Beyond The Bake Sale by Anne Henderson
Beyond The Bake Sale by Anne Henderson is a book on world of educational partnerships, specifically focusing on how schools can effectively collaborate with parents to enhance student achievement.
At its core, the book argues that success in schools is not just about academics but also about strong relationships between schools, families, and communities. Henderson emphasizes that these partnerships should go beyond superficial interactions and instead focus on forming solid, respectful, and reciprocal relationships.
The book is structured around four main themes:
- Respect: Understanding and valuing family contributions to a child’s education.
- Relationships: Building trust and open communication between parents and educators.
- Opportunities: Creating various ways for parents to get involved in school life.
- Support: Ensuring that parent involvement is linked to learning and supports student success.
What I Liked
I liked how the book is an extremely practical guide that includes success stories, checklists, and strategies to help schools develop effective family-engagement policies.
I liked how the book broke down a framework of schools and used that same framework throughout the book.
It was reassuring to see that problems & success that seem to be school-specific are actually universal problems and are very solvable.
I was encouraged to see to see how improvement can be a virtuous cycle where more involvement leads to more involvement, etc.
What I Did Not Like
The book is pretty long, dense, and boring. It’s also both encouraging…and very daunting to see the sheer amount of upfront work to achieve a welcoming school atmosphere.
The book is a solid read for anyone interested in education, especially if you have school-age kids. It’s easy to pick out tips to implement yourself – even if it’s only as a parent.
