School/Family Partnerships through Academic Parent Teacher Teams

1. School/Family Partnerships through Academic Parent Teacher Teams Christine Russell MiBLSi State Implementers Conference 3-12-13

2. Please help us keep track of our electronic Evaluation Responders. Record your name and responder number on the sign-up sheet on your table.

3. Evaluate & reflect on the current status of evidence-based school-family partnership practices within your own classroom/building/district(s) Describe a school-family partnership practice that has been found in the research to have a positive impact on student achievement Obtain resources that can be used to begin implementing this school-family partnership activity. Learning Objectives/Outcomes

4. Share the top 1 - 3 activities your ISD, district or school uses to reach out to parents: Share out the activity and the percentage of parents that typically attend or engage in these activities (a guess/range if fine) Consider and discuss how effectively these activities assist parents in becoming a partner in their child’s academic success Activity

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Content for the materials on the family section of the MiBLSi website are based on the research and work of: • Better Together Toolkit – New Mexico Public Education Dept (NMPED) • Center for the Education & Study of Diverse Populations (CESDP) • Harvard Family Research Project • Joyce Epstein and the National Network of Partnership Schools • Michigan (& National) Parent Teacher Association • Sandra L. Christenson & Amy L. Reschly • Anne T. Henderson & Karen Mapp • Michigan Office of Field Services • Rob Horner, PBIS University of Oregon • Steven Constantino, Ed.D. • Colorado Department of Education • Ruby Payne • Sharon Dietrich at Center for Educational Networking • Caryn Pack Ivey & Michelle Miller at Michigan Alliance for Families • Mary Bechtel -- Sue Mack --Kriya Gaillard --Melissa Nantais • Kim St. Martin --April Goodwin

7. Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT) Developed by Maria C. Paredes, Ed.D. • Currently Sr. Program Associate at WestEd • Former Director of Community Education at Creighton Elementary School District • Doctorate from Arizona State University M. C. Paredes, (2010). Parent Involvement as an Instructional Strategy: Academic Parent-Teacher Teams. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (Accession Order No. ASU 0010E10305 Focus of This Session

8. Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT) were developed as an alternative to traditional parent-teacher conferences Goals of APTT: • Develop a family engagement structure that will serve to increase parent support around academics through mentoring, coaching and goal setting. • Strengthen the support for student learning at home.

9. “When families have the right information and receive proper coaching, they develop the necessary skills, self-efficacy and confidence to support learning.” -Dr. Maria Paredes

10. We all want the same thing… For our children to have what they need to thrive!

11. What is your personal definition of family engagement? What percentage of parents in your school do you think are confident about how to support their child at home academically? Think-Pair-Share

12. Family Engagement is parent-teacher collaboration to drive student achievement. National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group. June 2009

13. Return to your written definition. Rework your definition (if needed) to include: COLLABORATION -and- INCREASED ACHIEVEMENT Activity

14. “Relationships within which all participants’ observations and goals are respected, where information pertinent to the student’s learning success is offered and received, and where plans for each partner’s complementary contributions to student learning are made, and following implementation, are evaluated and adjusted as needed.” (Christianson & Reschly, 2010; Hoover-Dempsey, Whitaker, Ice, 2010) What are Authentic School/Family Partnerships?

15. Our Goal: Help Families & Schools Move… From…. To… Parent Involvement School/family/community partnerships Responsibility on parents Part of school and to make connections classroom organization Being organized by a Part of comprehensive few parent leaders school improvement plan Results focused on Results focused on student parent/public relations achievement & climate Activities incidental, Practices linked to results accidental, or off to the for students, parents, side teachers, community Adapted from School, Family & Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, 3rd Edition, Epstein, J. L., et. al. (2009).

