Excellent Beginnings: Helping Schools Reach Families.

This video profiles three schools that were awarded grants as part of a project called Excellent Beginnings, an initiative funded by the Plan for Social Excellence, Inc. Selected on the basis of their unique plans to better serve their students' needs, the schools are attempting to develop early intervention programs that will prevent the middle school drop-out problems common to their school populations. These three schools incorporate key findings from research on effective schools: involving parents extensively, providing positive male role models and creating active collaborative partnerships.

In New York City, the Bank Street College of Education collaborates with Midtown West on their Learning for Life Center. At the center, parents, especially fathers, participate in students' reading and educational games. They are urged to share their personal talents with the classroom groups. The area's ethnic and economic diversity is evident as children of corporate executives work side by side with children from homeless shelters. Bank Street College provides male interns who teach using innovative instructional strategies and educational theories.

Fairfield Court Elementary School, located in a Richmond, Virginia public housing complex, applies the concepts of Head Start to its plan, Fantastic Follow Through. A training program prepares parents to work as classroom aides. In a determined effort to provide positive male role models, a fraternal organization of retired men participates in classroom activities and male mentors from neighboring high schools provide encouragement and guidance.

The third school is in Ruston, Louisiana, in the rural northwestern section of the state. The Lincoln Institution's Networking for Children program emphasizes the collaborative process. The parent center is located directly across from the principal's office, making a statement about parents' importance to the school. Male mentors from the community assist in classrooms and staff development opportunities are extensive.

Robert Pena, from the Plan for Social Excellence, observes that these programs are effective because of community involvement. This enjoyable video documenting Excellent Beginnings' reforms is offered to all interested educators free of charge.