Redefining Involvement: Research-Based Strategies for Engaging the Hard-To-Reach

1. Redefining Involvement:Research-Based Strategies for Engaging the Hard-To-Reach

2. You Will Learn To… • Identify hard-to-reach families • Understand the barriers to family involvement and how to overcome them • Use research that supports family involvement • Understand the various roles families can play • Work with families in poverty, minority families, majority families, and others who do not speak English

3. What are the characteristics of hard-to-reach families?

4. Characteristics of Hard-To-Reach Families • Families love their children. • Families and children share an emotional bond. • Families want to connect with their children’s lives. • Families want to participate. They appreciate knowing how to partner with the school and receiving a variety of options for serving. • Families have much to give. • Families have useful ideas and insights.

5. What are the barriers to family involvement?

6. Barriers to Family Involvement • Lack of time • Uncertainty about what to do • Personal education experience • Cultural and language differences • Lack of supportive environment

7. Goal: Protect school Parents: Stay home Teachers: Teach Communication: One-way (newsletter) Parent groups: Hand-picked Decisions: Principal Fortress School

8. Goal: Share values Parents: Reinforce school Teachers: Conferences/Open houses Communication: One-way (school handbook) Parent groups: Meet monthly, principal speaks Decisions: Principal and lead teachers Come If We Call School

9. Goal: Enrich school Parents: Share and help Teachers: Know families/build on strengths Communication: Mostly one-way; some two-way Parent groups: Parent committees Decisions: SBDM Council Open Door School

10. Partnership School All Kids Learn Families and Teachers: • Know each other • Serve on committees • Make decisions • Look at data • Share information; mostly two-way

11. Why is family involvement important?

12. Students Benefit: • Earn higher grades and test scores • Enroll in higher level programs • Are promoted and earn credits • Adapt well to school and attend regularly • Have better social skills and behavior • Graduate and go on to higher education • Achieve greater success in life

13. Families Benefit: • More confidence in school • Higher expectations of their children • Higher teacher opinions of families • More self-confidence • More likely to continue their own education

14. Schools Benefit: • Improved teacher morale • Higher teacher ratings by parents • More support from families • Higher student achievement • Better reputation in the community

15. Families are most likely to become involved if they… • Understand they SHOULD be involved • Know they are CAPABLE of making a contribution • Feel INVITED by the school and their children

16. What roles do families play?

17. Family Roles • Families as teachers • Families as learners • Families as supporters • Families as advocates • Families as advisors and decisionmakers Source: KSA-Plus and Center for Parent Leadership

18. How to include everyone

19. Including Families in Poverty • Go to their place of safety. • Provide incentives. • Listen to their stories. • Ask them: • What they need for their children to be successful • What they want to know • Be clear about expectations.

20. Including Hispanic Families • Build on cultural values • Stress personal contact • Foster communication • Create a warm environment • Facilitate structural accommodations for family involvement “Lessons from High Performing Hispanic Schools” Reyes, Scribner and Scribner

21. More Ideas To Help Everyone Feel Included • Find bilingual speakers to bridge gap between families and the school. • Identify parent liaisons to connect with those who are hard to reach. • Offer an ongoing orientation program for families on topics such as homework, school attendance, standards, and discipline. Source: Allen, Texas ISD

22. More Ideas To Help Everyone Feel Included • Develop “take home” family learning (including multilingual) activities. • Form a family advisory group to advise the principal on how to improve services for those in poverty and language minority students. • Offer classes for parents on helping their child with their English homework. • Involve hard-to-reach families on advisory committees, councils, and key communicator groups.

23. How to turn research into action

24. Research to Action • Link all efforts to engage families, whether based at school or in the community, to student learning.

