Orange Earth

Between the Open Houseand Parent-Teacher ConferencesAn overview of involving families to support student learning Welcome

Honor

Connect First in a series of professional learning opportunities about family and community involvement.As a result of this presentation, you will: Identify a parent/family engagement challenge that your school or district faces.

Gain an overview of The Joining Process as a framework to engage underrepresented parents and families.

Reflect on specific practices schools are using to increase family engagement, and choose at least one new practice to increase family engagement in your school or district. Why Are Family-School Relationships Important?How well schools welcome and engage families in childrens learning will determine the success of school improvement efforts.

Beyond Random Acts: Family, School and Community Engagement as an Integral Part of Education Reform. Harvard Family Research Project

What is your biggest family engagement challenge?

Take one minute on your own to jot down a family engagement challenge your school or district faces. Turn to a partner at your table, and share the challenge you wrote down.Discuss why you think this challenge exists for your school or district.

Build trusting collaborative relationships among teachers, families, and community.Recognize, respect, and address families needs, as well as class and cultural differences.Embrace a philosophy of partnership where power and responsibility are shared.The Joining Process A Family-Centered Approach WelcomeHonorConnectClick Mouse Reveal Next PhraseResearcher Karen Mapp found that high-performing, low-income schools develop, deepen and sustain relationships with families in three ways:

What would ideal family engagement look and feel like from your perspective?

Take two minutes on your own to jot down some ideas. Starting with the person who traveled farthest to be here today, share out at your table.Enroll the whole family

Have school tours, parent/child activities and home visits

Welcome families in ways that develop trusting, collaborative relationships:

Extend the welcome mat

Reserve parking

Offer clear signage and directions

Display student work

Ensure staff are friendly and accessible

Feature open office hours for the principal

Post teacher availability

Insist on gracious office protocol

What method of welcoming families particularly resonates with you?

Record an idea to use in a later activity.Recognize and thank families for contributions.

Give parents a voice in decisions.

Set ground rules together for classroom visits, volunteering, and other parent/school activities.

Accept families where they are. Offer rides, childcare, translators, and flexible hours to meet with school staff.

Honor families in ways that deepen relationships by recognizing, respecting, andaddressing families needs and cultures:

What method of honoring families particularly resonates with you?

Record an idea to use in a later activity.Keep parents informed about what students are learning in class.

Link at-home activities to in-class activities.

Offer how to help your child instead of parenting workshops.

Supply computers for parents in school and in the community, and support their use.

Find out what families want to know about.

Connect families in ways that sustain relationships by sharing power and responsibility:

What method of connecting with families particularly resonates with you?

Record an idea to use in a later activity.What would help you feel comfortable at your childs school?What would make you feel your family and culture are recognized respected?What information would you need to be a partner in your childs learning?Joining Process Activity

How would you like to be welcomed?How could the school honor your experiences?How could the school connect with you?Click Mouse Reveal Next PhrasePretend that your family is new to both the United States and Wisconsin. You are coming in to your childs school for the first time.

Use the ideas you recorded about welcoming, honoring and connecting with families to reflect upon the following questions. Then, as a table, choose one to discuss.

Must-Do Goal: Each family and each family member is personally greeted by a staff member.

Host a staff-family basketball/volleyball game.

Invite high school families to a Day in the Life of a student or to a pre-game parent gathering.

Invite the whole family to a school event. Take pictures of the family enjoying the event together and display the photos in the school.

Decorate a Tree of Learning with leaves on which families describe how they help children learn.

Have families complete an Interest Inventory.

What schools are doing to welcome, honor and connect with families at the Open House:

Post the results of parent surveys online.

Respond to volunteer offers.

Host parent coffees or classroom suppers by grade level.

Host a family learning night with stations focused on students and parents learning together.

Give families weekly updates on what children are learning and how families can help.

What schools are doing to welcome, honor and connect with families after the Open House:

What is one new practice your school can try this year to help all families be more engaged in their childrens learning?

Take two minutes on your own to reflect on the practices presented today and write down some ideas for your school or district.Starting with the person whose birthday is closest to todays date, share out at your table.Ive learned that people will forget what you said.Ive learned that people will forget what you did.But people will never forget how you make them feel.

Maya Angelou

Ruth Anne LandsverkFamily-School-Community Partnerships Coordinator DPI Title I Team(608) 266-9757ruthanne.landsverk@dpi.wi.govWisconsin Department of Public InstructionP.O. Box 7841Madison, WI 53707-7841 Questions? More Information?If you have questions or would like to share a best practice used by your school, please contact: