Family Engagement in Culturally Diverse Communities:

Building (Structurally Sound) Bridges

Maureen Manning, M.Ed, CAGS

Director of Beyond School Time & Family Engagement

Who is at the table?

Wareham, Massachusetts: The Gateway to Cape Cod

Poverty level in Wareham is above the state average

The entire district is free lunch

Over the past several years, Wareham Public Schools has seen a dramatic increase in English Language Learners

Wareham has a higher population of Special Needs students than the state average

Wareham is a key area in the state for homeless families to be relocated

WHY ENGAGE FAMILY & COMMUNITY?

Higher grades and test scores

More classes passed

Better attendance

Better social skills and improved behavior at home And at school

Easier adaptation to school

Increased likelihood of high school graduation and attendance at post-secondary education

Henderson, & Mapp,2002 via National School Board & Harvard University Survey

INVOLVEMENT vs.ENGAGEMENT

The Engagement Continuum

Moving from “random acts of family involvement” to meaningful and ongoing family engagement.

Activity: List family and/or community engagement activities in your school/district/site. Where do they fall on the continuum?

In accordance with the National Family and Community Engagement Working Group’s standards,

all engagement efforts should be:

Systemic,

-meaning they are designed as a core component of

educational goals;

Integrated,

-meaning they are embedded into the structures and

processes designed to meet those goals;

Sustained,

-meaning they are operated with adequate resources

and partnerships.

KEY ELEMENTS IN COMMUNITIES WITH SUCCESSFUL FAMILY & COMMUNITY

ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS

Administrative beliefs and support in the importance of FCE ~ yet many districts do not have any funding allocated for this

Supportive Community Partnerships

Teacher proficiency in FCE Strategies~ yet according to a recent METLIFE National Teacher Survey~ Teachers find family engagement to be their biggest challenge.

There is a growing need to provide concrete examples of teacher beliefs about and practices for engaging families that will contribute to their primary goal: helping students succeed.

3 Step Classroom Rubric

Beliefs and Mindsets

Relationships and Communication Systems

Core Instructional Program

BELIEFS AND MINDSETS

Teachers’ perceptions about families shape their family engagement efforts

The first set of objectives in the rubric focuses on the beliefs that teachers have about families and what the role of the teacher should be in facilitating family engagement.

Specifically, the teacher should value and respect families and see them as assets in supporting student learning

See engaging families as part of the teacher’s core role and responsibility

Be culturally knowledgeable and sensitive

Relationships and Communication Systems

In order to engage parents in learning, teachers need trusting, mutually respectful relationships with families that are reinforced by consistent, two-way communication systems. To build these relationships, the teacher should: Treat families in respectful and culturally sensitive ways and

welcome their engagement in the classroom Establish a meaningful, differentiated home school

communication system Be able to reach all families and be reached by all families in a

timely way Communicate with all families in a way that is accessible and

easy to understand Problem solve with families in positive ways Learn from and about families to improve learning in the

classroom

Core Instructional Program

Research about the impact of various family engagement strategies shows that the ways in which families demonstrate the importance of education to their children is the largest predictor of student achievement. These practices, called academic socialization, encompass parents having high expectations for their child, discussing aspirations for the future with their child, fostering their child’s accountability Research about the impact of various family engagement for learning, and talking about the value of education.

Working collaboratively with families to set goals and foster high expectations for student achievement

Showing families what children are learning and demystifying grade level standards and assessments

Using data to show families how their children are doing

Helping families support learning at home.

GET IN THAT BALL PIT!

TAKE A SEAT, MAKE A FRIEND

httpswww.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HfHV4-N2LxQ ://<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HfHV4-N2LxQ?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

WAREHAM FAMILY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CENTERS:

Feeding Body, Mind and Spirit!

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

FREE FAMILY FIELD TRIPS

- Freedom Trail, Boston

- Franklin Park Zoo

- Battleship Cove

- “Annie”

- JFK Museum

- Plymouth Hall Museum/Plymouth Rock

- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

LITERACY NIGHTS/SCIENCE NIGHTS

OUTREACH

- Food Pantries, Church Suppers, WIC, Turning Pointe/Baby Pointe Resource

centers, Salvation Army, homeless shelters, Laundromats, Libraries PLAYGROUPS

- Music & Movement, STEM, Teddy Bear Storytime NON-TRADITIONAL CAREGIVERS GROUPS

- Grandparents Raising Grandkids, Single fathers, Foster Families

• COMMUNITY CAFES

COMMUNITY CAFES

Parent Cafés are a series of structured small group gatherings that focus on conversations or activities that bring parents together to discuss issues or to enjoy hobbies that are important to them. The goal is to directly engage parents in building relationships in the school and community in order to promote and support healthy outcomes for all families.

5 Protective Factors of Strengthening Families

Parental Resilience

Social Connections

Concrete Supports in Times of Need

Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development

Social and Emotional Competence of Children

TYPES OF COMMUNITY CAFES

Academic (A) ~ Helping your Child with Math Homework in Grade 4, Community Book Club, Topics in Special Education

Enrichment (E) ~ Memory Keepers Scrapbooking, Knitting, Floral Arrangement, Healthy Crockpot Cooking

Financial Literacy (FL) ~ Couponing, Balancing the Family Budget, Saving for the Holidays

Social/Emotional (SE)~ Parenting the Difficult Child, Parenting Toolbox, Parenting by the Seat of your (Comfortable) Pants

College Prep/Career Planning (CP) ~ Interviewing Skills, Resume Writing, FAFSA Support