Title: Family Engagement 5 Year Plan Development
1Family Engagement 5 Year Plan Development
- Presented by Social Entrepreneurs, Inc.
- Requirements and Resources
2Introduction
- The overarching goal of the project is to
- Improve the graduation rates at our schools
through enhanced parent involvement and family
engagement - Over the next 5 months, we will begin the
- Planning process that engages stakeholders to
develop a plan that is specific, actionable, and
that builds on local assets and challenges
3What is Family Engagement?
- Parents work with schools and their children
to benefit their childrens educational outcomes
and future success. (Hill et al, 2004) - the participation of parents in regular, two-way
and meaningful communication involving academic
learning and other school activities. (NCLB
107th Congress, 2002, section 910 para 3). - Parent involvement is the support and
participation of parents at home, in the
community, and at the school site that directly
and positively affect the educational performance
of all children. (San Diego County Office of
Education)
4What is Family Engagement?
- According to Joyce Epstein at The Johns Hopkins
University, schools can foster parent engagement
across a number of realms - Parenting - helping all families establish
supportive home environments for children - Communicating establishing two-way exchanges
about school programs and childrens progress - Volunteering restructuring and organizing
parent help at school, home or other locations - Learning at home providing information and
ideas to families about how to help students with
homework and other curriculum-related materials - Decision making having families serve as
representatives and leaders on school
committees. - America's Promise Video
5What We Know about Family Engagement
- Numerous studies show the importance of family
engagement in improving educational outcomes - Parent involvement looks different in high school
- Some types of family engagement activities are
more successful than others - Some families are more readily engaged than
others - Youth want involvement from their parents
6What We Know about Family Engagement
- Academic Socialization is Most Important
- Communicating parental expectations for education
and its value or utility - Linking schoolwork to current events
- Fostering educational and occupational
aspirations - Discussing learning strategies
- Making plans for the future
- (Multiple studies, presented by Hill,
December 8, 2009)
7The Problem
- Parents see two very different school systems in
America one that is largely fostering academic
achievement in their students and another that is
not one that is effectively engaging parents in
the academic lives of their children and another
that is failing to do so. - -One Dream Two Realities, Bridgeland et al.
8The Problem
- In national research
- Regardless of their income, race, ethnicity or
school their children attend, parents share
common beliefs about the importance of education
today. - 74 of parents with a child in a low-performing
school, 78 of parents with a child in a
moderate-performing school, and 86 of parents
of a child in a high performing school agree that
an education leading to college is very important
to them. - 66 of parents of a child who attends a
high-performing school said their childs school
is doing a very good job preparing students for
college, in contrast to just 18 of parents from
low-performing schools. - Only 15 of low-performing school parents say
that their childs school does a very good job in
challenging students, and only 14 say it does a
very good job in keeping students engaged. In
contrast, 58 of high-performing school parents
say their childs school challenges its students,
and 53 say it keeps students engaged. - -One Dream Two Realities, Bridgeland et al.
9Planning Overview
- Develop a specific and focused plan to address
parent involvement at your school - Plan must be targeted for students and families
that can benefit most from the interventions - Include parent and student input
- Must be completed by May 27th
- Implementation support from Washoe County,
potentially other sources as well - Long-term outcome is Graduation
10Planning Overview
- Based on facts
- Address real issues
- Be measurable
- Be actionable
- (Process is iterative and organic!!!)
11Key Dates and Milestones
Meeting 1 February 4 Meeting 2 March 1 Meeting 3 March 30 Meeting 4 April 27 Meeting 5 May 18 Presentation June (TBD)
Overview Formalize Definition Develop goals Plan for more voices (student, parent, etc). Research Presentation Anne Henderson, Harvard Understand assets and barriers Begin strategies Document processes to include parents in planning Modify if needed Further develop strategies Determine resources needed Complete and enhance all sections of the plan Share plans with the WCSD leadership an d other community partners
12How Will We Involve Students and More Families in
the Planning Process?
- Meetings
- Surveys
- Focus Groups
- Community Café
- Interviews
13Suggested Activities to Outreach to Students and
Families
- Meeting Invitation to Parents
- Student Survey
- Student Focus Group
- Student Interviews
- Teacher Survey
- Teacher Focus Group
- Teacher Interview
- Parent Survey
- Parent Focus Group
- Parent Interviews (Call parents, and ask them to
answer your questions. Record the results. See if
theyd be willing to call a few more people) - Hold a Community Café for teachers, parents, and
youth.
14Plan Requirements
- A definition of family engagement that is shared
by families, schools and community partners - Strategies for reaching out to and engaging
families of students most at risk for academic
failure - Use of research and innovation to develop
engagement strategies that connect families to
student learning - Creation of family engagement pathways for
continuous family involvement - Strategies for building the capacity of schools,
districts and community partners to promote
family engagement in education - Strategies for leveraging and connecting
community and other relevant resources
15Resources Available
- Planning meetings
- Plan template and other materials
- Your team members
- Your school students and family members
- Your Parent Involvement Facilitator (PIF)
- SEI, Education Alliance and United Way
- Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP), United
Way Worldwide - Research and resources developed by Anne
Henderson and others at the Annenberg Foundation
for School Reform - Tools and templates (Americas Promise, Annenberg
Foundation, etc).
16How We Know We are Making a Difference
- Creating a focused and detailed plan
- Documenting our process
- Making changes and modifications as needed to
improve the plan (and plan implementation) - Building opportunities to measure
17Questions Answers