Parent Involvement That Works Engaging Families to Improve Outcomes for Children

1. Parent Involvement That WorksEngaging Families to Improve Outcomes for Children Barbara Buswell Executive Director of PEAK Parent Center

2. Why does work with families make a difference? 2 Families’ involvement in their children’s education stands out as one of the greatest predictors of growth and well-being for students with disabilities and all children. Elliott & Mullins, 2004; Resch et al., 2010

3. Introduction to My Family 3

4. Long Range Outcome: To improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities. Provide families with information and training so that they develop skills and strategies to be able advocate effectively on behalf of their children U. S. Department of Education’s 100 Parent Training & Information Centers 4

5. Parent Centers serve families in their state (or designated area) who have Children with disabilities ages birth – 26 Children who are at risk of having a disability Young children & babies with developmental delays Children with all disability labels and intensities All socio-economic, cultural, and educational backgrounds Parent CentersEmpowering Families … Improving Lives 5

6. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education (OSEP) 7 Regional Parent Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) 93 Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs & CPRCs) Services to families of students with disabilities Individual assistance Workshops on a variety of topics Toll free parent info line Newsletters Information packets Parent-to-parent support Assistance to parent groups Parent CentersEmpowering Families … Improving Lives 6

7. Provide Training to Assist Parents to: Understand nature of child’s disabilities & needs Communicate effectively with educators Participate in decision-making processes Obtain information about options, services, technologies, & practices that are scientifically-based research Understand their rights & responsibilities, requirements of IDEA re: provision of services Participate in activities at the school level that benefit their children Participate in school reform activities Parent CentersEmpowering Families … Improving Lives 7

8. Offering trainings in different ways Listening to parents’ preferences Using our electronic metrics & evaluation data Follow-up satisfaction surveys Workshops in person, by webinar, through archives on range of topics Individual assistance by telephone and email Two day conference on best practice Scheduling at times most requested by families (noon, 6:30 pm, etc.) Materials at different reading levels eBlast emails & electronic newsletters Website & social media Use of mobile technology Tailoring Services to Meet Parents Where They Are 8

9. Lots of Talk Today AboutFamily Involvement “Parent Involvement Programs” “Parent Professional Partnerships”“Parental Engagement” “The New Parent Program at Our School”

10. What Do We Do? Random Acts of Family Involvement?? Or Effect A New Way of Changing Our Culture –The Way We Operate Day to Day?

11. Schools that succeed in engaging families from diverse backgrounds share three key practices. • Focus on building trusting, collaborative relationships. • Recognize, respect, and address families’ needs, as well as cultural and class differences. • Embrace a philosophy of partnership where power and responsibility are shared. Ann Henderson and Karen Mapp (2002)

12. How schools can successfully develop a culture that honors and validates parents as true partners in their child’s educational development that results in improved student learning. Karen Mapp (2003) Welcoming Honoring Connecting Features in a “Joining” Process

13. All families are made to feel a part of the school community. School facilities are welcoming. Staff, parents and visitors greet each other in genuinely friendly ways. School leaders, staff and parent groups are easily accessible. School staff are responsive to the different backgrounds and cultures of families. Welcoming

14. Family members are genuinely respected and affirmed for the contributions they make. The school community has a philosophy of true partnership, where power is shared. Parents are given a real voice in governance, with representation from a diverse group of families The school solicits and listens to ideas and is responsive to diverse needs of families. Honoring

15. Research indicates… • Strengths-based approaches foster families’ involvement and connection. • School personnel sometimes make assumptions and treat some families from a deficit perspective that becomes a barrier to family involvement. 15

16. Every family has potential to support and improve the opportunities and academic achievement of its children regardless of its structure, economic level, ethnic or cultural background. All Families Have Potential

17. A Key: Presume Competence 17

18. What Are Roadblocks to Parent Engagement? ? ? ?

19. Common Roadblocks to Parent Engagement • Time • Not feeling welcomed • Not knowing how to contribute (whether at school or with child) • Educational background • Not understanding the system • Childcare • Transportation • Language • Special needs • Economic and other needs

20. How Schools Can Engage… • Begin by designing your approach to include the families you don’t know - not just the ones you do know.

