Focusing on Family Engagement to Improve Student Learning

1. Focusing on Family Engagement to Improve Student Learning Nancy M. Cline, M. Ed. WVDE Lead Coordinator Office of Special Education

2. Today we will focus on Building an Effective Family Program that Supports Learning • A little research • The value of family engagement • Connect FE to strategic plan goals • Family Engagement OneDrive Folder

3. Family Involvement vs. Family Engagement • The latin root of the word "involvement" is “involvere” which means to wrap around, cover or envelop; roll, cause to roll. • The latin root of the word "engagement" is “engare” which means to make a formal agreement,  to contract with; to pledge; an obligation to do something.

4. Engagement: an obligation to do something • What does that mean for educators? • What does that mean for parents and those acting as parents? • What does that mean for the community?

5. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONFamily Engagement Definition Family engagement refers to the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote children’s development, learning, and wellness, including the planning, development, and evaluation of such activities, programs, and systems. (2016)

6. WVDE Family, School, and Community Engagement  Core Beliefs: • All parents have dreams for their children and want to see them succeed. • All parents have the capacity to support their children’s learning. • When parents are equipped with accurate, relevant, and timely information, they are properly positioned to partner to support their children’s learning. • Parents and school staff should be equal partners with support from the community. • The responsibility for building positive productive relationships between school and home rests primarily with the school staff, especially school and county leaders.

7. The Research Karen Mapp, Steve Constantino, Joyce Epstein

8. Mapp: Dual Capacity Building Framework Student Achievement

9. Mapp: Effective Family Engagement Programs • Recognize that all parents, regardless of income, education level, or cultural background are involved in their children’s education and want their children to do well in school; • Link family and community engagement efforts to student learning; • Create initiatives that will support families to guide their children’s learning, from preschool through high school; • Develop the capacity of school staff to work with families; • Focus efforts to engage families on developing trusting and respectful relationships; and • Embrace a philosophy of partnership and be willing to share power with families. Make sure parents and school staff understand the responsibility for children’s educational development is a collaborative enterprise (Mapp, 2004).

10. Steve Constantino on FE • Must develop meaningful relationships with parents and families to get the results that increase student achievement • Three rules in place to cultivating a culture within the school that is family friendly: • “Families must find personal meaning and relevance in their children’s educational experiences, • Families must receive positive interpersonal support from school employees on a regular basis and in a consistent manner, and • Families must see evidence that their children’s school is successful, safe and committed to establishing healthy relationships with parents and families.”

11. Joyce Epstein: Six Types of Involvement • Parenting • Communicating • Volunteering • Learning at Home • Decision Making • Collaborating with Community

12. The Chicago Consortium on School Research, 2006 5 essential supports needed to have sustainable successful school improvement • Leadership • Family and Community Ties • Student Centered Learning Environment • Ambitious Instruction • Professional Capacity They found that without strong family and community engagement, schools would not improve even if the other four supports were in place.

13. Family Engagement that Supports Learning is Everybody’s Work

14. “Everybody’s work” means… • Planning together (School, Students, Families, Community) • Working together to implement plans • Creating time to plan • Incorporating the families, students, and the community in the plans and the implementation • Having a common vision, purpose, and goals No one person or group can do this alone.

15. Impact of Family Engagement on Schools • Exhibit faster rates of literacy acquisition • Earn higher grades and test scores • Enroll in higher level programs • Are promoted more and earn more credits • Adapt better to school and attend more regularly • Have better social skills and behavior • Graduate and go on to higher education • Greater teacher retention and higher rates of job satisfaction

16. Impact of Family Engagement on Families • Builds family agency • Creates networks • Relieves stress • Support family relations • Enhances overall quality of life

17. FE Program Planning Embed within school’s strategic plan

18. FE & Strategic Plan Goals: Educators and Schools

19. The Law Meaningful FE is embedded in laws that govern our work… • Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) 2015 • STRENGTHENING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FOR THE 21st CENTURY ACT (PERKINS V) 2018 • INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT (IDEA) 2004 • WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT (WIOA) 2014 • SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

20. FE & Strategic Plan Embed Family Engagement into Strategic Plan • Strategic Plan Goals – Look through the lens of FE to see where and how family engagement can support reaching each goal. • Engage the entire staff • Capitalize on school events families attend? • Align newsletters, website, robo-calls, school activities & displays, and signage • Review data to inform next strategic plan

21. WVDE Strategic Plan Goal: Provide a high quality learning system that: • Encourages a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and skills • Promotes a culture of responsibility, personal well-being and community engagement • Responds to workforce and economic demands Priorities: Key Measures for Progress • School Readiness • Grades 3, 8, and 11 Reading & Math at or above proficiency • CTE program of study completion • Earned college credit through AP/IB/Dual Credit Courses • Attendance • Graduation Rate

22. WVDE Initiatives Early Childhood Education – WV 6th in the nation with 76% enrolled Dual Credit – 96.5% passed one or more DC courses Grad 20/20 – 89.4% all student and 75.6% SWD graduated within 4 years Math for Life Campaign – PreK-12 ReClaim WV – Response to Opioid Crisis and Trauma Advanced Career Education (ACE) – 13th Year students gain advanced credentials and licenses and more

23. Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)

