Parents are ready. Are you? Family Engagement is only possible when School Staff also engage

Hello, my name is… Emily Byers-Ferrian Immersion Specialist Woodcrest Spanish Immersion School Spring Lake Park Schools (763) 600-5810 ebyers@district16.org

We know it’s a two-way street… Parents School Staff Communication Collaboration Connection

So let’s make sure we construct both sides of it… What do Parents need? What do School Staff members need?

Here’s what we’ll do… Articulate your hopes and dreams for what you want your day-to-day interactions and long-term relationships with Latino parents to look, sound and feel like Identify barriers and bridges that you currently experience when working with Latino families Understand the impact of language as a barrier or bridge Identify “The Whys” that influence your current behavior Participate in a dialogue between school staff and Latino parents Choose a “bridging” action step for the 2015-2016 school year Why? Sound like Feel like Look like

Here’s how we’ll do it… Session1: “My story: Thesis” Session 2: “Your story: Antithesis” Session 3: “Our story: Synthesis” Dinner & Dialogue: “New thesis = Change”

Here’s why it will work… Thesis (My story) Antithesis (Your story) Synthesis (Our story) New thesis Change

Here’s how we will know it worked…

Barriers & Bridges Barriers Bridges (Staff action steps) Fear I will seek understanding by having tough conversations and not being afraid to ask questions. Time I will communicate with at least 1 parent per week and do it on Tuesdays during my advisory or prep hour. Language I will learn how to introduce myself in Spanish when calling home to families to make a connection with our Spanish speaking families Invisibility Invitaré a las familias de mis estudiantes a participar en el salón de clase.