2. Session A6: Beyond Intention to Impact: From “Having to” to “Wanting to Partner with Families
Paula Fernandez
Dan Seaman
Katie Tegge
Caroline Corbett

3. Assessment Connection
The content of this session connects to SIR Items: 7, 34, 43, 49 TFI Tier: 1, 2; Subscale: Teams, Implementation, Support Plan; Item: 1.1, 1.11, .1.15, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4

4. Rationale for Family Engagement
“… parents take their child home after professionals complete their services and parents continue providing the care for the larger portion of the child’s waking hours… No matter how skilled professionals are, or how loving parents are, each cannot achieve alone what the two parties, working hand-in-hand, can accomplish together”
(Peterson & Cooper, 1989; pp. 229, 2008)

5. Wisconsin’s Framework For Equitable Multi-Level System of Supports
Family & Community Engagement: Embrace: Through words and actions, staff convey a welcoming environment, respectful of families’ home cultures, values, and languages. Schools recognize families as the first teachers of and foremost experts on their child. Engage: Families participate meaningfully in school and district level decision making. Family perspectives are intentionally sought through two-way communication, paying particular attention to family input from populations underserved by the school and district. Empower: As children proceed through the system, schools and districts involve families as active partners in their child’s learning. Schools and districts empower families: through respectful relationships, with information and resources, and by connecting families with community assets

6. Partnering with Families
Within an Equitable Multi-Level System of Support
Lower Impact Higher Impact
Feature photos that represent families in your school
Family resource room
Positive phone call
Share academic and behavioral expectations
P-T conferences to set goals
Celebrations
Parent representative(s) on PBIS/RtI universal team
Monthly positive phone calls/contacts
Back to school nights
Potlucks
Strategies highlighted in
Communications done In home language
Modeling learning support strategies
Class parties
Acknowledgement system
Home visits
Michelle
Performances
Literacy/math nights
Read with child at home
Regular, personalized communication
PBIS/RtI family brochures, website
Fundraisers
Using family surveys and feedback
Data sharing folders
Embrace
Engage
Empower
Adapted from the Class-wide Family Engagement Rubric created by Flamboyan Foundation.

7. Research Findings on Family Engagement
Students
Increased Achievement (Fan & Chen, 2001)
Increased Attendance (Simon, 2001)
Reduced School drop-out rates (Barnard, 2004)
Improved Social behavior (Fantuzzo, McWayne, Perry, & Childs, 2004)
Improved Peer affiliations (Garbacz, Zerr, Dishion, Seeley, & Stormshak, in press)
Parents and Teachers
Increased Parent efficacy and role construction (Semke, Garbacz, Kwon, Sheridan, & Woods, 2010)
Improved Parent trust of teachers (Santiago, Garbacz, Beattie, & Moore, 2016)
Improved Teachers job satisfaction and fewer transfer requests (Christenson, 1995)
Jen

8. Importance of Family Partnerships
“Parent participation is the leading predictor that supports student academic success, regardless of family race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or cultural background.”
90% of first calls home to families are due to bad or negative news about their child.
Three ‘Glows’ before a ‘Grow.’
Dr. Karen Mapp
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
author of Powerful Partnerships: A Teacher’s Guide to Engaging Families in Student Success

9. But now what?
Family Engagement activities are done by well-meaning people who are in a hurry. - Stop doing Random Acts of Family Engagement. Since the time is not spent in planning, it often ends up being done TO Families, rather than WITH Families. Likewise, Family Engagement is often seen by teachers as something they HAVE TO do, rather than something they WANT TO do.
Dan

10. Butte des Morts Elem Katie Tegge

11. Phillips Elementary Caroline Corbett

12. asession.questionpro.com