16. Authentic Partnerships • The evidence is consistent, positive, and convincing: many forms of family and community involvement influence student achievement… • We need to think beyond volunteering in the classroom or serving on the PTO (although these things are important too)

17. High-Impact Practices “Regardless of parent education, family size, student ability, or school level…parents are more likely to become partners in their children’s education if they perceive that the schools have strong practices to involve parents at the school.” Epstein & Dauber from “Beyond the Bake Sale”, 2007

18. Implementing High-Impact School-Family Partnership Practices Remember: We need to create the context for staff to implement evidence-based practices and create a welcoming environment for all families by: • Selecting & clearly communicating which behaviors/ practices staff will be encouraged to use. • Organizing the materials, time, training and opportunities for reflection that staff need to both implement AND evaluate how they are implementing the practices

19. High Impact Practice Need Areas /Categories • Create a Welcoming Environment • Use One &Two Way Communication Strategies • Support Student Success (Learning at School & Home) • Speak up for EVERY child. • Share Power • Collaborate with Community National/Michigan PTA, Harvard Family Research Project, Karen Mapp

20. High Impact Practices Sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Education in partnership with United Way Worldwide, National PTA, SEDL, and the Harvard Family Research Project

21. Too board without enough priority specific action steps Lack a focus on increasing parent skills and accountability around student achievement Lack a focus on coaching parents to build their knowledge and skills to be involved appropriately Lack of teacher involvement (only focused on parents) Only reaches a small number of parents Fragmented efforts, not a sustainable initiative Concerns with Traditional Family Support/Engagement Work

22. The majority of programs developed to increase parent involvement in schools fall short of meeting the needs that schools have to close the academic gap that exists between students of different social classes. (Paredes, 2010) The majority of parent involvement opportunities do not fall under a high impact practice level The Overall Problem

23. Lack of specific connection between school activities and student achievement Lack of opportunities for parents to learn how to support their child academically The Overall Problem

24. APTT is a model focused on increasing student achievement by improving the quality and quantity of parent-teacher academic interaction. The Solution: Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT)

25. The program is designed to: Coachparents to be more engaged, knowledgeable members of the academic team Provide explicit, individual student information Establish attainment goals for each child, Modelways for parents to work with their child Provide appropriate teaching materials for parents. The Solution: APTT

26. Take five minutes to quickly scan the article titled “Coaching Parents as Team Members” Take notes on the benefits of this process and some possible concerns/barriers that come to your mind Activity

27. Time Comparison ExampleClassroom of 28 students Traditional Parent-Teacher Conferences • Two 20 minute conferences per year Academic Parent-Teacher Teams • Three 75 minute meetings throughout the year • One 30 minute individual meeting per year

28. Time Comparison ExampleClassroom of 28 students Traditional Parent-Teacher Conferences • Two 20 minute conferences per year Teacher Time: about 19 hours per year Parent Time: 40 minutes per year Academic Parent-Teacher Teams • Three 75 minute meetings throughout the year • One 30 minute individual meeting per year Teacher Time: about 16.5 hours per year Parent Time: 255 minutes (little over 4 hours)

29. Held after a benchmarking period Six Key Elements • Personal Invitation • Clear and Explicit Student Performance Data • 60 day improvement goal • Teacher demonstration of skills • Parent practice of skills • Building a Social Network Three 75 Minute Meetings

30. 75 Minute Meeting Example Agenda:

31. Three videos are available to view on Youtube. • Two elementary, one middle school • http://www.youtube.com/user/MariaParedesZ?feature=watch Watch For: • Data Review • Modeling of Activities • Practice of Activities and Materials • Setting 60-Day Goals APTT Videos

32. Personal Invitation • A personal letter of invitation from teachers to parents • Letter that explains the purpose of the team meeting (to review important student performance data, to set academic goals and to provide training and materials to assist parents working with their children) • In some cases it may be helpful for the personal invitation to be followed up by a phone call from the teacher or the school-parent liaison to ensure that the invitation letter has been received and understood 75 Minute Meeting

33. Consider provided parent letters, newsletter announcements, etc (green packet) Action plan who would work to develop this for your school/system Activity

34. Welcome Describe purpose of the meeting Describe how this will support their child’s learning Icebreaker Ideas Have parents meet others around the room. Have parents share ways they support their students academically at home with each other and then out to the group 75 Minute Meeting

35. Clear and explicit student performance data • Teacher provides whole-class data as well as individual student data in reading, writing, and mathematics. • Data are carefully explained to ensure all parents gain a full understanding of their child’s academic standing. 75 Minute Meeting

