Collaborative Action Team Process: Bringing home, school, community, and students together to improve results for children and families: Final Research Report

As part of a federal grant initiated in December 1995, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) developed and implemented a school-based Collaborative Action Team (CAT) process to address the need to enhance family and community involvement in education. The intervention was designed to be self-sustaining over time and improve results for students and their families.

 

This research project, based in communities across a five state Southwestern region of the United States, tested the sustainability of the collaborative partnerships developed among families, community members, school personnel, and students and the efficacy of this intervention to improve student success. Training for Collaborative Action Team participants was developed and implemented. The training consisted of activities to improve their knowledge of, skills in, and attitudes toward collaboration and shared leadership. These activities were used to enhance the partners' abilities to collaborate on plans and take action to address issues and concerns facing their school community.

 

This publication is the final report from the CAT project and includes information about participants, characteristics and implementation of the CAT process, research design and methodology, site characteristics, sustainability, student outcomes, results in CAT sites, and implications and recommendations.