalader

  • Graduate of Cadwalader; entire family volunteers at school (including Mother); Volunteer - observe classrooms, share computer skills, tutor children, class trips, support discipline; serve as a role model (engineer and student at Temple University) - interested in helping all children with math and science
  • PTA held a PJ Pajama party with a storyteller; parents and children
  • Parent drive to connect parents to PTA committees
  • Planning Book Publication workshop where parents and children work together to write and publish a book (contribute to school library and take copy home)
  • Read Across America - reading log book where parents sign off on books children read, awards assembly
    "Interested in reinstating Black History Programs by calling alumni and former staff members to come in and tell stories, perform dances, etc.

Bettye Ware - Charles Lake - Cleveland - Adult and Continuing Education/GED teacher

  • Family Literacy and GED program 3 days/week (9:30 - 3:00) and students volunteer in early childhood classrooms 2 days/week; work with Charniece Holmes who teaches Family Literacy - poetry project in that class included parent/child poetry writing with poems being submitted to contest
  • Parent Reading Club every Thursday
  • Four Family Literacy Nights planned (with Cornerstone grant): Puppetry and reading; Traveling Library; Storytelling; Garden

Denise Buckner - Harrington - Philadelphia - Parent (7 year old and 7th grader) - Classroom Assistant

  • Read with own children; museum memberships and frequent visits to museums and zoo; library card as soon as child can write name; home computer and educational software; take children out for something special as a reward when read certain number of books;
  • At school work with students on reading: guided reading/shared reading groups; go to library with groups of children; do projects from books; currently doing an Alphabet book about animals A - Z (students researching their animals) - laminated copy of book for library and for children to take home

Emma Sydney - Harrington - Philadelphia - Parent Coordinator

  • Job to get parents into the building; offer workshops; give out cups, calculators, recognition certificates; Parent Involvement Committee; place and support parent volunteers in school; personal outreach to get parents into building (use of compliments)
  • Grandparents Day - feed breakfast and lunch and let them know how important they are
  • Parent Academy - workshops, site visits in the community
  • Ms Sydney began as a parent volunteer, got her GED at Harrington, graduating with AA degree this week

Sroy Heng - Maplewood Annex - Bridgeport - Home and School Liaison

  • Came to school as a Cambodian immigrant parent with a bright child who is now in college
  • Title I school: work with Parent Advisory Council (PAC)
  • Help parents come to school through calls and home visits to absent children's homes - shares inspirational talk about going to school and comparing opportunities here with those in her home country
  • Monthly parent meetings with speakers
  • Reading workshops - books for parents; raffles; dictionaries, maps, activities
  • Give books as awards for attendance, grades each marking period

Edith Diaz - Luis Munoz Marin - Bridgeport - Parent - Treasurer of PAC

  • 6th grade son evaluated as learning disabled, provides lots of support for mainstreamed special ed child: read together;
    alternate reading aloud pages of assignments that are too hard;
  • School 87% Hispanic (53% Puerto Rican) - immigrated from Puerto Rico 15 years ago with no English and just obtained a graduate degree - provide inspiration and support for immigrant parents
  • GED and ESL classes offered in school; Parent Academy (leadership development support)
  • Active parent group organized with a Board of Directors and elected delegates with specific responsibilities; lobbied for and obtained significant additional resources for school - Parents have power we don't usually use to go to district and lobby
    • Identify needs with principalAttend every Board of Education (BOE) meeting
    • Write letters about needs
    • Hold press conferences
    • PAC board increased in numbers as became more effective; new committees forming
    • Meetings with BOE members
    • Recommended that BOE meetings be held at schools
    • Translate all PAC meeting minutes into Spanish

Goals for the next period of time (at school and/or at home)
Angie Rivera - school: Initiate a book club for students and parents

Denise Buckner - school: Print out and make copies of book children in her class wrote and send home; speak with teacher and have parents write stories as well as students

Charmaine Higgins - home: use techniques on the framework at home with son; read aloud
School: be more part of the school as a volunteer

Emma Sydney - school: work with special education students, read to them and let them know they're special, set up a special corner for them

Bettye Ware - work with adult students on read aloud to help them as they volunteer in classrooms and with their own children; work at getting more parents from Charles Lake into the GED program

Sroy Heng - Already buy and collect books for school, begin a Book Club with parents; Talk to principal about bringing books to parents who don't show up for events such as the Book Fair (where there are books to give away to those who show up) and reading aloud at the homes

Edith Diaz - school: Volunteers at the school as much as she can; consider offering a Spanish class to parents; suggest reading challenge with charts on the walls and rewards for students who read certain number of books
Home: more read alouds with son and use framework

Preasha Brittingham - school: get more parents and staff involved with Cornerstone; explore the idea of a garden and incorporating math and science with reading (measuring and logging plant growth, etc.)