36. Sharing Academic Data http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YNsWrFiYfY(5:00min to 7:36min) Watch for: • Sharing of Classwide Data • Sharing of Individual Student Data Video

37. What data would be shared? • Academic Area: Reading, Math, Writing, Behavior • Type of Data: DIBELS, AIMS, SWIS How would we keep consistency in our message to parents from Fall, Winter to Spring? How do we share, but not overwhelm? Activity

38. Set 60-day improvement goals • 60-day academic goal is established for each student. • Setting a goal can serve to increase the motivation and focus for parental involvement with students at home. • Moreover, the teacher obtained a verbal commitment from parents to practice with the child regularly to reach the goal in 60 days. 75 Minute Meeting

39. How to assist parents in setting a goal when you have many parents in the room at one time? Consider including information about your goal as a teacher, what is reasonable improvement in 60 days and individual student input on the goal (obtained prior to the meeting). Activity

40. Teacher demonstration of skills • Using visual aids, teachers model two or three activities/strategies for parents to use at home with their students. • Teachers answer parents’ questions regarding the activities that are modeled. • Teachers provide information about frequency and duration with respect to performing the instructional activities. 75 Minute Meeting

41. What mode would you use for teacher demonstration of activities? Video clips that are also put on teacher website so they can go back and review? PowerPoint? Other ideas? Discussion

42. Parent practice of skills • The teacher distributes free materials and parents practiced the skills demonstrated by the teacher with other parents in the class. • Sufficient time should be provided for parents to feel comfortable and capable of successfully reproducing the activities. 75 Minute Meeting

43. Building a social network • On team meeting day, the classroom teacher welcomes parents and thanks them for their participation and interest in their children. • Parents have the opportunity to meet and talk to other parents in the class. • The teacher expresses the importance of sharing knowledge and information and how team collaboration is essential for the success of all students. 75 Minute Meeting

44. Share with your group: Thoughts/ideas on parent practice of skills Ways to provide and encourage networking with other parents in the class. Discussion

45. Takes place early in the year Scheduled with high needs students first Additional individual parent meetings scheduled throughout the year as needed 30 Minute Individual Parent Meeting

46. 3 key elements • Student performance report • Up-to-date student information is reviewed • Action Planning • Agreement together on next steps for ensuring continuous home practice • Networking • Teacher and parent share important information about the student’s social, emotional and academic successes and needs. 30 Minute Individual Parent Meeting

47. Conduct High Quality Parent-Teacher 30 Minute Meetings • BEFORE CONFERENCES • Send invitations • Review student work • Prepare thoughts and • materials • Send reminders • Create a welcoming • environment • DURING CONFERENCES • Use data to discuss • progress and growth • Use examples • Ask questions and • listen actively • Share ideas for • supporting learning • Seek solutions • collaboratively • Make an action plan • Establish lines of • communication • AFTER CONFERENCES • Follow up with families • Communicate regularly • Connect in-class • activities to goals & • action plans

48. In Creighton School District where Dr. Paredes piloted the APTT process: • Gains in Oral Reading Fluency rose nearly 25 points from August to November in 2009. • Classrooms not implementing APTT in the same school has Oral Reading Fluency improvement about 10 points • 92% parent attendance rate at the APTT meetings • This rate was much higher than at conventional partner-teacher conferences in the district Results of this Process

49. From Low to High Impact Traditional Parent-Teacher Conferences • 30-40 minutes per year of planned meeting time for each parent • Lack of ways to have accountability for consistent sharing of information • Large variation on quality of meeting • No measurable outcomes Academic Parent-Teacher Teams • 4.25 hours per year of planned meeting time for each parent • All in the system know what is being communicated to parents • Little variation from classroom to classroom • Can measure whether meetings are helping to reach student outcome goals

50. At your table brainstorm around these topics and then add your group’s thoughts to the charts around the room: Potential Benefits to APTT Potential Challenges at Parent Level Potential Challenges at the Teacher Level Potential Challenges at the School Level Potential Funding Sources for training, materials, etc. Activity