FAMILY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN ILLINOIS

FAMILY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN ILLINOIS Summary of Key Learnings June 2011

Listening Tour Background • Arose out of series of meetings with the Department of Education • Policymakers have a of information about “what research says,” but limited linkages to what actually works in communities and schools, limited access to locally-developed and driven strategies, initiatives and best practices • What works? What are barriers to engagement? What needs to be changed to replicate/support/start work? • Facilitated conversations in seven communities across the state • Convened by local partners, IL PTA, Voices for IL Children, Advance IL, the Federation for Community Schools, and the IL P-20 Council/Family, Youth and Community Engagement subcommittee

Family & Community Engagement: Why is it Important? • Research demonstrates the power engaged parents have to change children’s academic outcomes • Families and communities have assets to bring to the table– and schools cannot “do it alone” • Schools can provide supports to families and community members that also serve to remove barriers to student achievement • The school itself is a resource

Defining Engagement • First need to define “parent” and expand thinking to “family” • Need to honor, acknowledge, and value all different types of engagement – a lot of family engagement takes place outside of the school; parents who are partners in their children’s educations may never enter the school, but do create home learning environments, communicate with teachers in other ways, and make sure their children are at school on time and ready to learn.

Community Engagement Learnings: Role of the School • Critical that schools (and districts) be open to community partners, willing to co-located programs and services • Schools reach out to the community both to share resources that the school can offer and to identify community-based supports from which students and families can benefit are two key school roles • Intentionality, consistency, and varied pathways support strong community engagement

Community Engagement Learnings: Role of the CBOs • Community-based organizations (CBOs) need to let go of the “turf wars” and break down the silos among them that sometimes characterize the way they try to work together • CBOs can build parents’ and community members’ capacities to advocate for themselves and their children • Facilitating conversations around difficult topics that can serve to break down barriers among schools, families and communities can be a crucial role for community-based organizations

Community Engagement Learnings: Role of the Broader Community • Cross-community learning, education and youth development councils bring the broader community together and working towards common goals of student, family, school and community success • Civic, political, and religious leaders reinforce the importance of community (and family) engagement with schools, and build bridges between community members and schools

Family Engagement Key Learnings:Role of the School • First step – creating a welcoming environment • Teamwork among all stakeholders in children’s academic success – parents, teachers, school leaders, and community members – is critical. • Assumptions form the biggest barriers to family engagement. Schools can bring groups together to conquer a shared challenge, complete a shared project, or work towards shared goals. • Principals need to model engagement for teachers by listening to and valuing parents, creating pathways for shared communication, and working to meet the needs of parents. • The importance of trust among all stakeholders and between parents and teachers cannot be overstated. • Smaller initial steps and starting engagement initiatives early – while children are in pre-school or younger – can serve to building meaningful engagement into the elementary school years and beyond. • Schools can and should create multiple pathways through parents can engage and identify multiple ways to share information with and get feedback from parents.

Family Engagement Key Learnings:Role of School Districts • When leadership prioritize and value parent engagement, and incorporate it into strategies for districts and/or schools, engagement efforts at the school level are much more likely to be successful. • Clear, consistent communications and using multiple strategies and structures to provide parents with the information and tools that they need to be partners in children’s educations are critical. • District leadership’s willingness to listen to and address parents’ concerns and a willingness to consider and change district policies also serve to foster engagement.

Family Engagement Key Learnings:Role of Parents & Families • As with the roles of other stakeholders, parents’ have a role to play in letting go of, changing and overcoming the barriers posed by assumptions • A willingness to have difficult conversations serves to foster mutual trust among teachers, parents, and school leaders • Parents and families can play a key role in fostering engagement by modeling engagement and by developing the capacities for meaningful partnerships with schools among other parents and families.

Family Engagement Key Learnings:A Shared Role • Clear, consistent and open communications – stakeholders need to engage in clear, effective, and consistent communication and be willing to both share expertise and learn from each other. • Spread the message – engaged families, schools, and CBOs can model engagement, work to engage, support and involve heretofore disenfranchised parents and families.

Family Engagement Key Learnings: Role of CBOs • CBOs bridge gaps and build relationships between families and schools, create accessibility to programs and supports. • CBOs can also reach out, create links to, and leverage resources and supports that students and/or families, can work with schools to bring those supports into the school building (i.e., community schools).

Developing Necessary Capacities • Role of the leader – at school and district level • Role of leader and staff professional development around the importance of engagement • Opportunities for developing trust and relationship building – let the first experiences be positive • Links to local, state, and Federal policy – educate policymakers • Develop family capacities to engage – and broaden our definitions of “parent” engagement • Rely on infrastructures that support engagement – NCLB/Title I Parent teams, Family & Community Engagement teams, community schools

Policy Implications • State level – funding and/or policy support for engagement coordinator positions; standards around/codifying “home learning environment” best practices; support for cross-sector collaboration • Federal level – ESEA reauthorization; teacher and principal preparation programs • District level – choosing leaders; valuing engagement at all levels

Questions & Discussion CONTACT INFORMATION: Melissa Mitchell Associate Director, Federation for Community Schools melissa@ilcommunityschools.org (312) 629-4992 For more information about community schools, please visit our Web site at www.ilcommunityschools.org

FAMILY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN ILLINOIS