It's been most helpful in terms of how I engage the schools we work with".
"Child Friendly Schools is about engaging the school and community in promoting a more holistic approach to child rights and wellbeing," Lulay de Vera, Chief of Education at UNICEF Philippines, says.
The participatory model of engaging the schools and local councils and incorporating different stakeholders appears to have largely succeeded in generating "buy-in" from the key constituents.
It has adapted its school day to engage the entire school community and accommodate working on the show for the challenged population.
Once word of the scandal at Penn State broke, including the arrest of two university officials on charges of perjury and of failing to report to the authorities what they knew of the accusations, my colleagues at the New York Times's Learning Network blog, Katherine Schulten and Holly Epstein Ojalvo, saw a teaching moment to engage the high school students in their readership.
Issues focused on school equity and conditions would likely engage the site council, school board, PTA, and CBO's focused on the educational system.
The key message is 'Do you know children who have high salt intake are more likely to develop hypertension and stroke when they grow up?' To engage the family, some school activities will be organised with the family as a unit.
Turning the students on to lessons from their locality will not only engage the community with the school, it will also improve attendance, behaviour and learning outcomes.
To engage parents, the school started incorporating their feedback on children's behavior at home into school reports, building relationships between teachers and parents, and underlining the importance of parental support.
"It clarified that expectations are high, and that if you're a member of staff at our school, regardless of your position, you must adhere to the guidelines when it comes to the way you present yourself and the way you engage with the school community".
