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This is no accident. When Soholt first took her job in 1992, she began quietly but doggedly moving the district toward a customer orientation that says, "Let parents and others in the community know that we are here to serve them and the needs of their children." This attitude of customer service has become the hallmark of the Edmonds district. Today, the district enjoys a national reputation for family friendliness. And no one is left out of the district's efforts to communicate: state legislators, business leaders, church leaders, community activists, service organizations, parents, and others in the community are all a part of district efforts to gather public views, provide information, and foster community involvement in the schools. "I came to the district with a background that focused on asking customers what they want," Soholt says. "We have also had visionary leadership that helps the schools and teachers to see the need for engaging the public." The effort, Soholt notes, is not merely window dressing. As one of five districts in the Seattle area that participated in the National Alliance for Restructuring Education project, Edmonds officials are keenly aware of the ties between public involvement and student achievement (see related story on Page 27). "Our work in public engagement took a leap when we associated with the Alliance," Soholt notes. "They provided a research base and training, and the ties between public engagement and its benefits to student achievement were made much clearer. We looked at our practices to ensure that parents were there." The changes, which Soholt refers to as an evolution rather than a revolution, required a shift in the ways the district perceived public engagement. No longer were administrators and teachers the keepers of knowledge and the purveyors of information. "We began to see our communities as resources, and we began to ask what they wanted," she says. The district conducted focus groups in which parents, business leaders, and other community residents offered insights, advice, and views about the district and schools. "We've adopted an approach in which we see the community as a lens for developing services for students," Soholt says. The district and individual schools have standing citizen committees that address legislative issues, bond issues, planning, enrollment impacts, curriculum, and building needs and conditions. "What we are getting from the community is a lot of informed judgment," Soholt notes. The Edmonds district is not merely resting on its laurels. With 34 schools serving more than 21,000 students, each school is developing strategic plans to engage their communities, to analyze what they do and assess how well it works, and to share promising practices among schools. The following provides thumbnail sketches of four of the Edmonds district's schools and the ways in which they have worked to build strong relationships with parents and others in the community.
MAPLEWOOD ELEMENTARY -A PARENT CO-OP Parents move easily through the hallways and into classrooms at this parent-cooperative school. It's a place where parents provide more than 30,000 hours of volunteer services a year to the K-8 school that serves 460 students. The level of trust for parents' skills and know-how is readily visible. Parents work individually with students and on group activities in each of the school's classrooms. The commitment from parents -90 hours per family for each student enrolled-is huge. But it is one that parents take on willingly. "I work part time, and have Wednesdays off," says parent Annie Knudson. "So I dedicate my time on Wednesdays to the school. It's what I want to do as a parent. I enjoy it, and it's what I want to do for my child." Knudson, the school's volunteer public relations coordinator, explains that Maplewood blends a strong commitment from parents with a high level of trust for the teachers. For example, kindergarten teachers determine the most appropriate placement for children entering first grade-whether they should go to a single-grade classroom or a mixed-age, one-two blend. Each class has a parent coordinator who works with the teacher to schedule the best times for parents to volunteer. "Most of the 90 hours that parents are required to volunteer are spent in the classroom," Knudson says. "That's what makes the co-op work." There also is a ready supply of volunteers for the two field trips a month that students take. And parents also can serve on classroom and schoolwide committees, help with the school bank, serve in elected roles such as Knudson's public relations position, or participate in other volunteer activities that abound at Maplewood. The school, which opened in 1983 as a K-2 cooperative, has grown through the years. For the first 10 years, the cooperative operated as a school-within-a school. Then five years ago, Maplewood moved to its own building. Each year, 52 new kindergarten children are admitted, and siblings get preference over new entries. Parents must sign up their children when they are three years old to get on the waiting list. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. For each of the elementary grades, Knudson says, there is a waiting list of about 100 students. Some parents opt for another school when their child reaches middle school where organized team athletics and other extracurricular activities are offered. "Parents here know and understand their child's education," Knudson says. "They know the teachers and they know the other parents. It's a safe environment, and there aren't any surprises because we are all involved in the school."
