www.laspdg.org

Family Engagement:

Let’s FACE it! Principles for Designing Effective Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Programs

Presented by La Tefy G. Schoen, Ph.D.

WELCOME

On behalf of the Louisiana State Personnel Development Grant, I would like to welcome you to today’s webinar “FACE it! This is Part I in a series on effective Family and Community Engagement.

My name is Dr. La Tefy Schoen and I am an educational consultant with Learning Innovations Educational Consultants in Baton Rouge.

Considerations: *This webinar is being recorded and will be available for viewing at your screen and save them to your computer www.laspdg.org

*To download the materials for today, you can click on the files in the file share pod on Questions & Comments: If you need to ask a question, please use the Chat Pod or Q & A Pod on your screen 2

Questions?

Please use your chat pod if you have questions related to this presentation. If time permits, we will answer them, during the webinar. If your question is not answered please email us after the webinar.

 Content-related questions - [email protected]

 LaSPDG grant-related questions - Melanie Lemoine [email protected]

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

Roll Call At this time, EVERYONE please

use your chat pod

and type:  your first and last

name

 district/LEA that you are representing  If you are in the room with others from your district, please identify those participants as well

POLL – participant roles

Please select your role: A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

District level supervisor/coordinator School level administrator Special education teacher Regular education/inclusion teacher Other

Purpose of this FACE it! Series: Webinar #1 (Concept) 1. Introduce a research-based framework for effective FACE Programs – “

SET for Success ”

2. Examine our current practices Webinar #2 – 11/1/12 (Application) 3. USE “

SET for Success

” framework to develop/adapt FACE practices likely to have the greatest impact on student academic success Webinars #3 &4 – archived (Context Specific Strategies) 4. Discuss specific strategies shown to be effective for various age groups a. preschool & elementary b. middle & high school

high performing schools improving schools

-Mayer, Mullens, & Moore, 2000 -Charles A. Dana Center, 1999

However, providing a few “parent involvement activities” does not constitute a partnership, nor an effective Family Engagement Program

The Building Blocks of an effective FACE Program

tructure xpectations

rust

For Success

!

For Success Framework

Structure Expect ations

Trust

when ALL 3 COMPONENTS are in place

For Success framework… simple research-based principles that educators can use to create a program that meaningfully engages families and increases effectiveness of their work with students NOT a COOK BOOK Style How-to guide

Structure Expect ations

Trust

• • • • Programs Policies Procedures Scheduling of TIME Structure is important – it’s the “bones” of your FACE Program Formalize your FACE Programs • • • • Outline of FACE Program Policies, Procedures & School Contacts in writing Publish in handbooks, newsletters, notes home, on websites and posters etc… Allocate adequate time Provide training for ALL staff (even non-instructional personnel)

A common mistake schools make is to focus exclusively on structure and overlook establishing trust and setting expectations for family engagement.

WE will discuss Structure more in the webinar #2

– complete the Professional Reflections Log / questionnaire before webinar 2 This questionnaire will help you analyze and describe the structure of your existing family engagement program

Structure Today we’ll focus on the less tangible components of FACE programs Expect ations

Trust

CHAT POD Why do parents become involved in their child’s school?

• What concept, in a parent’s mind, most strongly and consistently impacts… whether they choose to be involved •and how they choose to be involved in school?

Q: The strongest influence on whether parents become involved and how parents become involved in school is…

Influences on Concepts of ROLE in parents

Norms of Groups I belong to

Parent Sense of Self-Efficacy MY role as parent at this school In this school

Beliefs about childrearing High Quality School FACE Programs impact these areas!

Support for Parents in guiding Home Learning

-Sandler, 1997

Choices about HOW they choose to be involved are impacted by:  Perceptions of their own skills and possible contributions  Feeling welcome or that their actions are valued  Other demands on their time & energy  SPECIFIC invitations from school and suggestions from teachers  Perceptions of EXPECTATIONS from the school and other parents

structure

Expectations

EXPECTATIONS in FACE Programs Trust

People

observe

norms

Infer

values & expectations

for their behavior Expectations

Expect ations

in family members

Expect ations

• • • • • • •

Family & Community PERCEPTIONS Matter …

What do school staff expect parents/community partners to do? What would I actually be doing? How often?

