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Family and Community Engagement. Sam Redding sredding@centerii.org Center on Innovation & Improvement www.families-schools.org www.centerii.org. Handbook on Family and Community Engagement. Published in September 2011 36 experts contributed chapters
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Family and Community Engagement Sam Redding sredding@centerii.org Center on Innovation & Improvement www.families-schools.org www.centerii.org
Handbook on Family and Community Engagement • Published in September 2011 • 36 experts contributed chapters • Partnered with U. S. Department of Education – Title I • Download free at: www.families-schools.org • Purchase published version from Information Age at: www.infoagepub.com
What Is Family Engagement? 1. Families engaged with own children. 2. Families engaged with families of other children. 3. Families engaged with their children’s school.
Comprehensive Family Engagement • Leadership, structures (teams), systems (processes) • Doing many things well over time • Ongoing conversation • Engaging families intentionally, with purpose • Connecting to student learning (academic, social, emotional) • Adopting a “school community” approach • People intimately attached to the school • Relationships among all members—leaders, teachers, staff, parents, students, volunteers • Roles and responsibilities • Knowing each family’s story
Student Learning Outcomes • Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning • What the research tells us • Strong link between family and school learning • Curriculum of the Home • Parental aspiration for children • Self-efficacy perception • Parents’ • Students’
Curriculum of the Home Parent-Child Relationship • Daily conversation about everyday events • Showing affection • Family discussion of books, magazine, newspapers, TV, internet • Family visits to libraries, museum, zoos, etc. • Encouragement to try new words
Curriculum of the Home Routine of Family Life • Formal study time at home • A daily routine that includes time to eat, sleep, play, work, study, and read • A quiet place to study and read • Family interest in hobbies, games, educational activities
Curriculum of the Home Family Expectation and Supervision • Priority given to reading, school work over television, video games, recreation • Punctuality – children expected to be on time • Children expected to do their best and accept responsibility for what they do • Concern for correct and effective use of language • Parental knowledge and discussion of what is watched on TV and viewed on the internet • Parental knowledge of school achievement and personal growth
Other Considerations about Parents • William Jeynes: aspirations and expectations • Kathleen Hoover-Dempsey: self-efficacy perception • The Ongoing Conversation about expectations and obligations – every opportunity • Reaching Parents: Three Types of Parent Relationships with Children and with School • Distressed Families • Child-Centered Families • Parent-Centered Families
Lessons Learned • Leadership matters • Principal • Team • Correlation with success: regular meetings, well-attended, and focus • Cliques are counterproductive • Continuity and sustainability are necessary but difficult • Cult of the charismatic leader • The new New Thing
Lessons Learned • Direct interaction focused on student learning is paramount • Home visits and home gatherings • Parent-child activities (home links) • Focused, three-way, linked parent-teacher-student conferences • Open house that includes role of parents at home • The work never takes a back seat • Purposeful activity rather than simply more activity
Building Blocks for Strong School Communities • Shared Leadership: Building strong, distributed leadership for family and community engagement. • Goals and Roles: Setting family and community engagement priorities and defining the roles of leaders, teachers, parents, and others in meeting goals. • Communication: Promoting communication among leaders, teachers, parents, students, and others and providing information and guidance for them. • Education: Providing education and professional development for leaders, teachers, parents, and others to advance their knowledge and skills relative to the roles they play in family and community engagement. • Connection: Bringing together people and groups to advance the goals of family and community engagement and sharing their experiences. • Continuous Improvement: Establishing policies, systems, and procedures to evaluate and continuously improve family and community engagement efforts.
Resources www.families-schools.org Indicators in Action
Suggested School Practice • From Handbook on Family and Community Engagement