Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT), Shelby County Schools, 2017–2018

SCS implemented APTT, a Title I funded intervention that focuses on engaging families as partners in their children's education and academic success by developing systems and processes that align to students' improvement goals.

Dr. Thompson designed and led the evaluation to determine the program’s effectiveness, including designing personnel and parent surveys. Personnel surveys provided feedback about the program’s design, implementation, and professional development, while parent surveys revealed parents’/caregivers’ perceptions of the program’s effectiveness at providing them with the requisite guidance to attend to their children’s academic needs at home.

Dr. Thompson conducted two analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of APTT in improving students’ academic outcomes. First, the evaluator sought to determine whether differences existed in the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced in Reading from the fall to the spring administration of the MAP based on whether the school implemented APTT or not. Second, Dr. Thompson explored whether students whose parents actively participated in the program had better academic outcomes than did students whose parents were less active or did not participate.

The results of this analysis provided program personnel with insights into the program’s effectiveness, the level of parent participation needed to achieve positive student outcomes, and parents’ responsiveness to this type of intervention.