Family Engagement

Family Engagement Constantino and Mapp Elementary Principal Retreat June 15, 2020 Presented by: Michael Colston, Sherry King, Tammy Williams, Cindy Jackson

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Family Engagement Defined- Karen Mapp Definition of Family Engagement Family Engagement is a full, equal, and equitable partnership among families, educators and community partners to promote children’s learning and development from birth through college and career.

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Four Essential Core Beliefs 1.

All families have dreams for their children and want the best for them.

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All Families have the capacity to support their children’s learning

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Families and school staff are equal partners

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The responsibility for cultivating and sustaining partnerships among school, home, and community rests primarily with school staff, especially school leaders.

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Involvement ★

Focus on individual responsibility

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Communication to families is oneway

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Focuses on programming

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Relationship is transactional

VS. Engagement ★

Focuses on collective responsibility and partnership

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Communication with families is twoway

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Focuses on practice

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Relationship is transformative

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Family Engagement is not a program, it’s a component of teaching and learning equitable practice.

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3 PreRequisites for effective family and Community Engagement 6

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The Challenges 8

Organizational Conditions ●

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Systemic: embraced by leadership across the organization Integrated: embedded in all strategies Sustained: with resources and infrastructure

Process Conditions ● ● ● ● ● ●

Relational:built on mutual trust Linked to learning and development Asset- based Culturally responsive and respectful Collaborative Interactive

Essential Conditions 9

IMPACT on STUDENTS 10

IMPACT on FAMILIES 11

Linked to Learning 12

Is

e do w t Wha

to Le d e link

??? g n i arn

List at least five events/activities that schools currently have for families (think across the entire school year)

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Engage Every Family Dr. Steven Constantino

“Family engagement is not an initiative, nor is it a new task set in front of you. Consider it doing what we already do but doing it differently, through the lens of engaged families--no new time commitment, no new resources, no new energies, just doing what we already do . . . differently. Don’t think outside the box . . . blow up the box! Rebuild and reassemble the pieces in a different way.” p.8

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WOULD EVERY FAMILY CHOOSE YOU? Online School

Public School

Home School

Private School

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We Appreciate You . . .

What if we ask every employee of the school district to choose one family at random and call them. When they answer, say: “Hi, my name is ___ and I am calling from ___. I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for choosing our school/district to educate your child/children. We know you have a choice in how to educate your child/children, and we appreciate your choosing us. We consider working with your child/children and your family a privilege.” p.5 16

Keep It Simple ●

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Educators tend to overthink issues, even to the point of paralysis--we think that change is not worth the time or will not produce the result. We take the challenges we face and make potential solutions so complex that resolving the issue seem impossible.

We lose hope. We lose hope that we have the energy or power to change anything.

Family engagement is not a race.

Simple translates into more effective action (p. 7) How do you eat an elephant?

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Ideas to Promote Caring to Families ● ● ●

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Caring is important. The easiest mountain we have to climb in education is to convince families that we care. We do care!

Make your first interaction with a family about them, not about the teacher, the classroom, or the subject area.

No one event or first attempt at engaging every family will bring a thundering herd of families to your doorway. Follow up with those who don’t attend an event. Find out why they couldn’t or didn’t attend. Call them. Tell them you missed them!

Whenever possible have face-to-face conversations or at least a phone call.

Consider home visits.

Learn the names of your students and their family members.

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The Secret to Success!!

YA GOTTA WANNA 19

Motivating Teachers ● ● ● ●

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Three important factors for motivation in the workplace: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Three types of teachers: “happy peppy teachers”, “wait-and-see-ers”, and “not-gonna-do-its” “Proof-of-concept almost guarantees that most teachers will implement the desired practice or idea.”

Launch a concept with the “happy peppy teachers” first. The “wait-and-see-ers” will watch. The idea will slowly take root and permeate the culture if it’s a good one.

No teacher wants to fail.

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Motivating Teachers Simple Secret to Motivating Teachers: “First, believe that teachers want to be successful. Second, understand that until we can prove a concept, skepticism will run high. Lastly, understand that when the first two conditions are met, teachers will gravitate toward the desired change. The timeline may not be your timeline, but with nurturing, nudging, and a little patience, the result will be spectacular.”

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Understanding Disengagement ●

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“Because many parents had negative school experiences, it is often the norm that they transfer this negativity to their own engagement” (Caplan, 2000; Liontos, 1992) “Parents and teachers often work from different agendas, have differing opinions and attitudes, and use different language.”

