Transcript Connecticut School-Family-Community Partnerships Project

Family Engagement:
From Expected to
Effective
June 27, 2014
Anne T. Henderson
Annenberg Institute for School Reform
[email protected]
@laspdg
www.laspdg.org
LaSPDG
Louisiana State Personnel Development Grant
 Federally funded through IDEA
 Support improved outcomes for students with
disabilities through personnel development
 Funded in 2011 for 5 years
 Project staff housed at LSU
 Collaborate with LDOE

LaSPDG

Four Focus Areas:
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Data-Based Decision Making
Inclusive Practices
Family Engagement
Culturally Responsive Practices
www.laspdg.org

Resources include FREE tools, webinars,
and articles
Additional SPDG
Questions?
Contact Melanie Lemoine
[email protected]
The contents of this PowerPoint presentation were developed under a grant from the US Department of
Education, #H323A110003. However those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US
Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
People First Language
“People First Language puts the person before the disability and describes
what a person has, not who a person is.”
Kathie Snow. (n.d.) A few words about People First Language. Disability is Natural. Retrieved August 1, 2012
from http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/images/PDF/pfl-sh09.pdf
Beyond the Bake Sale
At this time,
please write
your name on
the inside cover
of your book.
We will need it
for an activity
today.
Today’s Agenda
Tap into your knowledge and experience
 Learn about new research on engaging
families to improve student achievement
 Discuss high-impact strategies for engaging
families in improving student learning
 Assess your practices of family engagement
 Redesign your activities for families

Why Does This Matter?
Icebreaker
What do we know about
engaging families?
Is there a Link between
Family-School Partnerships
and Student Achievement?
A New Wave of Evidence:
Family Engagement
Has a Powerful
Impact on Student
Achievement
By Anne T. Henderson
and Karen L. Mapp
www.sedl.org/connections
If Parents are Engaged, Students from
All Backgrounds Tend To:

Earn higher grades and test scores

Enroll in higher-level programs

Be promoted and earn credits

Adapt well to school and attend regularly

Have better social skills and behavior

Graduate and go on to higher education
Overall Finding:
When families are
engaged at home and
at school:
-- Children do better
in school and
-- Schools get better,
all the way through
high school.
School Practices are KEY
The strongest, most consistent
predictors of whether parents
are involved at home and
school are the specific school
programs and teacher
practices that encourage and
guide parents to become
involved.
Dr. Joyce Epstein
Johns Hopkins University
News Flash
Important new studies
reveal high-impact
strategies
Organizing Schools for Improvement

Long-term study of Chicago schools found five
essential supports for school improvement

Without all five, schools were substantially less
likely to make gains.

The presence of strong family and community
ties made it much more likely that students
would make significant math and reading gains.
Anthony S. Bryk et al, (2010) Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press)
Organizing Schools for Improvement
Leadership
Instructional
Guidance
School Climate
Teacher
Capacity
Parent-SchoolCommunity
Ties
What did they measure?
Teachers’ ties to community: Understand
local issues, spend time in community, use local
resources.
 Teacher outreach to parents: Invite parents to
observe in class, try to understand parents'
concerns, and embrace parents as partners
 Parent response: Become involved in school
activities and respond to teacher concerns about
schoolwork.

Anthony S. Bryk et al, (2010) Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press)
Reading
Percentage of Schools that
Substantially Improved in
Reading
50%
45%
47%
43%
45%
40%
40%
36%
35%
30%
Weak
25%
Strong
20%
15%
10%
16%
11%
10%
9%
10%
5%
0%
School
Work
Safety &
Parent
Leadership Involvement Orientation Order
Curriculum
Alignment
Achievement for All / 3As

Program focus is raising achievement for UK
students with special needs, ES-HS
Four pieces: Leadership, Instruction, Wider
Outcomes, and Conversations
 Linchpin of program: Structured Conversations
between teachers and parents

Welcome
families
Focus on
Skills
Share
Strategies
Develop a
plan
Establish
new Learning
Behaviors
Gains of Students With Disabilities in AfA
Language Arts

