State Department of Education
2006 Statewide Family Poster Contest on Parental Involvement
Information & Guidelines
What is the 2006 Statewide Family Poster Contest on Parental Involvement?
The family poster contest is an awareness campaign to get families and educators thinking and talking about the importance of parent and family involvement in helping children to be successful in school and in life.
Who should participate? All families with a child in a K-12 school should be invited to participate.
How many winners will there be, and how will winners be selected?
Local education agencies (LEAs) should encourage each of their schools to hold a contest and determine a school-level winner. From the school-level winners, each LEA will determine the winning poster for the whole school system, which must be delivered to the SDE no later than May 3, 2006 (see address below). There will be one statewide winning poster selected, with eleven additional posters receiving special recognition. More information on the winners can be found below under the section entitled How will the winners be recognized?
LEAs will determine how school-level and system-level winners will be selected. A panel of judges made up of members of the Statewide Parent and Community Involvement Advisory Committee and key State Department of Education (SDE) staff will select the top twelve posters. The State Superintendent of Education will select the statewide winner from the top twelve.
What are the criteria for the posters? Eligible posters will be judged according to the criteria below and how well they communicate the importance of parental involvement in general or the 2006-2007 parental involvement month theme Children are the Future—Share the Vision. To be eligible, posters must meet the following criteria:
• Must be on standard poster board (22” X 28”)
• Must be landscape orientation (horizontal)
• Must incorporate the words “Children are the Future—Share the Vision”
into the poster’s design
• Must include original student artwork such as a drawing or painting (Please note that although the whole family is involved in the design, the artwork must be done by the student.) Special Tip: The statewide winning poster will become a billboard that must be seen, read, and understood quickly by drivers. Posters using very pale colors or showing too much detail are less likely to be selected as the state winner.
• Must have the official entry form affixed to the back of the poster
Note: The SDE reserves the right to modify poster designs as needed to meet display requirements.
What is the timeline for the contest?
The timeline for school- and system-level contests is left up to each LEA. The only requirement is that the system-level winner must be selected and delivered to the address below by May 3, 2006.
How will the winners be recognized?
The statewide winning poster will become this year’s theme for parent involvement month (October 2006) and will be displayed on billboards throughout the state beginning in September and running through October in celebration of parents and their involvement in education. In addition, the family that created the winning poster will be recognized at the September 2006 State Board of Education Meeting.
Those posters receiving special recognition (11 in all) will become a part of the 2006-2007 Alabama Parental Involvement Calendar, which will be made available on-line in a printable format beginning September 2006.
When and where do we turn in our system-level winning poster for it to be eligible for consideration as a statewide winner? Each LEA must deliver its winning poster to the location below by May 3, 2006. If you choose to mail your poster, we recommend that it be mailed flat to ensure its best condition for the contest.
State Department of Education
Federal Programs Section
Attention: Judy Bohannon
Room 5348 • Fifth Floor · Gordon Persons Building
50 North Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 242-8199 ·