Cycle of Disengagement p. 32, Figure 3.1 “The assumption of apathy is one of the largest barriers to creating effective relationship with families.”

“Everyone wants their own children to exceed them in their quality of life.”

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The Five Simple Principles Survey--p. 42

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A Culture That Engages Every Family Principle #1 The Illusion That is Culture ● ●

Culture permeates all that we do.

Do we notice?

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A Culture That Engages Every Family Principle #1 The collective beliefs, attitudes, norms, values, actions, and assumptions of the school organization explicitly embrace and are committed to . . . families as a foundational core component to improvement and greater student learning and performance.

“Families are subunits of schools.”

Begin by studying policy on family engagement--pp. 59-66 School culture grids--pp. 67-70 Case Study pp. 70-73 25

Life is like a game of Monopoly...

Chapters - 6-10 Sherry King

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Rule of 7 According to Research: ➔ Positive Experience - More likely to tell 7 people ➔ Negative Experience - More likely to tell 4 times as many Look for the positives, first!

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Communicate Effectively and Build Relationships It’s the little things...

Ttt

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Warning! Trespassers will be Prosecuted!

No Skateboarding; No Running; No Motorcycles!

All Visitors Must Report to the Main Office!

Your Presence is Being Recorded!

Faculty & Staff Parking Only!

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Welcome to our school! We are glad you are here! Please sign in at the main office. This way (arrows or directions)

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Thank you for being here today. We appreciate it. Come back soon! (Sign over the door as people exit)

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Family Outreach Schools commonly set policies and procedures that actually work against fostering relationships with all parents, and then complain that families are difficult to reach (Constantino, 2016).

Perceived Value: “I know what they think of me.” (p.87) ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔

The Weekly Folder - What has occured vs. what will occur (p.92) The “Hard To Reach” - Teacher home visits (p.93) The IEP Meeting - Dominated by the team of “experts” (p.100) Parent Voice and Choice - Silence is not acceptance (p.108)

Communicate effectively with every family - Chart interactions (p.81) 31

The R

ole of

Fear

School Actions That Promote Mistrust ➔ ➔

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Inaccurate, outdated, or lack of information Lack of follow-through (promises not kept, grading mistakes or important information not corrected) Practices with limits (no visits, no volunteers) Discipline issues (lack of understanding, perceived unfairness, disagreement with discipline)

and

Tr

u s t

Parent Actions That Promote Mistrust ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔

Sporadic attendance patterns Defensive posture toward school actions (always the school’s fault) Lack of response to communication Non-attendance to school functions Threatening responses or aggressive actions toward school communication

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Exceed Customer Expectations “Greeting people warmly and with a caring attitude is important, but being good at what we do is essential, otherwise we are not providing the kind of service expected by our customer. We must model excellence, always” (Constantino, 2016).

Do! 113 ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔

The Ten-Second Rule ➔ The Telephone Answer ➔ The CEO Check-Ins ➔ The Simple Thank-You Have Positive Something to Say Be Calm - Admit and Apologize Be Respectful and Trustworthy Be Present (Physically AND Mentally) Meet in Cyberspace if Needed Create Welcoming Physical Environment

Don’t!

Make Major Changes Without Family Input Make Promises You Can’t Keep Remember: Anger is a mask for fear, so don’t: Blame, Interrupt, Complain, Get Defensive, Lie, “Spin” the Truth, Label, Change the Subject, Give Unsolicited Advice, Talk Compulsively, “E-YELL”, Allow Yourself to be Bullied or Abused 33

Empower Every Family Self-belief does not necessarily ensure success, but self-disbelief assuredly spawns failure. ~Albert Bandura

The famous questions: ➔ ➔

What did you do in school today? Answer:_____________ Do you have any homework? Answer:__________

We must change the questions!

Families cannot ask their children better questions if we do not assist them in understanding what happens in school every day, e.g: ➔ ➔ ➔

What is the order of operations?

Show me the quiz you took in science today.

Explain latitude and longitude.

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Sending things home that are interactive in nature, meaning they require a conversation between the parent and their child and some sort of response that will be returned to their teacher, will alter conversations and go a long way toward engaging every family regardless of who they are or their station in life (Contantino, 2016).

Parent - Student Questions ●

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What new thing did you learn during (Reading/Math/Writing/Science) time today? How did you learn it?

What is something that you learned today that you didn’t learn yesterday?

What struggles did you have today and how did you overcome them?

Why did you choose the book you’re reading? Tell me your feelings about the story so far.

What skill did you practice and learn in math today? How do you plan to get better?

What is something you learned today that you think you will need in your future career?

