EDL560 External Partnership Development

EDL560 M8P1 PQS

In this Principal Quality Standards Reflection e-portfolio document, I will address the five Elements identified in the eight modules in EDL560. Since many assignments have multiple Standards or Elements attributed to them, I will simply list the Standard and Element verbatim followed by a link to or excerpt of the assignment(s) with a description of its importance, and how it represents, demonstrates, or provides evidence of competence related to the Element (in italics). References to course and supplemental sources will be provided throughout.

Principal Quality Standards Covered

QUALITY STANDARD I

Principals demonstrate organizational leadership by strategically developing a vision and mission, leading change, enhancing the capacity of personnel, distributing resources, and aligning systems of communication for continuous school improvement.

ELEMENT E: Principals facilitate the design and use of a variety of communication strategies with all stakeholders.

While there are no course assignments specifically designated as addressing this standard and element, it is listed in the syllabus as being covered in the course. There are assignments described below that do demonstrate the concept. For example, the Slide Show for the EDL560M6 Critical Thinking assignment was designed to help prepare teachers for effective PTCs and for other ways to communicate with CCS families throughout the school year. A second assignment that demonstrates this PQS is the EDL 560 M5 Critical Thinking task. It addresses the importance of strategies that promote family/ caregiver engagement in case management planning, specifically communication and collaboration with families of special needs students. Lastly, for the EDL560 M1 Critical Thinking Assignment, I created a toolkit for building relationships with diverse populations, including strategies, resources, survey results, and a communication and engagement action plan designed to be culturally sensitive. Family engagement is an important part of the CCS mission. We communicate with families through weekly newsletters, website, Parent Teacher Student Conferences, and we also host events such as Show and Tell, all-school Bar-B-Qs, and family-friendly fundraising events, all of which provide venues for communication.

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QUALITY STANDARD II

Principals demonstrate inclusive leadership practices that foster a positive school culture and promote safety and equity for all students, staff, and community.

ELEMENT A: Principals create a professional school environment and foster relationships that promote staff and student success and well-being.

There were five assignments that specifically addressed PQS IIA. For the EDL 560 M3 Critical Thinking Assignment, I created a Family Fun Night Planning Guide for our upcoming Literacy Night with details and links to activities. The document was more than just an assignment, but we actually used it for the planning and delivery of the event. It was reused for the Numeracy Night that followed. Both were highly successful and well attended. It is important in that it helped my school host an event that met the needs of my families, welcomed them into the building in a way that was open to all and felt safe, and promoted a safe school culture. By providing both food and resources to students, it fostered relationships and promoted student success and well-being. The event itself provides evidence that the standard is being met.

I also created a Slide Show for the EDL560M6 Critical Thinking assignment to help prepare teachers for effective PTCs and for other ways to communicate with CCS families throughout the school year, including SpEd, CLDs, and ELLs. Topics in the slide show included beginning of year start up communications and BBQ event, Parent, Teacher, and Student Conferences, mid and end of year Show & Tell showcases, our school’s Individualized Learning Plans (grades, academic and non, and narrative report card comments), along with special events such as spring overnight travel, and graduation. This is an important document because it brings together information on most of the big events that the school uses to communicate and welcome families into the school’s culture. By creating it and giving it to teachers at the beginning of the year, it will help teachers prioritize and focus their communication. It represents the concerted effort of the school to promote staff and student success and well-being.

ELEMENT B: Principals ensure that the school provides an orderly and supportive environment that fosters a sense of safety and well-being.

The Slideshow for the EDL560M6 Critical Thinking assignment also addresses PQS IIB because it outlines and orders the venues important to support family engagement and communication. It provides evidence of my leadership in ensuring this kind of communication happens.

A second assignment that demonstrates this PQS is the EDL 560 M5 Critical Thinking task. In it I explore strategies in promoting family/ caregiver engagement in case management planning. I identify how the case manager acts as an advocate and liaison between students, families, the school, and community resources. The case manager identifies student needs, develops an intervention plan and coordinates services, evaluates the effectiveness of the services, and makes adjustments as needed. Research identifies the following strategies to foster partnerships with families: effective communication (Mapp & Kuttner, 2013), collaborative decision-making, inclusive environments (Henderson & Mapp, 2002), and community partnerships (Weiss, Lopez, & Rosenberg, 2010). 

ELEMENT D: Principals establish systems and partnerships for managing all available school resources to facilitate improved student outcomes.