25. Getting Started: Things to think about… • Partners • Needs assessment • Recruiting and selecting participants • Curriculum • Funding • Strategic Communications Plan

26. Focus • Beaverton Develop leaders among parents of seven language groups • Canby Training sessions for parents of children not meeting state benchmarks • Hillsboro Developed parent leaders among Hispanic community

27. Curriculum • Identified what families wanted to know • Identified what they needed to know, based on national (NCLB) and state standards • Reviewed research-based best practices • Included strong focus on standards and school data • Worked with translators

28. How We Got Them There • Calls, follow-up calls • Home visits • Convenient meeting times and places • Goals for each school • Letters/flyers • Natural selection • Transportation • Good food, child care, translators • Prizes • Media

29. How to meet families’ needs and overcome obstacles

30. Parent Concerns Can I provide adequate clothing for the family? Can I locate housing? Can I provide a healthy diet? Staff Support Provide emergency information Establish crisis intervention procedures Provide information about community resources Meeting Families’ Needs Physiological Needs (food, clothing, shelter) Source: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, adapted from Lapides & Lapides

31. Parent Concerns Can I get a job? Will I get a “fair break”? Will I find something to hold onto? Will I feel safe and comfortable? Staff Support Make referrals Provide counseling Encourage independence Identify community resources Meeting Families’ Needs/2 Safety Needs (job, home, security) Source: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, adapted from Lapides & Lapides

32. Parent Concerns Will I make friends? Will others accept me? Should I belong to a group? Do others really need me? Staff Support Develop parent/staff partnerships Arrange social events Support parent/child events Identify recreation facilities Encourage buddy system Meeting Families’ Needs/3 Social Needs (family, friends, groups) Source: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, adapted from Lapides & Lapides

33. Parent Concerns Am I doing something worthwhile? Will I be looked up to? Will I learn a new skill or gain new knowledge? Staff Support Provide successful experiences Give positive feedback Encourage decision making Encourage volunteering Meeting Families’ Needs/4 Esteem Needs (“I am lovable and capable”) Source: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, adapted from Lapides & Lapides

34. Parent Concerns Can I accomplishmy goals? What is my potential as a person, parent, mate, breadwinner, etc.? Can I acquire new skills or enhance present skills? Staff Support Highlight parents’ contribution to program Assess skills and potential Develop interest areas Plan for upward mobility Facilitate goal identification Meeting Families’ Needs/5 Self-Fulfillment Needs (ego fulfillment) Source: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, adapted from Lapides & Lapides

35. Obstacles Inconvenient meeting time Lack of transportation Lack of babysitters Ideas for Overcoming Them Ask families to specify a convenient meeting time Arrange carpools and walk pools, etc. Provide a nursery or arrange sitters Overcoming Obstacles Adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

36. Obstacles Feelings of personal inadequacy Inexperienced chairpersons No opportunity to participate at meetings Ideas for Overcoming Them Arrange social events for parents and staff Conduct training, coaching Ask questions and encourage families to talk; provide translators Overcoming Obstacles/2 Adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

37. Obstacles Meetings seem to accomplish nothing Feeling unwelcome Having overwhelming personal problems Ideas for Overcoming Them Research topic before meeting; close on a positive note Brief staff on ways to put parents at ease Make personal calls or home visits to help families talk about problems Overcoming Obstacles/3 Adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

38. What are the lessons learned?

39. Lessons Learned… • The power of data • The power of open, honest communication • The desire of families to know and understand • The strength of sharing • The power of high expectations • It is possible to work with seven language groups in one session

40. Lessons Learned/2 Challenges exist: • No clear focus on families--it’s not a priority • Low expectations of families • Limited resources devoted to helping families understand education • Assumptions that families already know • Protectiveness of schools/educators • Recruitment and sustainability is very hard work

41. Families say they have… • More understanding and knowledge • Increased confidence • Concern for all children, not just their own • Desire to partner with schools • Usefulness of these new skills in their jobs • Desire to be leaders • Ability to hold schools accountable

42. Planning and Communicating Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. --Winston Churchill

43. Strategic Communication Plan • What do you want your stakeholders to do (actions)? • Who needs to know and be involved (stakeholders)? • What do they need to know (messages)? • How should they be informed and involved (messengers)? • When should they know (timetable)? • Who will do the work (responsibilities)?

44. When you get home and think of a question…. Call or email Name: E-mail Address: Phone Number: