Josh Visnaw of Saginaw, MI, completed his final capstone project with the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, collaborating with the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center and the Central Little Rock Promise Neighborhood (CLRPN), to address parent engagement.
Within the seven census tracks the CLRPN targets, five public schools are the focus of educational intervention and enhancement. For all five schools that are predominantly African-American, free and reduced lunch rates remain alarmingly high and four of the five schools are considered low achieving.
The project relied on the Harvard Graduate School of Education PreK-12 Parent Survey, with Visnaw surveying almost 350 parents at Bale Elementary School – one of the schools in the CLRPN – to understand the family/school relationship in providing necessary social, emotional, and academic support in child development. Visnaw then provided recommendations for the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center to assist in parent engagement, offering a web-based platform that would connect parents to community resources and learning materials.
“The partnership between the Hillary Clinton Children’s Library, the Clinton School of Public Service, New Futures for Youth, Bale Elementary and the Promise Neighborhood to research issues related to parent involvement in public education is the type of collaboration that is needed in our community,” said Tauheed Salaam, Outreach Coordinator for the Central Little Rock Promise Neighborhood. “We often times get better results and create an opportunity where specialized skills can be directed where they are most needed.”
Visnaw also produced a survey tool kit for the CLRPN to continue research in the remaining four schools. The final capstone project was the last of three field service projects required for the Master of Public Service degree.
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