Prenatal through Grade 12 Family Engagement Framework

1. Prenatal through Grade 12 Family Engagement Framework Federal Grant Programs Conference June 6, 2019

2. MA Family Engagement Coalition

3. MA Family Engagement Coalition – State Planning Team • Department of Elementary and Secondary Education • Kathy Rodriguez • Donna Traynham • Emily Taylor • Department of Early Education and Care • Gail DeRiggi • Department of Public Health – Bureau of Maternal and Child Health • Suzanne Gottlieb • Roxanne Hoke-Chandler

4. MA Family Engagement Coalition – Regional Coalition

5. MA Family Engagement Coalition – State Coalition

6. Draft Structure of the Framework – Guiding Principles Each family is unique and all families represent diverse structures. • Recognize and respect the uniqueness of each family. • Keep families’ voices and perspectives at the center • Plan and do activities with families and not for families. Each family is distinct in the strengths it possesses, needs it has, and barriers it faces. • Recognize and respect the individuality of each family. Building a respectful, trusting, and reciprocal relationship is an equal responsibility of families, staff, programs, and systems. • Embrace the philosophy that building positive goal oriented relationships is a two way process between all those involved. Families are their child’s first and best advocate. • Recognize families as the best champions of their child’s success in all domains of development. • Engage families in all decisions made with regards to their child. Family engagement must be equitable. • Recognize and address inequities and implicit and explicit bias, within individuals and programs, when engaging with families.

7. Draft Elements and Indicators of the Framework

8. Draft Structure of the Framework – System Building

9. Changing up Family Engagement in Lawrence Public Schools Federal Grants Conference June 6, 2019 Presented by: Nelson Butten, Director of Community, Family, and Student Engagement. Email: nelson.butten@Lawrence.k12.ma.us Jessica MacLeod, Director of Early Childhood Education Email: jessica.macleod@Lawrence.k12.ma.us

10. Our Foundational Element Supporting Child, Youth, and Family Well-Being, Development, and Learning • Create opportunities and pathways for families, schools, and community organizations to collaborate with each other to identify, share, and access supports and resources related to family well-being, development, and learning.

11. Design Thinking Element: Promoting Pathways for Community Engagement • Partner with families and youth in identifying and planning community engagement activities • Use Family-driven approaches to community engagement • Provide opportunities for diverse youth leadership and voice

12. Strategic Planning Process Began in 2016-17 • Who: • School leaders • Educators • Students • Community partners • Family Engagement team • Technical assistance from Great Schools Partnership and Every Day Democracy • Vision • LPS administrators, educators, parents, students and community members engage in authentic partnerships in service of student success.

13. Partnering with Families and Youth in Identifying and Planning Community Engagement Activities

14. Lawrence PS: Strategic Plan for High-Quality Family Engagement (HQFE - Jan 2018) LPS STUDENTS PARENTS CLASSROOMS COMMUNITY Community, College and Career Readiness SCHOOLS Schools embed HQFE practices in school’s operational and instructional systems Provide time, space and resources for schools to prioritize HQFE [PDs underway; HQFE Fellowship to launch in July; media campaign coming this spring] DISTRICT The district calls out and acts upon its commitment to HQFE as an academic strategy New Utilize the district’s Family Engagement Team to go deeper with schools to help improve HQFE strategies [Home-School Compacts] Survey school administrators and educators capacity and needs for HQFE [Survey conducted in September 2017] Model and communicate the type of authentic partnerships we seek in schools [Launched Family Engagement Partnership Council, 9/17] Presidents’ Council Continuing Pilot communication and transition activities to provide promising practices for feeder schools [Community Day, Arlington, and Tarbox School workgroups]

15. Family Engagement Partnership Council: Providing opportunities for family leadership and for families to connect with other families • Collaborative stakeholder group based on Planning Group • Learning and Leading mission • Develops and staffs workgroups • Fellowship • Current focus: policy work for 2019-20

16. Engagement Fellowship: Inclusive of all goals for Building Positive Relationships • Five or Six school teams commit to 32-hour intensive • Build capacity • Grow mindset • Evaluate current practices, with lenses: • Authentic partnerships • Shared decision making • Five roles families play • Engage families and students in solutions • Intentionally build and sustain relationships with all families • Build reciprocal and balanced communication with families • Collaborate with families to create and/or promote connections among families • Share power and decision making

17. Lessons to highlight • Providing stipends along with child care is critical in establishing a professional and respectful arena for important work. • Providing opportunities for diverse youth leadership and voice means that the adults have to be very flexible regarding time and location of meetings as well as dedicated to forms of communication that work (texts over Outlook calendar reminders) • Sharing power and decision making takes more time at the onset but increases credibility and buy in.

18. Contact information Presented by: Nelson Butten, Director of Community, Family, and Student Engagement. Email: nelson.butten@Lawrence.k12.ma.us Jessica MacLeod, Director of Early Childhood Education Email: jessica.macleod@Lawrence.k12.ma.us