Do I feel prepared for this?

Are there concrete, well defined tasks, programs, processes for me to get involved in?

Will my efforts will make a difference?

How much time or effort it will require?

Do other parents and community partners participate? Parent/student point of view: Put yourself in their place . Consider how THEY see the school and what it wants from them.

Parents’ Expectations are influenced by what they See/hear and experience

Consider the norms in your schools and districts .

T

Do teachers’ actions routinely communicate that they value family involvement in school?

parents as partners To what extent do teachers think of parents as paDo teachers routinely communicate rtners

Expect ations create the mindset

Their assistance is wanted by school faculty Their input is valued Their role is crucial to their child’s success CHAT RESPONSES Now

 State the school’s position that ALL parents are valued as partners in helping their child learn – regardless of home language, religion, marital status, custody arrangements, race, culture, income, work type, schedule or any other circumstance   State it more than once, in more than one way Define for parents what they can do to help their child – be concrete   Provide good examples; demonstrate what you want Do not limit “engagement” to only things parents do at school  Invite /encourage /remind parents to assist regularly  Ask for help on specific projects  Create a checklist with variety of standing things a parent can do to help that includes both at-home and at-school activities  Honor parents’ contributions – acknowledge publicly  Create a space for parents to work at school where they feel welcome and comfortable  Provide access to school resources, such as computers, art supplies at times when parents can work with their child on school-related activities (for example: after-school workroom hours)  Provide training for parents in tasks they can perform  Provide materials /resources that parents can use independently  Say Thank You! – personally – not a form letter.

Expect ations

POLL

What is one of the most common ways schools learn about perceptions of families?

A.

B.

C.

Monitor the gossip mill Discuss it with parents at open house Exit interviews D.

Parent Surveys

Expect ations D. Surveys

are one of the best way to find out how families perceive the school and its expectations for families

Structure Expectations

TRUST

TRUSTING Relationships in FACE Programs

trusting relationships

And kids SUCEED!

Trust

People do not engage with people they do not trust!

Relationships matter!

Questions impacting parent decisions to be actively involved in their child’s school: • How well do I know the school staff/other parents? Do they know me by name/sight? • Do I feel accepted, welcomed and appreciated?

• Are they sincere when they say they want help from families/community members?

• Does the school staff value my time, ideas, efforts?

• Will they show me/teach me everything I need to know to be successful with the tasks they want me to perform?

• Will my efforts be accepted, even if I am not sure at first how to do this?

• Do they really care whether or not this gets done- is it important?

Trust

Rule 1 Teachers must get to know parents Rule 2 Teachers must convince parents that they really care about their child and WANT them to succeed Rule 3 Parents must believe that teachers or “school people” respect them and would never embarrass or humiliate them or their child intentionally

PARENT OUTREACH

 Direct contact one-on-one contact with parents by a teacher  providing specific personalized instructions  Regular contact  Positive feedback  Specific invitations issued

      Talk about school more frequently Discuss college and/or employment plans Assist with homework Network with other parents to help their child Attend parent meetings & functions Volunteer at school An excellent way to engage parents in the activities that make the most difference for students is to have a strong direct outreach program where teachers call regularly – regardless of any problems.

How can we encourage greater family engagement?

PROFESSIONAL REFLECTION

Begin THE PROFESSIONAL

REFLECTION Log Complete one set of entries

BEFORE THE NEXT WEBINAR This is the first step toward building a stronger FACE Program

tructure xpectations

rust

For Success !

Studies in this presentation are summarized in

A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School Family, and Community Connections

on Student Achievement. (2002) by Anne Henderson & Karen Mapp.

For a full bibliography or for consulting services please contact: Dr. La Tefy Schoen www.Learning-innovations.com or [email protected]

www.laspdg.org

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.

Questions?

• • • Please use your chat pod if you have questions related to this presentation (if time permits, we will answer them, if not please email questions to contacts below) After this webinar, you may email any content-related questions to La Tefy Schoen [email protected]

You may email any grant-related questions to Melanie Lemoine [email protected]

We Want Your Feedback!

• • • • We are going to open a brief survey on your screen for you to offer feedback now When you are finished, you may exit out of the webinar If you would prefer to offer feedback at a later time, please do so at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fewebinar Thank you!