Patty Bunker National Director Parenting Partners Family Leadership Inc.

1. Common Core Parenting:Best Practice Strategies to Support Student SuccessCore Components: Successful Models Patty Bunker National Director Parenting Partners Family Leadership Inc.

2. U.S. Dept. of Ed

3. Family’s Role: • Academic • Social • Emotional • Development • Everyone Agrees!

4. Common Refrain • Desire: More Families • Diverse Backgrounds & Cultures • Engaged in Child’s Education • Strong Partnerships – Home & Schools

5. Family Engagement: HOW • Cultivate and Sustain • Positive Relationships • Partnerships for Shared Responsibility

6. The Challenge Current Policies and Programs Flawed Assumptions Collective Capacity to Succeed

7. Some Parenting Partners Observations • Flawed Practices/ Assumptions • Parents as Consumers vs. Partners • Service Delivery vs. Valuing Parents’ Contributions • Expecting Involvement w/o • Investing in Capacity Building • District Wide vs. School-based • Academic Focus vs. Parent Skills

8. Success Starts at Home • Importance of home environment coming into focus • Creating calm and quiet at home • Efforts in classroom maximized when parents encourage achievement

9. The Evolution of Parent Engagement • Developing a new mindset • Parent engagement is no longer just a compliance issue • Family Engagement vs. Parent Involvement • Moving beyond Random, Discrete Activities • Building leadership capacity

10. Epstein’s 6 Types of Involvement: NNPS • Stresses the importance of going beyond the status quo • Calls for a more systemic, sustainable approach • Attempts to increase the skills of both teachers and parents

11. Epstein’s 6 Types of Involvement: NNPS • Parenting • Communicating • Volunteering • Learning at Home • Decision- Making • Collaborating with the Community

12. Focus: Building Capacity Skill Mastery & Knowledge Relationships & Networks Assumptions, Values, Beliefs Self- Efficacy

13. Capacity = Whole “Developmental Assets” What Kids Need to Succeed What Parents/Adults Need Valuing & Building on Strengths Skill-Building and Affirmation Creating and Strengthening Relationships Partnering with Other Adults – Not in Isolation Positive View of Future: What we are Capable of Accomplishing With and For our Children

14. Asset Skit What are some of your Dreams and Goals for your children? What are the Risk Factors your children face that could prevent them from reaching these goals?

17. The Power of Assets to Protect

18. The Power of Assets to Promote Health and Academic Success

19. All Four Capacity Building Components Requiredto enable Staff & Parentsto Cultivate & SustainFamily Engagement

20. Focus: Building Capacity Skill Mastery & Knowledge Relationships & Networks Assumptions, Values, Beliefs Self- Efficacy

21. SystemConditions For Success Systemic Integrated Sustained

22. Systemic: Parent Engagement is a CORE COMPONENT of Educational Goals Integrated: Embedded into all Structures & Processes (Training, Prof Dev., Teaching, etc) Sustained: Adequate funding & infrastructure support. Multiple funding streams, component of overall improvement strategy. SCHOOL LEADERS ARE COMMITTED TO and HAVE A SYSTEMIC VISION Of FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

23. ProcessConditions For Success • Linked to Learning • Relational • Developmental • Collaborative • Interactive

24. Linked to Learning Aligned with School and District Achievement Goals Connects Parents: Teaching and Learning Goals

25. Relational Building Respect and Trusting Relationships Between Families and District, School, & Program Staff

26. Developmental Not just providing a service Building Intellectual, Social, and Human Capacity Of “Stakeholders”: Parents & Staff

27. Collective/Collaborative Learning is conducted in Group vs. Individual Setting Focused on Building Strong Networks & Learning Communities

28. Interactive Participants given Opportunities to Test Out, Practice & Apply New Skills!

29. Effective Home/ School Partnerships What do they look like?

30. School and Program Staff: • Honor & Recognize Families’ Fund of Knowledge • Connect Family Engagement to Student Learning • Create Welcoming, • Inviting Cultures

31. Families • Have Developed Skills, Knowledge & Confidence • Negotiate Multiple Roles of Effective Engagement • Feel Honored and Respected

32. Families • Actively Engaged in their Children’s Academic, • Social and Emotional Development • (Cradle to Career) • Partnership with School for • Academic Achievement

33. But…HOW? • Frameworks show “what” to do, but don’t show “how” to do it • Quality programs are needed that help schools implement the core components • Sustainable Model

34. Selecting Best Practice Programs: A Checklist • Develops Parents’ Skills & Capacity to Support Achievement • Practical and Relational • Sustainable – Ongoing support • Best practice – Research Based • Builds Parent Leadership

35. Addressing the Need US Dept. of Ed. Recommends: Parenting Partners Provides: Focus on Academics Practical Parenting Skills Builds capacity of both Teachers and Parents Parents work together and with their schools Each parent participates in fun skill building exercises • Linked to Learning • Relational • Developmental • Collaborative • Interactive

36. Engaging Parents for Student Success • Key Principles of Parent Engagement • Build on Strengths of Parents • Leadership is the Secret Sauce

37. Valuable Parenting Qualities Caring Good Listener Flexible Loving Trustworthy Consistent Patient Creative Playful Follow-Through Structured

38. Engaging Parents for Student Success • Key Principles of Parent Engagement • Parenting Skills are Leadership Skills • Listening • Clear Expectations • Dealing with conflict • Affirmation and Encouraging

39. Paper Heart Skit Words that wound the hearts of our children

44. Creating Structure for Student Achievement Common Core

45. Key Principles of Parent Engagement • Parents Make Great Trainers • They are credible • Parent trainers provides sustainability • Dads reach dads • They have language & cultural skills

46. 1. Each school forms a team with up to 5 members • Teams include parents and key staff members.

47. 2. The team attends the 2-day Facilitators Training Together • Teams practice presenting the workshops. • Each team receives coaching at their table in their own language.

48. 3. At the close of Training, teams have everything they need: • Comprehensive Team Resource Kit • • Competence, Confidence, Certification • • Complete team plan for strong attendance • Coach for ongoing support

49. 4. Teams now lead the 8-week workshop series at their school. Teams can offer the workshops multiple times throughout the year.

50. Outcomes • ADA Attendance Improves • Reading, Academics Improve • Students’ Behavior Improves • Sustainable program produces • more skillful parents and • positive parent leaders • www.familyleadership.org