Teach me something. Pretend you are the teacher and I am you. Teach me something you learned today. @teachheath 35

IF IT’S RELEVANT, THEY WILL COME The key to family engagement? Make it meaningful and relevant! ➔

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Workshops - Personalize activities and explain how it will benefit their child, for example, providing reading, math, technology workshops, etc., so parents can help their children at home. Also design workshops and opportunities based upon family input on their needs (not what YOU think are their needs).

Parent-Teacher Conferences - (In person or Zoom Conferences)

Reach out to families before the conference:

Susie and I are very excited to have the opportunity to talk with you about Susie’s progress in school. As we prepare for this conference led by Susie, what questions do you have as a parent? What would you like to know as a result of our conference? How can we make this a meaningful experience for you?

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Engage Every Family in Decision Making “All parents must the given opportunities to offer ideas and suggestions on ways to improve their schools.

Having families as true stakeholders in school creates feelings of ownership of the school’s programs and activities” (Constantino, 2016)

Include parents from all geographical/socio economic/ethnic backgrounds to meetings via Zoom or in person: ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔

School Improvement Meetings School Safety Committee Vertical Literacy/Math Committees School Climate Committee Yearbook Committee Parent Focus Group (Not just PTO Board) Engage the Greater Community

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One Final Case Study... ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔

Single father with low educational level and negative school experience Four children ages 2, 5, 6, 10 Minimum wage job by day, tobacco farming most evenings and weekends Refuses to seek public assistance All 4 children will struggle in school academically and/or socially All 4 children experienced trauma No time nor educational skills to assist with school work No books in the house Does not want calls or visits from the school The million dollar question 38

Teacher Impact On Student Learning. ➔ ➔

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Teacher quality trumps virtually all other influences on student achievement.

A student in a highly effective classroom will learn in 6 months what those in an average classroom will take one year to learn. If a student is in one of the least effective classrooms, the same amount of learning takes 2 years. ...gains made by students taught by exemplary teachers outpaced expected levels of growth (Allington & Johnson, 2000).

Students placed with high-performing teachers will progress three times as fast as those placed with low-performing teachers (Barber & Mourshed, 2007, p.12). ...Ethnicity, socioeconomic level, class size, and classroom heterogeneity are poor predictors of student academic growth...the effectiveness of the teacher is the major determinant of student academic progress (Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997).

Research indicates that there is a 15% variability difference in student achievement between teachers within the same school.

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Effective Teachers = Student Achievement ➔

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Home (i.e., family support and encouragement for learning, economic advantages or disadvantages, involvement with school), may account for approximately 5 to 10 percent of the variance (Hattie, 2003).

At the primary level, students that are placed with low-performing teachers for several years in a row suffer an educational loss which is largely irreversible (Barber & Mourshed, 2007).

A poor child who has high-quality teachers for five consecutive years could have large enough learning gains to close the achievement gap with their upper elementary income peers and offset the disadvantage associated with low socioeconomic background (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kim, 2005).

There is a much greater opportunity to improve student performance by focusing on teacher quality and teacher performance than by focusing on any other school-related means (Strong, 2010. .

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A Bit of Reading Research! ➔ Nearly one third of fourth and eighth graders are reading below proficiency levels (USDOE as cited by Kilpatrick, 2015). ➔ Reading disability is estimated to comprise at least 85% of all disabilities learning (USDOE as cited by Kilpatrick, 2015). ➔ Significant reading difficulties appear to put students at higher risk for depression (Maughan, Rowe, Loeber, & Stouthamer-Lober, 2003). ➔ Students who are poor readers in third grade are 4 times more likely to become high school dropouts compared to skilled readers (Hernandez, 2012). ➔ Reading affects a student’s entire academic experience...How well children succeed in school affects their

future endeavors in life (Miller, McCardel, & Hernandez, 2010). ➔ The link between academic failure, delinquency, and crime is welded to reading failure (The Nation’s Report card.Gov). ➔ Millions of dollars are spent every year on general education and special educational reading remediation.

Despite this, poor readers generally remain poor readers (Jacobson, 1999; Maughan, Hagell, Rutter, & Yule, 1994; Morgan et al., 2008, Protopapas, Sideridis, Mouzaki, & Simos, 2011; Short, Fegans, McKinney, & Applebaum, 1986; Sparks, Patton, & Murdock, 2014).

➔ A large study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD), researchers were

able to reduce the number of children who require ongoing general or special education remediation from 41 the national average of about 30% down to 3% (Vellutino et al., 1996).

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