24. Family Engagement Tiers (MTSS) Tier 1 - School-wide Programming Tier 2 - Groups of Parents/Families Reading on Grade Level Career and Technical Programs Grade Level Specific Programs Special Education • Parent Handbook • Graduation Requirements • School Goals and Objectives • Statewide Assessments

25. Family Engagement Tiers (MTSS) con’t Tier 3 – Specific Parents/Families • Parents of Children with Autism • Parents of Student with Truancy Issues • Referrals to Community Agencies for Support • Very Challenging Parents • Grandparents, ESL, Alternative School • Parents of Students who are Transitioning

26. What is happening in this video? The elementary school video.

27. What has happened in this video? The high school video.

28. School Professional’s Approach A Mindset Shift

29. All Students and their Families Benefit from Effective Family-School Partnerships

30. Goal-Oriented/Purposeful Partnerships • School Leadership Team = Action Team for Family-School Partnerships • Entire staff has consensus of family engagement beliefs • All staff working to improve family relationships with school • Entire staff create welcoming and trustworthy culture that is learner-centered • Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Engagement • Parenting – Understand child development; educators know families • Communicating – Two-way; on school programs & school/learning and individual student progress • Volunteering – At school, in class, at home, and as audiences • Learning at Home – Connections to practicing at home, course choices, career/technology goals, making learning enjoyable at home, exploring outside the community and state • Decision Making – All major groups represented on school committees and teams; informed and knowledgeable • Collaborating with Community – resources and volunteers from many groups, agencies, a presence in the school building

31. Family Engagement Today Yesteryear • Classroom volunteer • PTA, Athletic Booster, LSIC member, etc. • Fundraisers • Sign student planner • Field trip chaperone • Sign report cards and discipline forms • Individual parent teacher conferences for a few • Homework help • Purchaser project supplies FE Today • Connection to the school’s mission and strategic plan • Teams of parents planning with teams of educators • Understand the what, why, and how to strengthen student learning • Emphasize school academic endeavors (academic, social emotional, career) • Understand how school choices impact future choices • Shared high expectations for all students • Prepared to engage from cradle to college/career • Communications and celebrations are two-way

32. Suggested Tier 1 FE Programming • Welcome and What We Are About • Parents as Members on School Teams and Committees • Reading/Math Learning Outcomes and Strategies for Home • Parent Handbook and Calendar • Adverse Childhood Experiences (Trauma and Learning) • Nutrition that Supports Learning • Human Trafficking • Parenting for Learning • Building the Capacity of Parents to Engage in Learning • Building the Capacity of Educators to Create Effective Family-School Partnerships

33. Suggested Tier 2 FE Programming • Grade Level Specific Parent Handbook • Calming Strategies (Yoga) • Getting to Graduation, The Importance of Attendance • Culturally Responsive Training • Career Exploration and Transition Services • The Student Assistance Team (SAT) and Special Education Process • Grade Level/Subject Level Expected Learning Outcomes and Goals • Grandparent, ELL, Same Sex, and Foster Parents Supports • Mental Health Supports for School Staff and Families

34. Suggested Tier 3 FE Programming • Counseling Referrals • In-Home Supports (Visits) • Men Supporting Student Learning • Academic Parent-Teacher Teams • Clothing and Food Resources • Culturally Responsive Supports • Parenting to Address Trauma • GED/High School Completion for Parents • Job Training Support

35. School Building Checklist • Parents have a designated room/meeting space • School has welcoming signage and appearance • Student work is displayed throughout the school • All staff greet parents with smile and by name • Bulletin board displays diverse types of parents engaged in learning, parent celebrations, and accomplishments • School Website has updated easy to find staff contacts, kept current, focuses on learning • Parent Page on school website is organized by grade level, subject, and/or specific parent needs • Newsletters to parents address student learning and parent participation in learning • School uses FE Meeting Agendas (IEP/504/PTA, various conferences) for parent input and good customer service

36. “…, too often, we blame others when the answer lies within each of us. If parents knew how to make their children perfect scholars, they would. If the principal could make every student behave in the school, he would. If all students had the capacity to be successful in every classroom setting, they would. By truly understanding students as individuals who come from unique families and equipping ourselves with and implementing current evidence-based family engagement practices, we can make a substantially noticeable difference in every student, even those with very challenging learning disorders, behaviors, and family circumstances.” Nancy Cline, WVDE

37. Nancy Cline WVDE Family Engagement Lead Coordinator nmcline@k12.wv.us Please complete the online evaluation for this session. https://tinyurl.com/RateThis1

38. Bibliography • Constantino, S. Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2016) • Epstein, J. & Associates. School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2019) • Henderson, A. & Mapp, K. A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community • Connections on Student Achievement (Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Laboratory, 2002) • Henderson, A., Mapp, K., Johnson, V., and Davies, D. Beyond The Bakesale: The Essential Guide to • Family-School Partnerships (New York: The New Press, 2007) • Mapp, K., Carver, I., et. al. Powerful Partnerships: A Teacher’s Guide to Engaging Families for Student, Success (New York: Scholastic ,2017) • Mapp, K. & Kuttner, P. Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (U. S. Department of Education, 2014) • Wood, C. Yardsticks: Children In The Classroom Ages 4-14. (Turners Falls: MA: Center For Responsive Schools Inc., 2017) • Bibliography Articles and Additional Resources