Transcript Slide 1

Outcomes
Participants will…
Family-school connections and
partnerships are important
Socio-Historical Context
Culture is not inherited;
rather we are socialized
to behave according to
traditions established
over generations
The cultures of schools
may or may not be in
harmony with the culture
each student brings to
school
Schools greatly influence
how young people see
themselves and therefore
need to understand and
validate their
backgrounds
Challenges Facing
Schools and Families
Explanations for
Achievement Disparities
Rationales
for Schooling
Linguistic
Differences
Inferior
Education
Cultural
Differences
Societal
Racism
Au, 1998
Gaps in opportunities present
challenges for students and families.
Lack of information
“The student’s parents
don’t speak English. I
can’t communicate with
them.”
School/District Policies
Identification procedures
for Gifted Programs that
include cut of scores on
standardized test.
School/District
Practices
Housing New Comers
Program in one school
in the district. Students
attend that school,
irrespective of their
neighborhood.
Educators’
Beliefs
Parents who
care about their
children’s
education attend
parent-teacher
conferences.
Access to
Resources
AP and IB Course
Fees.
Economic
Constraints
Patterns and
History
Educational
Mandates
Societal
Pressures
Demographic
Shifts
Current
Political Climate
Diverse Perspectives About
Parent – Teacher Role
Families’ role is to raise
“respectful, well-behaved
children and academic
instruction is the teacher’s
responsibility
Families’ role is to help students
be successful in school by
supporting academic instruction
at home and collaborating with
teachers
Barriers to School-Family Partnerships
Families’ disconnection to the school
community
Communication differences
Lack of information about school
expectations, programs and resources
Family Isolation
Culturally responsive family engagement
includes three key qualities:
1. Focusing on building trusting, collaborative relationships
among teachers, families, and community members
2. Recognizing, respecting, and addressing families'
strengths and needs, as well as class and cultural
differences
3. Embracing a philosophy of partnership where power and
responsibility are shared
Appreciative Model of Diverse Families
See home language
and culture as
strengths to be built
upon
Recognize diverse
family structures
Family/community
involvement linked
to student success
Focus on building trust
Values families lived
experience
Transcending Barriers
Establishing a welcoming and family friendly
school community
Creating opportunities for collaboration
Becoming skilled in intercultural
communication
Increasing families’ accessibility to
information
Establishing a welcoming
and family friendly school
community
•Inviting facilities
•Availability and Time
•Two-way communication with
Families
•Varied and frequent opportunities
for positive interactions
•Engaging families in their
students’ learning experiences
Collaborating with
community centers and
houses of worship to
create after-school
programs
Making connections
with families in your
community
Providing opportunities
beyond open house and
conference nights for
parents, community
members and teachers
to interact
Creating
Opportunities
for
Collaboration
Alternative scheduling
to accommodate
families with busy
schedules
To effectively partner with diverse
families, educators must become skilled
intercultural communicators
Understanding differences
in communication styles
High Context/Low
Context Continuum
Nonverbal
Communication
Family Communication
Norms
Capacity to address
Language Diversity
Speakers of language
other than
English/Standard
English
Print Literacy
Interpreters
Known methods
for families to talk
with someone to
address questions
Consistent
monitoring of
information flow
Increasing
families’
accessibility
to
information
Multiple means of
delivering
information
Translated
materials
Multiple means of
presenting
information (e.g.
print, audio)
Culturally Responsive Strategies to
Increase Family-School Partnerships
How well does
your school
transcend the
barriers to
meaningful familyschool partnership?
Improving family and school partnerships require a
shift in how schools think about family
involvement.
Tools for Learning
Equity exists, in part, to the degree
that all students feel they belong,
are included, and are empowered.