Transcript Slide 1

March 24, 2014
Teaching is the Core
Facilitator: Kim Lewis
.
Every
Child
Every
Family
Every
School
Every
Day
Five Simple Principles
to Engage
Every Family
Based on work of Steven M. Constantino, Ed.D.
Recap
Teaching is the Core: Teachers’ Center
Set of 11 PD sessions planned.
Total of 30 hours of in-service available
Make it a PLC
Use www.wvta.weebly.com
Resources and BLOG
Did you do anything differently ?
Next session:
Mon., April 7 – Are you signed up?
Highly Effective Teaching with Technology
Bring/blog an idea to share!
Sat. April 5
Agenda for Today:
NYS Standard 6.3
“Communicate and collaborate with
families… to enhance student
development and success
5 Simple Principles of Engaging Families
Danielson
Breaking Myths
Domain 4
Strategies and Tips
4:45 working break with dinner
The challenge of every organization is to
build a feeling of dependence on one
another because the question is not how
well each person works, but how well they
work together ~
Vince Lombardi
You Tube
Clip
Activity 1: Share with Elbow Partner
Think of one specific good memory of a time
that you were at school
as a child with your parent
or as a parent with your son or daughter?
What makes this a good memory?
What made “good”?
Activity 2 : PICTURE
Why Engaging Families Matters:
Research and ROI
Teacher Satisfaction/Efficacy/Retention
Improve
Improved Parent/Child Communication
Improved Home Learning Environments
Less than 1% of
parents truly
“don’t care”
about their
child’s learning.
Dr. Constantino
Myth #1: “Expected” Behavior = Care
We
can, whenever and wherever we
choose, successfully teach all children
whose education is of interest to us. We
already know more than we need in
order to do this. Whether we do this or
not must finally depend on how we feel
about the fact that we haven’t so far
Ron Edmonds
Myth #2:
Academic performance is limited (or
driven) by family background .
The Rest of Ron Edmond’s thought…
 “How
many effective schools would you have to see to
be persuaded of the educability of all children? If your
answer is more than one, than I submit that you have
reasons of your own for preferring to believe that
basic pupil performance derives from family
background instead of school response to family
background. Whether or not we will ever effectively
teach the children of the poor is probably far more a
matter of politics than of social science.”
Breaking Myth #1 & 2: (REFRAME)
Academic performance is limited (or
driven) by SCHOOL RESPONSE to family
background .
Are You Engaged?
• How excited are you to get to
work/school in the morning?
• How much do you enjoy what you do for
its own sake rather than for what it gets
you?
• How accountable do you hold yourself
to a deeply held set of values?
Score of 28 + means you are ENGAGED
Why Focus on Engagement?
•
•
•
•
30% of workers are engaged
55% are disengaged
15% are actively disengaged
48% of parents feel they do not feel
connected to their child’s school
• 66% of parents are disengaged with their
child’s educational experiences
• 66% of students are disengaged with their
learning.
What Teachers Said
• In a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University,
15,000 teachers were asked:
• What would you like to see happen in order
to improve the ability for all children to
learn?
• 93% said: “More support from the homes of
my students for what I am trying to do in my
classroom”
Constantino’s
Definition of Family Engagement:
the degree to which families are
empowered to be involved in the
educational and academic lives of their
children and the degree to which
schools and school districts support
necessary relationships to sustain the
efficacy of parents in shaping their own
child’s academic future.
Why Engaging Families Matters:
Research
Attendance Improves
Grades Improve
Test Scores Improve
Student Attitudes and Behaviors
Improve
Higher sense of self-worth
Better social skills
Achievement Gap Closes
Graduation rates increase
Parent Involvement vs. Family Engagement
Parent Involvement
Family Engagement
• Traditional activities in • Giving parents the support
schools (back-to-school
and resources to be an
night, etc.) in which the
integral part of their
same group of parents
child’s learning PK-12.
continually participates. • Tying parents directly to a
• Equals volunteerism or
child’s academic
a family member’s role
performance—partners in
in the operation of a
educating the child.
school or organization • Not every parent needs us
(PTO, etc.).
to help them be
engaged—focus on the
ones who do!