Math
Points Gained/UK National Average
of All Students
3.28
3.09
Points Gained/Average of SEND
Students in AfA Program
4.20
3.83
Points Gained/UK National Average
of All Students With Disabilities
2.86
2.57
Humphrey and Squires (2011) Achievement for All National Evaluation: Final Report. London: Department for
Education https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR176
Impact of Teacher Outreach Strategies
Students’ reading and math scores
improved 40-50% faster when teachers:
 met
with families face-to-face
 sent materials on ways to help their child
at home
 telephoned routinely about progress
Westat and Policy Studies Associates, 2001
School-Family Partnership: Secondary School
 Sharing high expectations for
success with advisor and team
 Planning for future education
 Knowledge of courses and
classes
 Monitoring progress
 Helping students prepare for
university / post-secondary
education
Ascher and Maguire, Beating the Odds, Annenberg Institute
for School Reform, 2009
What Creates
Strong Ties with
Families?
Learning Conversations Aligned to
School Improvement Plan
Step 1
Select SIP
Goal, align
with
Common
Core
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Make it
Family
Friendly
ID Specific
Skills to
Strengthe
n at grade
levels
Discuss
Strategies
that
Teachers
& Families
can use
Why Conversations about Learning?
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Parents and teachers become partners in
improving achievement
Drilling down to grade level allows focus on
specific skills in Common Core
Explaining Common Core standards helps
everyone understand them better
Ideas that come up will shape family
engagement throughout the year
Family capacity to support learning becomes
stronger
Handout: Parent-Teacher Conversations about Learning
Common Core: Explain to Parents
 Grade
1 Writing: Write
informative/explanatory texts in which they
name a topic, supply some facts about the
topic, and provide some sense of closure.
 Grades
7-9 Reading: Delineate and
evaluate the argument and specific claims
in a text, including the validity of the
reasoning as well as the relevance and
sufficiency of the evidence.
Be Systemic: Align all Resources
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Learning Conversations
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Year Level Strategies
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Title I Budget
Parent Workshops
Staff Development
Family Center
Volunteers
Community Partners
Evaluation
Family Engagement Action Team
Keys to Powerful Partnerships
Linking
to
Learning
Building
Relationships
Our Current Practices
Relationships
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Learning
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General
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Beyond the Bake Sale
The Essential
Guide to FamilySchool
Partnerships
Anne T. Henderson, Karen L.
Mapp, Vivian R. Johnson and
Don Davies
The New Press, 2007
Chapter 5 Book Study
 Each
group will read one of four sections
of this chapter and develop a report
off, 1-4. If you are group 1, you’ll
read the assigned section marked #1.
 Count
 Follow
the instructions on your handout
 Design
a poster to show the major ideas
 Reflect
on your practice and be prepared
to report on your work
LUNCH!
Take a Gallery Walk
Joe Mazza, The Social Media Principal Video
What are Your SIP Goals?
 Pick
two goals in your school improvement
plan.
 Translate them into family-friendly
language. What does this goal really
mean? No jargon, plain English.
 How will you explain these goals to
students and families?
 BRAINSTORM: How can you work with
families to reach the goals?
Family Friendly Language

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Reading: The percent of
students scoring at grade
level in reading will move
from 65% to 80% in 3
years. We will focus on:
- Vocabulary
development in grades K4
- Making text connections
in grades 5-6

Reading: Reading
proficiency scores will
increase five
percentile points a
year for the next SIP
period.
Low vs. High-Impact Engagement
? impact:
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Show parents how to do a
read-aloud
Hold learning conversations with parents
Co-construct ideas for
math learning games
Host class visits to model
what students learn and
do in class
? impact:


Tell parents to read 30
minutes a day
Offer parenting classes

Ask parents to drill
math facts at home

Have a back-to-school
night in the cafeteria
Redesign Team

Re-design your school’s open house or
curriculum night

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What changes will you make to help families build
relationships with teachers and with each other?
How will you share data with families about how
students are doing?
In what ways will you share information about what
students will be learning and doing in their classes?
Prepare to model for the whole group what your
new program will be like!
Feedback Forum
What is one important thing you learned today?
 What was the best idea you heard?
 What will you use when you get home?

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Different points of view:


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Family facilitator perspective
District perspective
School perspective
Keep this in mind….
Involving parents in (not just
informing them about) learning
standards or outcomes, creates
opportunities to develop a deeper
dialogue between parents and
teachers about teaching and
learning
Hargreaves and Moore