Partners For Success® focuses on reading proficiency, a crucial marker in educational success
by Dr. Ben Kanninen, School Success Senior Director
Did you know…..
- that Partners for Success has a presence in 41 schools across eight school districts in Dakota and Scott Counties?
- that Family Support Workers served 1813 children and 1046 families last year?
- that school districts and communities share jointly in the cost of the program?
- that reading proficiency is the key to school success?
- and that the need for expanded services is growing rapidly?
Partners for Success is a 360 Communities program that has been serving families and schools in Dakota and Scott Counties since 1992. Family Support Workers employed by 360 Communities are located in 39 schools working to strengthen families as a strategy to improve school readiness and academic performance. They do this using training provided by school professionals and by developing trusting relationships with both schools and families to ensure that each child has a successful school experience.
It’s now well accepted that engaging families and communities in the education of children is an effective way to promote school readiness. And it is also well understood that being ready for school and therefore ready to learn is a key element for reading development which is a near universal measure of school success. The ability to read and read well by the end of third grade is a crucial marker in a child’s educational development. It is also a widely accepted predictor of a child’s potential for success in school. Put simply, if a child doesn't read well by third grade, the likelihood is that he or she will have limited success as the years progress and will be at risk of not graduating from high school. That’s why Partners for Success has now expanded the work of Family Support Workers to focus on reading proficiency as that supports family and student success and has the added benefit of aligning perfectly with the reading goals of school districts.
We believe strongly that the approach we have taken with the Partners program is the right one both for schools and for the families and children we serve. But to ensure that we are on the right track, we have contracted with the University of Minnesota’s Center for applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) to design and conduct an evaluation to measure the success of our program. Preliminary indications are positive and we expect when results are reported that they will show that an improved percentage of children being served are meeting reading proficiency goals in participating schools.
The Partners program has always been seen as a successful way to help families learn to better support the education of their children and making reading proficiency the definition of what school success means gives greater purpose to these efforts. But more needs to be done and your support and contribution will go a long way toward ensuring that families and schools get the help they need.
Dr. Ben Kanninen, Senior Director of School Success since 2008, has 39 years experience in education including 11 years as Superintendent for Independent School District 191, Burnsville, Eagan, Savage.
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