Citation in New Zealand Ministry of Education Home-School Partnerships

The following excerpt is from Initiatives that have been effective:

Home–school partnerships take many different forms, depending on the context and their purpose. Some successful initiatives to promote student learning include:
» Reading Together

Citation in New Zealand Ministry of Education Letter to all primary schools

The following excerpt is from a Letter to all primary schools about Strengthening student achievement sent by the Secretary for Education (on 3 August 2010):

We will also be expanding the opportunities for schools to introduce Reading Together, a programme which helps parents support their children in reading at home.

Citation in New Zealand Government Release 2009

The following excerpt is from Whānau and schools unite to improve literacy (28 August 2009):

A large-scale, grass-roots education campaign to raise literacy and education achievement levels in Manurewa is being launched this morning by Associate Education Minister Dr Pita Sharples. ... "Home has a powerful influence on what a child learns inside and outside of school. A special feature of this programme is the role parents take on with guidance on how to help their children at home. When productive partnerships between Maori learners, their whānau and expert educators are made, everyone enjoys better outcomes," he said. "These programmes have both teachers and whānau in mind. It is important to support teachers to improve their literacy teaching practices, but families, whānau and communities must not be overlooked," said Dr Sharples.

The Manurewa Literacy Project consists of five programmes:
» Programme 4 will see the Reading Together programme rolled out across all 20 primary school communities over two years.

Citation in NZ MOE Ka Hikitia 2008 - 2012

The following excerpt is from Ka Hikitia - Managing for Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2008-2012 [p31], published by the New Zealand Ministry of Education:

Goal: Strengthen the participation of Māori whānau in their children's learning in the early years at school.
Action: Strengthen home-school literacy partnerships by supporting schools to identify and access effective home-based literacy programmes; for example, the Reading Together programme.

Citation in NZ MOE Ngā Haeata Mātauranga - The Annual Report on Māori Education, 2008/09

The following excerpt is from Ngā Haeata Mātauranga - The Annual Report on Māori Education, 2008/09, published by the New Zealand Ministry of Education:

Case study: Reading Together
John Good, Te Puna o Te Mātauranga, is thrilled with the buzz in Manurewa around the Reading Together programme. He commented "We’ve never had such networking between teachers, schools, librarians, iwi and communities."
...
Reading Together was included in the Manurewa Literacy Project (launched in August 2009). The Project is a large-scale campaign to raise literacy and education achievement in the area. John looks forward to seeing the programme help to realise the potential of the young learners of Manurewa. "Reading Together has enjoyed powerful results for over 25 years. Now children, parents, whānau and schools of Manurewa have the opportunity to share in that success."

Citation in New Zealand Ministry of Education Gazette 2010

The following excerpt is from Working with Parents (Education Gazette, Vol 89, No 7, 3 May 2010), published for the New Zealand Ministry of Education:

Recently Mangere Bridge School has expanded parental involvement by using the Reading Together programme developed by Jeanne Biddulph, which is available nationally.

The programme is effective and concise - in four one-hour sessions, parents and their children meet with a trained teacher who shows them good ways to support the child in reading. Previous evaluations show children have made long-term gains in reading.

“It works really well,” says Judy [Hanna, Principal, Mangere Bridge School, Auckland].

Citation in New Zealand Ministry of Education Best Evidence Synthesis 2009

The following excerpt is from the MOE's School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why Best Evidence Synthesis [Case 5, pp 236-241]:

A senior management team creates educational connections between school and home
This case explores how one school developed educational connections with its families in a way that had a payoff in terms of impact on student outcomes. ... The case involves the implementation by a senior management team (SMT) of a parent tutoring programme known as Reading Together. Through this programme, schools work with parents to help them develop tutoring skills that have been demonstrated to improve reading comprehension and foster positive parent-child-teacher relationships. The SMT became interested in the programme because it was research-based, the evidence indicated substantially improved outcomes for students, and its demands on resources seemed reasonable in light of the potential gains.

Note: The Reading Together programme is also cited in Chapter 7 (pp 162-164) and Chapter 8 (p 188) of the Best Evidence Synthesis.

Citation in New Zealand Ministry of Education Gazette 2009

The following excerpt is from Reading parents (Education Gazette, Vol 88, No 5, 23 March 2009), published for the New Zealand Ministry of Education:

A group of parents and teachers were engrossed in books and activities, learning from each other and enjoying themselves in the library... The parents were finding ways to help their children read and, in the process, having a positive experience of what school offered their families. The workshop was part of Reading Together, a high-impact programme that equips parents with strategies to support children's reading.

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