Family Engagement must
include Efficacy
• Efficacy means the power to produce an effect.
• Parents need to feel success in guiding their children.
• Parents have a high sense of efficacy when:
– they believe that they can help their children do well
in school, be happy, and be safe.
– overcome negative influences, and keep their children
away from troublemakers, illegal drugs or alcohol.
– have a positive impact such as improving quality of
the school and making the neighborhood a better
place.
Dr. S. Constantino
Activity 3:
The Science Project
Read silently
Discuss these questions:
•What message did Mrs. Smith and her
child end up with?
•What caused this outcome?
•What could the teacher (& principal) have
done differently ?
What Causes Disengagement?
Self-Preservation
Negative
Catalyst
Isolation
Stress
Anxiety
Fear
We MUST
break this cycle
The Five Simple Principles to Engage Every Family™
#1:
#5:
#2:
#4:
#3:
The Five Simple Principles to Engage Every Family™
#1: A Culture
that Engages
Every Family
#5: Engage
the Greater
Community
#4: Family
Participation
in Decisionmaking
#2:
Communicate
Effectively and
Build
Relationships
#3: Empower
Every Family
Working Break
ABC’s of Parent
Involvement
teachingchannel.org
Breaking Myth:
It’s not about
doing MORE
It is about doing
DIFFERENT
•As an educator, how do you empower
parents to become involved in your
classroom or school?
•How can you tweak parent-teacher
events at your school to make them into
a shared learning opportunity?
•Even without a parent ed class, how
could you bring this opportunity to your
classroom?
Some Tips:
Dear Family…..
Go home folder
Ticket out event - but
Students correlate
The Five Simple Principles to Engage Every Family™
#1: A Culture
that Engages
Every Family
#5: Engage
the Greater
Community
#4: Family
Participation
in Decisionmaking
#2:
Communicate
Effectively and
Build
Relationships
#3: Empower
Every Family
#2: Communicate Effectively
and Build Relationships
2.1 The school creates and maintains a welcoming and
respectful environment which is inviting, supportive and
encouraging to all families.
2.2 The school employs strategies that extend relationshipbuilding opportunities beyond the school walls so that
families can substantially contribute to the education of their
children.
2.3 The culture of the school consistently maintains and effort
to ensure healthy, two-way communication. A sense of caring
to truly collaborate with all families exists as evidenced by
numerous mechanisms to allow families to communicate
Does our
Communication
ever sound like
this?
Communication: The #1 Thing That
Makes Parents Angry
• Making major changes without getting
parents input or notice
• So keep in mind…..
• Information sharing and discussion diffuse
anger, quell rumors, and removes
misconceptions
• Nobody likes surprises
Communication Issues
• First you say you do, and then you don’t
• Don’t make promises you can’t keep
• Knowing and choosing to ignore out of fear,
indifference, or indecision is risky business.
• The letter of the law and the spirit of the law
(overreacting)
A Guide to Effective Communication
More Communication Issues
• Labeling parents: marital status, religious
beliefs, ethnicity, and socio-economic status
• Getting defensive is natural but unwise
• Defensiveness suggests guilt
Even More Communication Issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Notices of meeting without checking for availability
We don’t tell them what the meeting is about
Physical barriers and posture
Sarcasm, belligerence, and demeaning words or
actions
Armies of specialists and support personnel to
overwhelm lone parents
Teachers who don’t show to conferences
Blaming the victim(s)
Email vs. Telephone Vs. Face to Face
Be aware
• Different Cultures use space differently
• Research the use of eye contact
• Expectation barriers:
– Parents feel judged by their occupation,
economic status, or social group
membership.
– Self-esteem
– Past experiences with school
Don’t Do These Things!!
(from Crucial Conversations)
• Interrupt
• Think about what your going to say next while the
other person is talking
• Change the subject without notice
• Focus on things that cannot be changed
• Complain about your own agenda or situation
• Silent combat (The stare-down)
• Rehearse your answers before you have heard the
question
Sensitivity to Families :
What CAN we Do?
