Greendale Schools 'Partners for Community Action' Celebrates Successes

The Partners for Community Action (PCA) held an End of the Year Celebration on Monday, May 14.  PCA Action Teams from the , , , and District administrators and Board of Education members came together to celebrate and reflect on this year’s successes.

Anderson highlighted the positive outcomes of District-wide goals, programs and community events, such as the Parents as Partners Conference, a free workshop that took place in February for Greendale parents and guardians.  She also discussed the Nourish – Mind, Body and Environment Expo in March and the Student and Family Assistance Program (SFAP), a free benefit provided to all families and students of the Greendale School District through Aurora Heath Care.

The PCA Action Teams are made up of principals, faculty and parents from each school. The teams work together to set goals and implement activities around both academics and school climate.

“The work of the PCA Teams is an extension of the District's strategic plan and school improvement goals,” said Community Outreach Coordinator Mindy Anderson.  “These teams work hard to identify actionable steps to engage and support students and families to improve student achievement.”

At Monday’s event, the PCA Action Teams reported on this year’s initiatives. Greendale High School adopted a Career and College Readiness focus and used this to redesign the course guide and create a Reality Store, a simulation in which Economics students have a chance to make real world financial decisions.  Greendale Middle School showcased its P.R.I.D.E. character education and interactive parents nights, which give families opportunities to experience what their child is learning in the classroom, interact with staff and come together as a school community.

The Elementary Schools concentrated on reading, math and fitness goals this year.  College Park chose Investing in Our Future as its theme and students spent the year learning about healthy choices, looking at future careers, competing in Battle of the Books, reading and taking all-school walks.  Canterbury’s theme was 2012 Olympics: Going for the Gold and each month they focused on a different goal related to literacy, math and healthy activities.  They also created the Family Ambassador Program to help welcome new families to the community. At Highland View, students have been reading all year to meet their goal of 1,000,000 minutes, exchanging books, participating in Jump Rope for Heart and helping to create a school vegetable garden with the new Dig-It Garden Club.

Partners for Community Action seeks to engage all members of the community through collaboration of existing efforts and development of new ideas to empower youth and families.  Under the Partners for Community Action framework, Greendale Schools and identified partners collaboratively work to map, identify, create, reflect and evaluate programs and initiatives geared toward improving the odds for success in school, work and life for Greendale youth.