Effective and Evidence- Based Family Engagement

1. Effective and Evidence- Based Family Engagement Madeline Alers, LMSW

2. Learning Objectives: Identify components of cultural humility and increase effective family engagement List research based strategies for improving family engagement efforts

3. Agenda: *Define Cultural Humility *Define Family / Family Engagement - components of family engagement *Group activity and share out *Strategies for improving family engagement

4. Cultural Humility and Effectiveness: WHAT IS IT CULTURAL HUMILITY? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mbu8bvKb_U&list=P L879555ABCCED8B50&feature=view_all Cultural Humility is a lifelong journey. Well intentioned actions and plans can get off track in the midst of cultural misunderstandings and clashes, combined with the complexity of individual and personality differences.

5. Factors of Cultural Humility: -Lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self- critique -Desire to fix power imbalances -Develop partnerships with people and groups who advocate for others

6. Questions we must ask ourselves: How do I describe my own ethnicity? Race? Religion?socio-economic status? Sexual Orientation? What are my closely-held values? What would I want helpers to know about me? Am I assuming she speaks Spanish because she looks Mexican? I know he's Muslim, so I assume he won't be accepting of a female social worker. That family is living in a shelter, should I assume mom does not have a college education? Other assumptions?

7. What makes a family?

8. FAMILY ENGAGEMENT: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: https://www.childwelfare.gov/fei/definition/ ECE: The systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote children's development, learning, and wellness, including in planning, development, and evaluation. For family engagement to be integrated throughout early childhood systems and programs, providers and schools must engage families as essential partners while providing services that encourage children's learning and development, nurture positive relationships between families and staff, and support families.

9. Family engagement is the process used to build genuine relationships with families. Relationships with families support overall family well-being and children's healthy development. When families are engaged, partnerships are created that have a common focus– helping children grow and thrive. Family engagement happens in the home, early childhood program, school, and community. It is a shared responsibility of all those who want children to succeed in school and in life. Family engagement is based on the idea that parents and others who care for their children work together to prepare children for success. The specific goals of the partnership for each family may vary and can depend on family preference, culture, and economic or social stresses. A true partnership honors a family's strengths and culture, mutual respect, and shared goals for the child.

10. EDUCATION: Parents and school personnel working together at the classroom, local, and system level to support and improve the learning, development, and health of children and adolescents. Family engagement in schools is a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage parents in meaningful ways, and the parents are committed to actively supporting their children's and adolescents' learning and development.

11. Parental involvement in education is the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving students' academic learning and other school activities. Parental involvement helps ensure that the following occur: • Parents play an integral role in assisting their children's learning. • Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their children's education at school. • Parents are full partners in their children's education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in their children's education

12. Components of Family Engagement include: Collaboration & positive relationships Family-Centered Strengths-Based Solutions Focused Promote children's development

13. Small group activity:  Small group work  What has worked in your schools to increase and encourage family engagement?

14. Strategies for improving family engagement: -Have adequate and welcoming space -Establish policies and procedures to promote family engagement -Communicate and build trusting relationships -Be intentional about staff hiring and training to promote effective staff-family interactions -Connect families to each other, others on staff, CBOs Help support families and their basic needs

15. • Be sure the first contact with families is a positive one. • Communicate with parents straightforwardly and simply, avoiding educational "jargon." • Ensure that all families have regular access to clear, concise, and easily readable information about their children's school and classroom. • Ask parents to share their concerns and opinions about school, and then address those concerns. • Accommodate parents' work schedules. • Accommodate language and cultural differences. •Invite families to share knowledge about their students' lives, interests, hopes, and struggles. • View linguistic, cultural and family diversity as strengths.

16. • Encourage active parent participation in student learning. • Establish regular, meaningful communication between home and school. • Collaborate with parents to ensure that children have a supportive learning environment at school and at home. • Welcome parents as advocates for their children as well as the school's other students. • Invite parents to act as full partners in making school decisions that affect children and families. • Reach out to the community for resources to strengthen schools.

17. • Project Appleseed This non-profit, national campaign advocates improvement in public schools by increasing parental involvement in U.S. schools. • The National PTA This site provides a number of documents offering ideas for teachers and schools who want to encourage and promote parental involvement in education. • National Network of Partnership Schools Established by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, this organization helps schools, districts, and states develop and maintain programs that promote school- family-community partnerships.

18. Resources: http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/files/parentinv2.html https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr200.shtm http://www.readingrockets.org/article/getting-parents-involved-schools https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2156759X0701100103 https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/499194 https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/01/10/how-to-solve-the-parent-engagement-problem.html http://schoolengagement.org/school-engagement-services/increasing-parental-involvement/ https://www.expandinglearning.org/expandingminds/article/evidence-based-strategies-supporting-and- enhancing-family-engagement https://www.nmefoundation.org/getattachment/67f7c030-df45-4076-a23f-0d7f0596983f/Final-Report- Family-Engagement-AIR.pdf?lang=en-US&ext=.pdf https://ctschoolchange.org/app/uploads/Hanover-Effective-Family-and-Community-Engagement- Strategies-LEAD-Connecticut.pdf https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/strategies-family-engagement-attitudes-practices.pdf https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/High-Impact-Family-Engagement.-A-Core-Strategy-for-School- Improvement.pdf https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/critical-practices-for-antibias-education/family-and- community-engagement