DISCUSSION WITH KAREN L. MAPP (JUNE 14, 2011)
Harvard lecturer and Department of Education consultant Karen Mapp came to Cambridgeport School to speak on June 14, 2011. Karen gave an energizing talk that had parents the next day excitedly emailing back and forth—a surprising impact when you consider how burnt out parents can feel by June. Cport's parents and principal have discussed trying to meet in July to get the ball rolling on some new ideas Karen suggested.

For parents who may feel that the Innovation Agenda leaves them with little they can control, Karen's talk was inspiring and gave us something to do NOW to raise achievement and build community. She suggested strategies that recognize the assets of our diverse community and that keep the focus on learning. She reminded us that the goal of all initiatives should be to (1) build relationships that build trust and (2) engage families in supporting their children’s learning at home.

Karen Mapp's bio is here: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/directory/faculty/faculty-detail/?fc=36&flt=m&sub=all

Cambridgeport's PTO sponsored this talk because of our school's history with discussing Karen's book Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family/School Partnerships during our School Council meetings when Caz Badynee was our principal. (We lost momentum in interest in the book during Jennifer Ford's interim principalship and Katie Charner-Laird's first year as new principal, because the Innovation Agenda took front seat.)

Though we invited KO and FMA parents to also attend this event and advertised that childcare was provided, no one from FMA attended and about five or so KO parents did. It would be really terrific if Karen could speak again to a wider audience on neutral turf (a church or library or community center) so everyone in the district could benefit from her researched-based findings on how administrators, teachers and parents can more effectively support parent involvement.

Click below for a pdf of notes taken (by Monica V) during Karen's talk. They include Karen's replies to questions from the audience as well as links to studies and research that she referenced. The notes were sent to the School Committee (but not to Superintendent Young, because they are informal notes) and have been posted on Cambridgeport's PTO website. They were also shared with everyone who attended the discussion and left their email address.