CHASE LAKE ELEMENTARY-ADVOCATING FOR PARENTS Three years ago, Chase Lake Principal Pat Johnson, her staff, and parents began looking for ways to return their elementary school to its roots as a neighborhood school. "We knew we had to get families back into our school," notes Johnson. "When families are involved, kids get more excited about school and about learning." Chase Lake was one of three elementary schools in the Edmonds district to receive a Washington state Readiness to Learn grant, and it used the money to hire a family advocate. Diane Dugger, who continues in that position, began swinging open the doors of Chase Lake to families and looking for ways to get them into the school. "The days of closing down the school building at 3 p.m. are gone," she says. "We're open two nights a week now for families to come in with their children or by themselves. We're creating a moment for parents to break away and spend time with their kids." Every Tuesday and Thursday night, Chase Lake invites families to the school for the types of activities they have requested through parent surveys. Usually, families come with children in tow for activities ranging from drawing to African mask-making to cake decorating, computer use, and clay sculpting. On some nights, there is no planned activity, and parents just socialize with others. "Since we started our family nights, we've seen an increase in volunteering at the school," notes Dugger, whose three children have attended Chase Lake for 10 years. "The school has become more familiar to them, and it's not such a distant place." The school serves a diverse population in a mostly suburban area. More than 40 percent of the children come from single-parent homes, and nearly 50 percent of the students participate in the free- or reduced-price lunch program. "It's the nature of things today, even in the suburbs and in middle-class America," Dugger notes. The school has also formed a partnership with a local mental health agency, and professionals provide parenting and other classes while the school provides child care. Chase Lake also houses a YMCA before- and after-school day care that is open to all families with school-age children. This year, Dugger is focusing her efforts on working with families whose children are chronically late for classes or don't show up for school. "I do home visits," she says. "My approach is to find out what families need. It can be anything from an alarm clock to clean clothes for the kids to counseling for drug and alcohol problems. I ask the parents: 'What is the reason that your child cannot get to school on time?' I work with families. Parents don't intend to have their kids fail in school." Some people, Dugger notes, find their lives temporarily in chaos-a lost job, a divorce, slipping off the wagon. "When life turns totally chaotic, it's tough to make things happen the way they should," she says. "But if the chaos continues, then we have to look below the surface. I try to be understanding, but when it goes on for too long, I hammer on them." One of the more popular family night activities at the school is family reading night. Kids come in their pajamas with pillows and lounge around on the floor while they read with their family. Such activities, Johnson says, have a lasting effect on the school. "People begin to see the school as a friendly place and are more likely to come to curriculum night or to a PTA meeting. That's the whole idea-to make the school an inviting place." The effect of increased family involvement, Dugger adds, ripples through the school. "When the school becomes a haven-a community gathering place-we see students take on an excitement for learning. It sends a message to kids that the adults in their lives care about them-that they care about their education and value what they are doing. And the kids see the adults as their advocates."
CEDAR VALLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL-A HEART FOR CHILDREN Parent Jim Raymond had practically made up his mind: He had heard a lot of negative comments about Cedar Valley, his neighborhood school, and would send his children to another school. "I had my daughters enrolled in another school," he says. "But when I visited, I felt that the school was cold. We stepped back and asked ourselves why we weren't sending our children to our neighborhood school. We visited, and found it had a positive, warm, and caring atmosphere. It was the Family First dinner, though, that sucked us in." Raymond is only half kidding. The monthly dinner, which is offered to Cedar Valley families but which turns no one away, has gone a long way toward opening up communication between the school and the families it serves. "You had staff, parents, new parents, the principal, everybody was there and everybody was on an equal plane," Raymond says. "It was a lot more welcoming than anyplace we had visited." The dinners, which are underwritten by Costco, are attended by about 95 percent of the families in the 350-student, K-8 school. They are a way to bring parents and others into the school, and are part of a concerted effort to involve families in their children's education. Family First dinners also include a school activity for parents and children, such as math fun night, book night, curriculum night, and discussion of statewide learning frameworks. But Cedar Valley, says Family Advocate Jim Jones, is more than a place where children come to learn academics. "We have worked to create a braided web of support for our students and their families," Jones says. Cedar Valley is one of the most diverse schools in the Edmonds district. Nearly half the students are from minority cultures. There are 22 different languages spoken by students and their families. There is a 78 percent mobility rate, meaning that only 22 percent of the children who start a school year finish it at Cedar Valley. And 80 percent of the children participate in the free- or reduced-lunch program. With high poverty comes a myriad of health and social issues that often are beyond the means of families to address. The school has formed partnerships with Costco, the Edmonds United Methodist Church, Washington Mutual Bank, and the local Grange, which provides financial support to families on a monthly basis. In addition, Family Support Services offers counseling on preventing homelessness, effective parenting, and other issues. The school also provides a Community Resource Room, where parents and others can conduct job searches, use the Internet, socialize, and access other school resources. And 27 parents attend adult ESL classes during the school day while the school provides child care for their younger children. Nancy Sutherland, the school nurse, has also arranged for onsite Hepatitis B immunizations for sixth- and seventh-graders, pro bono dental care, free haircuts for children, and other health-related services. "We have a holistic view of the child," Sutherland says. "We are trying to make sure that when children come to school, they are healthy and ready to learn. This is a school that really has a heart for children." Jones says that the Cedar Valley community is involved in the process of designing a new school, one that would have the potential to provide onsite health, employment, and social services. "Our surveys indicate that if we had a school-based health center here, people would use it," he says. "Our curriculum and instruction is designed to provide wrap-around care for the students. We get referrals from teachers, parents, secretaries, custodians. We're all trying to meet the needs of the children." School-based health and social services-where the school provides space and collaborates with other public agencies-is gaining attention nationwide, but has not become a reality at many schools in the Pacific Northwest. And schools that have provided health clinics-mostly high schools and some middle schools-have often run into resistance from parents and others concerned about birth control and reproductive rights. Cedar Valley has been studying the concept for four years. School personnel have conducted meetings in families' homes and apartments as well as held forums at the school to offer views and gain insights into the issue. "We really want to make sure we have the community engaged," says Jones. "We're looking at a school that addresses the needs of the family, not just the student. You really can't separate the child from his home environment. We're trying to get people to think outside the box. And elementary school is a good place to do that." Such an approach also means that many of the time-honored practices of schools must be reconsidered. "We want this place to be a community center that houses a school," Jones says. "This is the community's place, and we work really hard to make sure this is their place." Parent Sharlene Greene has taken that attitude to heart. With four children attending Cedar Valley, she is involved on the school's site council and banking team. She also volunteers in the classroom and escorts children on field trips. "I want my children to enjoy and like school," she says. "I want them to enjoy learning and to see the value of being involved. I want my children to see that getting involved in their community is important."