In the EDL 560 M8 Discussion Post assignment, I describe how the weekly newsletters I send out are mostly about information and events, but could/should include attendance, NWEA, CMAS, strategic plan, SPF, UIP, MTSS stats, and progress on initiatives. This would need to start with staff data dives, goal setting, and monthly progress meetings to generate content and updates for parents (and to keep it in the forefront for teachers). This post had me reflect on what I am doing to further initiatives and to report on progress and what I need to be doing. The plan I have for next year will enlist resources among the staff and the community. While this is the only assignment that was designated as addressing PQS IID, the EDL 560 M5 Critical Thinking assignment also references how, “Over the last several years, my school has compiled several Resource Lists specific to the San Luis Valley; these lists show the breadth of support for families available regionally. The energy we have put into creating and maintaining these lists is evidence of the importance we place on meeting the needs of our families, the realization that we cannot do it alone, and the usefulness of it as a tool to increase family engagement at the school through outreach and networking that we can provide to our families. We also know that including community representatives in school-based decision-making teams expands perspectives and creates holistic support systems for students and families (Blank, Jacobson, & Melaville, 2012).”

ELEMENT E: Principals design and/or utilize structures and processes which result in family and community engagement and support

For the EDL560 M1 Critical Thinking Assignment, I created a toolkit for building relationships with diverse populations, including strategies, resources, survey results, and a communication and engagement action plan designed to be culturally sensitive. Family engagement is an important part of the CCS mission. We communicate with families through weekly newsletters, website, Parent Teacher Student Conferences, and we also host events such as Show and Tell, all-school Bar-B-Qs, and family-friendly fundraising events. We can further leverage this next year with the creation of a volunteer coordinator position to support enlisting parents, chaperones, and mentors, increasing survey responses, and furthering the implementation of the high-impact strategies shown in the graphic in the assignment (Colorado Department of Education (CDE), 2023). Additional family engagement and communication resources are provided, all of which align with national standards (Colorado Department of Education, 2025) and support involvement of ELLs and CLDs. An analysis of three surveys administered this year led to a final Family Caregiver Engagement Action Plan.docx. This was an important document to create as it brings together survey data which identifies areas of growth, with evidence-based strategies to increase engagement.

Building off of the assignment above, in EDL560 M2 Critical Thinking Assignment I provide a meta-analysis of three recent family involvement Surveys: school directors’ performance, parent satisfaction, and strategic planning. Data was reviewed in four areas: (1) parents’ experiences /needs, (2) communication satisfaction/preferences, (3) parent engagement, and (4) areas for improvement. The results were compiled, and while communication is perceived as good, parents would like more specific feedback about their child. The need for increased engagement was also identified. This meta-analysis was important because it show that across a wide sampling of families and measurement devices, there are trends for an increase in communication and engagement that are evident. It also shows that I am gathering the right data as a matter of course, not just for a principal licensure course assignment. 

In response to this identified need, the Family Fun nights for Literacy and Numeracy from EDL 560 M3, the use case management to increase family engagement in EDL 560 M5, and the staff communication opportunities in the EDL 560 M6  SLIDES, all mentioned above, demonstrate structures and processes which result in family and community engagement and support. Additionally, in EDL 560 M4 Critical Thinking assignment, I created a digital orientation Welcome Guide for ELL, CLD, and all new families. It included a welcome from the Director, an intro CCS including our Mission, History, and philosophy, the 25/26 SY Calendar, information on Parent Involvement,  School Procedures, Communications, and Community/ School Partnerships.

QUALITY STANDARD IV

Principals demonstrate professionalism through ethical conduct, reflection, and external leadership.

ELEMENT C: Principals build and sustain productive partnerships with key community stakeholders, including public and private sectors, to promote school improvement, student learning, and student well-being.

In the EDL560 M2 Discussion Post, I reference the Family, School, and Community Partnership FSCP Strategy Guide, and highlight aspects of the CoMTSS process through newsletters, Literacy and Math Nights, and parent surveys to inform and guide engagement, including for ELL and CLD families. While this is the only assignment indicated for this PQS IVC element, I believe that the Resource Lists specific to the San Luis Valley presented in the EDL 560 M5 Critical Thinking assignment also demonstrate our productive partnerships with community stakeholders to promote school improvement, student learning, and student well-being.

References

Blank, M. J., Jacobson, R., & Melaville, A. (2012). Achieving Results Through Community School Partnerships: How District and Community Leaders Are Building Effective, Sustainable Relationships. Center for American Progress.

Colorado Department of Education. (2025, March 12). Promising Partnership Practices. Retrieved 3 23, 2025, from https://www.cde.state.co.us/familyengagement/promising 

Colorado Department of Education (CDE). (2023, July 18). Continuum of High Impact Strategies. Retrieved 3 23, 2025, from https://www.cde.state.co.us/familyengagement/highimpactstrategies Henderson, A. T., & Mapp, K. L. (2002). A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

Mapp, K. L., & Kuttner, P. J. (2013). Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family–School Partnerships. U.S. Department of Education.

Weiss, H. B., Lopez, M. E., & Rosenberg, H. (2010). Beyond Random Acts: Family, School, and Community Engagement as an Integral Part of Education Reform. Harvard Family Research Project.

MY E-PORTFOLIO: https://www.clearyprincipalportfolio.com/ 

This EDL 560 PQS page https://www.clearyprincipalportfolio.com/edl560-pqs 

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