Work With Us
to Support Learning at Home
April 27, 2020
 
Dear Educators:
 
 
The coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing “stay at home” directives will continue to have a profound impact on our education system. And as officials prioritize needs, we increasingly are concerned about the learning lost for children from low-income families, English learners, foster youth and students with special needs . As our nation continues to experience disruptions, we must provide the following supports to meet the needs of these children and their families from now through the summer of 2021:
 
1. Connect with parents or designated family members to build relationships and co-develop educational plans for children and families. The plans need to set clear and realistic expectations of what families need to do to support their child in their academic and socio-emotional development. We urge you to prioritize outreach to and partnering with families of students performing below grade level.  

2. Support teachers with training on asset-based relationship building so they can more effectively engage families, given that most educators do not receive significant training on family engagement in pre-service or professional development . Research-based training for teachers on "best practices" in family engagement must address and dispel commonly held, deficit-based beliefs and perceptions about families, while building skills and providing strategies to overcome cultural and language barriers to improve student outcomes. For recommendations on how to support teachers, please download Resources below.
3. Identify a family’s needs, then coordinate and invest resources to develop, assemble and provide the requested resources to support learning at home. A few areas we’ve identified include: mental health and well-being, the “digital divide” and computer literacy, distance learning, strategies to support academic plan implementation and monitoring student achievement, and academic tools and resources at home.
 
Providing these supports in the short-term likely will require shifting resources to gather information from and for families, but we are morally obligated to take this step for equity’s sake. Establish or strengthen communication systems including translation and interpretation services to adequately support teachers and families for calls or video chats. Also, don't overlook Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other linguistic communities. 

4.  Co-develop projects with families to help children learn about and be proud of their own culture, history and art, while also promoting reading and critical-thinking skills.  When children know their history and the real-life experiences of their families, when they have ideas of who or what they want to be in the future, it is easier for them to find a purpose in schoolwork and in their lives.
 
5. Continue to engage families and integrate their input into school site and district plans and budgets.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a bright light on the ever-increasing wealth inequality, the shrinking middle class, and the many inequities and systemic under-investments, including for health, employment, housing, and education.  As realists, we anticipate the widening of existing achievement gaps. But as idealists and dream-keepers for our children, we must do everything in our power to overcome these seemingly insurmountable obstacles and empower our children for success, both in school and in life.
 
We invite all educators to partner with us and with families, to bring to bear our collective strengths, creativity and resilience at this pivotal moment.  Together we will not only close achievement gaps, but we can actually transform the education process itself with significant, sustained investment in those communities that have long been neglected.  It’s time we made this a more just society for all our children and families.
 
Sincerely,
Parent Organization Network Members 
Letter Signatories