THE CYBERSCHOOL- A PLACE FOR HOME SCHOOLERS After nearly a quarter-century of classroom teaching, Rob Howie has found his home at The Cyberschool. As the principal at the resource center for families that home school their children, Howie sees the fruits of his beliefs about education taking life. "This is an out-of-the-box place," says Howie. "My quarrel with traditional schooling is that you have to do everything in 50-minute boxes. They're teacher- driven rather than kid-driven. Here, a kid can work on some thing for two hours or two weeks. They determine the pace. When high schools are losing 24 percent of their clients, something different has to be done." That "something different" in the Edmonds district is The Cyberschool. And it has struck a chord with parents who choose to school their children at home. "When we first started The Cyberschool last year, we thought we would have 75-maybe a hundred-families interested," says Sylvia Soholt, the district community relations director. "At our first organizational meeting, we just asked what we could do to help. We had 200 families register the first day." In just its second year, The Cyberschool serves 450 families and has a list of others waiting to use its services. Under the Edmonds plan, children and parents develop an educational plan for the student. The district receives full funding for the student, and parents receive a $400 stipend to purchase curriculum materials and other educational resources for their child's education. The Cyberschool was originally conceived as a telecommuting school-thus the name-in which students would work from their homes and be electronically connected to teachers. "We found that parents wanted the support of other parents," Soholt says. "They wanted their kids to be with other kids." Students must spend a minimum of five hours a week working at the school and must document 10 to 24 hours of additional work at home, depending on the age of the child. "The parents and their children write a student learning plan that aligns with the statewide frameworks and essential learnings," Howie says. "The moms and dads are the teachers. We're their helpers." Parents determine the classes that will be taught and often learn and work alongside their children. This year, the school offers six languages-French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Latin, and American Sign Language-as well as courses in art, physics, computer technology, and others. In addition, students can participate in Running Start, a program that allows them to earn an associate degree from Edmonds Community College while working toward their high school diploma at the same time. Computers at The Cyberschool are all hooked into the Internet, and each student has an e-mail account. "These kids have unlimited access to technology," Howie says. "The parents and kids really run this school," he adds. "It's their curriculum. It's their school. They tell us what they want, and we offer it." Parent Brenda Peterson home schools all four of her children. She works on an art project with daughter Joelle, while toddler Nathan looks on. She says she began home schooling when her oldest daughter was about to enter kindergarten. "I felt she was just too young to be walking off to school by herself," Peterson says. "We knew that we could at least provide the basics for our children for the first two or three years." That temporary home schooling arrangement has turned to a full-time educational experience for the family. The Cyberschool, Peterson says, provides her children an opportunity to learn with other children. "It also gives them more choices from the educational menu than I can provide by myself." Howie says that the parents and students who attend The Cyberschool have chosen to home school their children for a variety of reasons. "For most of them, their reasons are positive. It's a family thing, a desire to stay close as a family." There also are other reasons, he notes-from dissatisfaction with the public schools to religious, political, or philosophical underpinnings. But the different reasons don't divide parents, he notes. "They're all home schoolers, and they are all here for that reason." In the future, Howie sees the school providing opportunities for study in foreign countries, formal graduation ceremonies, and other enrichment activities. The cost per student, he notes, is about half of the district average at a school that is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The only limits to learning, Howie says, are determined by the parents and students. And there may well be a positive spin-off for other schools in the district. "My guess," Howie says, "is that home school families normally vote against levies. But these folks wouldn't do that. We're giving them what they want. We're giving them what they need." The National Alliance
The National Alliance for Restructuring Education provides assistance to states and districts committed to a comprehensive and systemic approach to standards-based education reform. The Alliance framework is based on five "design tasks." They are:
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Date of Last Update: 9/28/01 
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YNNWOOD, Washington-When you walk into the administrative offices at the Edmonds School District, you come face to face with Sylvia Soholt, the district's Community Relations director: Her desk faces the door and she looks up from her work with each person who enters.
