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PARTNERS IN LEARNING: BUDDY CONNECTS!   One of the nation's most innovative educational programs, The Buddy System Project, originated in 1988 in Indiana. In participating schools, students (usually 4th and 5th graders) take computers, modems and printers home for two years. Last year more than 7,000 students benefited from this program. Establishing and strengthening home/school connections is an important goal for the Buddy Project-and it appears to be succeeding. According to an independent evaluation, parents in Buddy "communicate more with their children and their children's teachers, are more aware of their children's assignments and spend more time with their families." Part of this success may be due to the availability of e-mail, which has helped to increase parent-teacher communications. One teacher in a school where half the students are on free lunch found that a high percentage of parents answered him on the BuddyNet each night, many of them third-shift factory workers who logged on after midnight. Dr. Marilyn Quick, former Assistant Superintendent in East Noble School District, says "Buddy has brought in dads wonderfully!" Buddy is working in other ways too. According to Mike Hardesty, a teacher in Terre Haute, Indiana, "The most positive effect of our Buddy program is that several parents have gotten better jobs because of the computers sent home with their kids!" You can find out more about Buddy at http://www.buddy.k12.in.us or by calling Alan Hill at 317-687-6064. "Buddy has been the most exciting project I have been involved in in my 28 years in education. Our parents have become more involved in their children's education by their involvement with this project and the technology that accompanies it. we have seen parents use our BuddyNet to post meetings such as Scouts; PTO parents use e-mail to communicate for school parties and other room parent jobs; teachers send e-mail to parents to aid in keeping them up-to-date on their child's progress; our parents have formed BUG (Buddy User Group) to help other parents learn about the programs their children use and some that might be of benefit to them." -Lenore Hynes, Buddy Site Coordinator, Sunman Elementary School, Sunman IN   "Thanks to the Buddy System and its entire program, our child has higher self-confidence that comes from bringing his whole family into the computer age. Jake takes pride in "his" web sites that grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends can visit at any time. Using a computer instills interest in what he's doing; he not only does his homework, he shows off his homework, with pride." -Candi Elliot, parent, Fowler Elementary School, Fowler IN   "Buddy and its related technology has involved parents not only in homework, but in the school as a whole. The Buddy Program has been a shot in the arm for parent involvement at the upper grades because students and parents are being exposed to something new.Parents are finding they are more aware of the curriculum being taught because they are monitoring specific assignments being done on the home computer." -Lois Vaughn, 5th grade teacher, Fowler Elementary School, Fowler IN Written by The Family Connection of St. Joseph County, Inc. for Partners in Learning [Vol 2:1, 1998] a newsletter of the Indiana Center for Family, School & Community Partnerships. If you would like more information about using technology to involve families, contact the Center at 317-205-2595 or email: fscp@indy.net Back to Partners in Learning Contents | Return to top | Next Article: A Local Website Can Open Doors

Home | What's New | Information about Children & Families | State & Local Statistics | Family Involvement | Welfare Reform | Community Systems | Recommended Reading | Links to Related Sites | Who We Are | Site Map