21. Put student at the center. Develop relationships with families. Work together on education issues designed to improve educational opportunities for children. Link school programs and events to student learning Equip parents with skills on how to help their children learn at home. Connect families with resources. Demonstrate that school staff care about their students and have high expectations. Connecting with Families

22. Reaching Out to Diverse Families • Actively welcome students and families. • Involve extended family & community who speak the native language. • Recruit staff volunteers who speak the same language. • Meet families where they are. • Employ a “customer-service” orientation with families.

23. Customer-Service in Education?? • Can the business philosophy be relevant to schools? • Do we treat families as valued customers whose respect and interactions we desire and need to increase our success? • How do we know how families feel about their interactions with the school? Their child’s learning? • How do we adjust our practice based on what we learn?

24. What Parents Say Helps Them Participate… • It’s about our kids. Tell us what our kids do. • Show us how to know if our kids are doing well. • Explain how you teach skills, reading, and math. • Show us some strategies to help our kids. • Tell us how our children will be assessed. • Ask us what works at home and when our kids do well.

25. Families May Need Ideas in How to Support Their Children • Make activities that help families see that reading and conversation about books can be FUN. • Consider family culture and language differences when creating activities. • Technology can be an effective tool in creating activities.

26. Helpful Hints • Look at approaches from families’ points of view • Make instructions clear • Design activities that are do-able and fun • Ask families what they need to do school activities

27. Design Effective Activities to Do at Home That: • Engage the family • Reinforce current classroom instruction • Review or practice basic skills • Challenge students who are ready to move forward

28. Be Creative with Instructions for Parents • Give step-by-step tip sheets explaining how to support reading or math at home • Make “short videos” - modeling how to read with a child • Invite families to a “make it and take it” event at school and create tools for helping with school work • Provide “words you should know” definitions so parents are talking the same language.

29. Create fill–in-the-blank math stories to teach families how to use these at home. Develop Q & A documents giving parents questions to explore with their child. Send home a weekly activity list & directions… by tweet, email, phone tree, website, and or with the child. Ideas

30. Consider Offering • Using a “shared work” site with an electronic calendar of assignments and activities • Teaching parents how to access the space • Offering skill building conference calls or webinars for families who can’t come in • Communicating by tweet, email, website, etc. • Writing a BLOG to connect and educate families

31. Ensuring that all school-wide parent events are welcoming and useful for ALL families. Making home activities relate to the parent’s work, culture, family history or hobbies. Providing opportunities for families who do not read or do math well to be successful at helping their child at home. Creating parent-to-parent support and educational opportunities. THINK about…

32. “The Least Dangerous Assumption” “The criterion of thedangerous assumption holds that in the absence of conclusive data, educational decisions ought to be based on assumptions which, if incorrect, will have the least dangerous effect on the likelihood that students will be able to function independently as adults.” - Anne Donnellan

33. Look at Your School Community Inclusively “Most people only know about disability from a very individual and medical understanding and have not connected disability to their work for justice and liberation. …Disability has been very segregated from other social justice movements. I work to change that.” - Mia Mingus 2013

34. Tap Your Parent Center as Your Partner! • Let them know how they can work together with you and the families you support. www.parentcenternetwork.org

35. AND…. “Real changes in schools will begin to take place only when the relationships of power begin to change, that is, when the voices of parents and the community are heard and the direction of the schools reflects the values of all.” Cummins

36. In summary… “When parents, teachers, students, and others view one another as partners in education, a caring community forms around students and begins its work.” -Dr. Joyce Epstein

37. Contact InformationBarbara BuswellExecutive Director of PEAK Parent Center bbuswell@peakparent.org www.peakparent.org www.parentcenternetwork.org