Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT), Model Leads to Historic Growth

Press Release: BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. (February 27, 2019) – Redesigned parent-teacher conferences at Hamilton Crossing Elementary School leads to historic growth toward school-wide reading goals.
“This year, Hamilton Crossing Elementary School was fortunate enough to be selected as one of four schools in the state of Georgia to be given the opportunity to implement Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT), a model for developing parent-teacher partnerships to better support students’ learning,” says Hamilton Crossing Elementary School Assistant Principal Amy Goff.
Selected through a competitive process, Hamilton Crossing Elementary School was awarded ongoing training and support from a Georgia Department of Education Family Engagement Specialist.
“The model provides a unique approach to engaging families in the education of their children,” says Family Engagement Specialist Susan Holcomb. “Through periodic classroom meetings, parents learn about their students’ academic progress on a selected foundational grade level skill, which is aligned with the school’s academic improvement goals. Teachers then provide parents with training, practice opportunities, and materials with which to practice the skill at home.”
“According to the data that was presented at the second APTT meeting, every grade level demonstrated positive growth toward their goals,” adds Goff. “Third through fifth-grade data indicated a nine percent increase from the first APTT meeting to the second APTT meeting, while kindergarten through second-grade indicated a 133 percent increase! First-grade demonstrated the most growth with a 200 percent increase from the first data collection period.”
Hamilton Crossing Elementary School completed two out of three scheduled APTT meetings this school year with 100-200 parents and guardians in attendance at each session.
“Parents are reporting that they feel more informed and empowered in supporting their child’s education,” says Goff. “The parent-teacher-student partnerships have placed learning as the top priority at home and at school. Goal setting, data analysis, and instructional strategies are tackled as a united team to ensure that all students are learning at high levels. We encourage all parents to participate and look forward to the continued growth in student learning.”
Pending state approval, district leaders anticipate adding Allatoona Elementary School to cohort five next school year.
The APTT Model was started in Georgia through a partnership between the Georgia Department of Education and WestEd, a nonprofit research, development, and service agency, during the 2014-2015 school year. Initially, 10 schools piloted the program. This year, APTT is being implemented in almost 60 schools in 18 districts throughout the state.