• Early notices of meetings
• Offering the same event more than
once
• Providing information for those who
could not (cannot) attend
• Find something positive to point out
• Find a way to empathize - agree
Last Activity
What can we do differently?
•Read , discuss, reflect
•Identify at least 1 idea you
can put into practice this
week to change the way
you ENGAGE FAMILIES
•Share with group
•Compile personal list
REMEMBER : Different Not More
Family
Engagement
Student
Success
Hard-to-Reach Families
• Our label…not theirs!
• Believe involvement is important
• Embody the ethic of caring:
understand life situations
• Disregard stereotypes
• Develop high expectations
Suggestions
(from Crucial Conversations)
• Be trustworthy. You can’t make people trust
you but you can earn the trust of others.
• Have integrity: unity and consistency of
personal and professional behavior that
withstands scrutiny and invites confidence
Suggestions, Cont.
• Don’t tell them, involve them. (Tell me I
forget, show me I remember, involve me I
understand.)
• Don’t fight them, join them: Enlist their
support in problem solving.
• Always give options: Don’t dwell on what can’t
be done.
Conversations: Things You Can Do
•
•
•
•
•
Shake hands and welcome parents.
Sit eye-to-eye and knee-to knee.
LISTEN
Open your mind: Don’t prematurely judge.
Keep calm; remain confident. “To Change a
difficult person, you must first change
yourself.”
• Establish time limits
Conversations : Stuff Not To Do
(from Crucial Conversations)
•
•
•
•
•
Give advice unless you are asked
Persuade that you are right and they are wrong
Try so hard to be neutral that you show no empathy
Come across as a know-it-all
Compulsively talk and over explain (The lady doth
protest too much, methinks.)
• Get backed into a corner
• Lie
• Let yourself get abused or bullied after sincerely
trying to communicate
More Things About Communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Apologize (if you goofed up)
Get to the point
Empathize
Ask questions
Speak gently and say the right thing: (Find something positive,
do your homework.)
Welcome constructive criticism
Consider cultural differences in communication
Take your time in responding (The 24 hour rule)
Don’t type e-mails in all CAPITAL LETTERS! (E-YELLING)
Resources:
www.parentinvolvementmatters.org
www.drsteveconstantino.com
www.familyfriendlyschools.com
Every
Child
Every
Family
Every
School
Every
Day
Twitter/@smconstantino
101 Ways to Create REAL Family
Engagement , Steven Constantino
THANK YOU!
Remember to Blog !
The Role of Culture
• The collective beliefs, actions, assumptions of
those that make up an organization.
• Norms
• Relationships
• School culture does not fall from the sky; it is
created and thus can be manipulated by those
in the organization
The Three Levels of Culture
(Deal and Peterson)
The Surface Level: Artifacts
Includes all that one sees, hears, and feels when one encounters a new group with an
unfamiliar culture. Also included are visible products, technology, language, artistic
creations, clothing, myths and stories told about the organization.
Intermediary Level: Espoused Beliefs and Values
All learning and knowledge within any group has at its core someone’s original beliefs and
values as well as that someone’s sense of the way things ought to be. Therefore, when a
new task or challenge faces the group, it is likely the “culture” will revert quickly to what it
knows as its fundamental knowledge.
The Final Level: Basic Underlying Assumptions
When a solution to a problem works repeatedly, a group or organization usually begins to
take that solution for granted. A hunch starts to be treated as a reality. Often alternative
solutions are no longer visible within the organization.
#1: A Culture that Engages Every Family
1.1 The school has created and sustained a culture that is conducive to
family engagement through explicit beliefs, actions, norms, values and
assumptions made about the value of families being engaged with their
children’s school experiences.
1.2 A culture of family engagement exists within the school such that
student learning and performance is enhanced by policies, programs,
practices, and procedures that specifically connect families with student
learning to support increased achievement.
1.3 A culture of family engagement exists within the school and
community that directly and positively impacts the social and emotional
growth of all children.