October, 2019
Dear RBT Community,
Have you ever noticed the shift in energy and mood in schools that follows the first month of school? Sometimes those start-of-school model behaviors are starting to wear off. Perhaps the first unit assessments have been returned, with unexpected results. This is a time when worry and stress for students and their adults at home ramp up, and it’s an important time for educators to be mindful of developing positive
partnerships with families
.
Just the simple use of the word “partnership” can reshape the interactions between teachers at school and caretakers at home. When these two parties meet at an Open House or Parent-Teacher Conference, in addition to shared hopes for the child’s success, they have one other thing in common: Fear. There is a
vulnerability
under the surface, as both parenting and teaching are inherently difficult jobs and we worry that our inadequacies will be on display and judged. Teachers are often perceived by parents through the distorting eyes of children, and similarly caretakers worry that a child’s poor performance will be seen as a reflection of their parenting. Further, engaging with the school implicitly brings up emotions of one’s own experiences in Kindergarten, 3
rd
grade, or high school, running like an undercurrent in any conversation.
Parents want to support their child’s education, but often
cultural differences
or lack of accessible opportunities can get in the way. Consider how you can learn more about the background of families through Cultural/Linguistic pre-assessments, to engage knowledgeably and respectfully. Raise your awareness to how culture influences attitudes towards the role of parents in schools, whether assumptions of distant or close involvement. Advocate to schedule parent events at times and locations that best support participation. Find small ways to
connect
with families before there is an issue to communicate, whether sharing something positive about their child from the day or sharing a learning strategy used in the classroom and how to support it at home.
Ultimately, it comes back to
partnership
. Sharing at Open House, “Here are ways you can support your child at home,” immediately gives parents avenues to be a part of their child’s learning journey. When you frame an individual conference with, “I’d like to talk to you about how we can
partner
together to support your child,” the conversation begins in collaboration and eases the fears and defenses. When parents know how to be involved and show they care about schooling, children are more likely to value it themselves, and all parties are rewarded by the outcomes.
Sincerely,
Reena Freedman
RBT Consultant
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We asked practitioners in the field to weigh in about how they best engage with parents. Here's what they had to say:
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Using Technology to Engage Parents
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The Mundelein, Illinois elementary district is using the program
Seesaw
to engage parents. Jen Moulton, Early Childhood special education teacher writes,
“
I engage parents by using Seesaw. I like that it can translate (roughly) into Spanish, which quite a few of my parents need. I engage them by having all of my communication translated into Spanish, so that my Spanish-speaking parents can read what I write."
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The teacher uses Seesaw to share one way that parents can engage with students at home with a task that they have done in the class.
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Patience Bertana, K-8 instructional coach, and the parent of a child whose school uses
Seesaw
notes that,
“Seesaw allows parents to connect to the learning in their child's classroom. I have the benefit of being both an educator and a parent user. Almost all of our parents have a smart phone, and when a child or teacher posts to seesaw, it sends an alert to a parent’s phone or in my case, watch, which causes me to stop and look at the post right away. Parents can see what is happening and can engage with the learning in real time."
Using
Seesaw
has replaced the need for classroom newsletters and schools are using Seesaw to provide resources for parents to support their child’s learning at home. For instance, teachers share videos and photos of anchor charts, enabling parents to support classroom learning with conversations at home. Patience notes that as a parent, it allows her to use the same language that is being used in the classroom.
The Mundelein District has started using
Seesaw
even more with their middle school students and parents. Teachers post an assignment with the criteria for success. Parents can then see their child's submission and know what the expectations are for proficient student work. Patience reports that,
“This has completely changed the dynamics in one of the middle school classrooms. Parents are in the ‘loop’ from the start and know what the teacher expects in an assignment. As many of us know, middle school students aren't always communicative with parents, so Seesaw has created an avenue to keep the lines of communication open between the school and home."
Students are given the opportunity to post items to their Seesaw journal as well. This gives students ownership of their learning and the ability to reflect and choose what they see as important to share with parents and peers. Speaking as a parent of an elementary student, Patience said that
“As my son gets off the bus, he often asks, ‘Did you see what I posted on Seesaw?’ It allows us to have a conversation about school that is meaningful and connected to the learning.”
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The classroom teacher shares the morning message with students each day. By taking a photo, she is able to also share the message with parents.
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Students use Seesaw to post work completed during centers. The teacher can assess students understanding of the concept while also sharing with the parents a snapshot of what is happening during the day.
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There are a whole host of apps out there to help teachers and student connect. Check out Common Sense's review of the top Parent Engagment Apps
here.
Which ones do you use?
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School Events that Engage Parents
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The Early Childhood Program of the Mundelein, Illinois schools has developed a variety of ways of engaging parents of young children. For instance:
- During Curriculum Night each year, teachers explain the curriculum and the instructional approach to support the learning of all students, including those students with identified special needs.
- During Parent Conferences, Jen Moulton reserves specific times for the Spanish-speaking parents who need an interpreter and the bilingual para-professional staff member stays and she does a great job interpreting and building positive relationships between the parents and the staff.
- The school conducts parties for students and parents 3 times a year. Parents are invited to attend, bring food or drink, and/or volunteer to lead activities for the students.
Reported by Jen Moulton, Early Childhood Special Education teacher
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Engaging the Parents of Students with Special Needs
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The Oak Park, IL Elementary District (K-8) conducts three parent workshops during the school year for parents. They are held on Saturdays, typically from 9AM -12PM. The district provides child-care. Depending on the workshop topic(s), the presenters may be Oak Park staff or leaders from community agencies and other partners.
The first workshop hosted last year was on the curriculum, and the feedback from parents was quite positive. The first workshop this fall will offer parents a choice of sessions including: Literacy, Math, Assistive Technology, Augmentative/Alternative Communication, Assessments, and Social-Emotional Learning. The Early Childhood session will cover all of these topics. Each of the sessions are designed to provide parents with hands-on experiences and supports for home.
In addition to the Saturday workshops series, the district also seeks to increase student engagement in other ways, such as:
- Parents are given a survey at the end of the IEP meeting asking for their feedback regarding how the meeting went, if their voice was heard and valued, equal participants (getting IEP draft in advance) etc. The district is creating a QR code so that parents/guardians can scan with their smartphones to open to the survey questions. This allows parents to complete the survey right after the meeting or later if they prefer; this option increases parent/guardian feedback.
- Parents are invited to attend Special Education Advisory Committee Meetings, held the first Monday of each month from 6:30-7:30PM, and childcare is provided.
- The district also conducts special feedback sessions with parents on current initiatives related to the education of their children; for example, one session asked parents to respond to the question: How is co-teaching working for your child?
This report was prepared by Donna Middleton, Senior Director of Student Services, Oak Park Elementary District, Illinois
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Other Parent Engagement Resources:
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The Importance of Parent Engagement: A List of Research and Thought Leadership
Families and Schools Together, Inc
The following scholars and influencers are what we at Families & Schools Together, Inc. consider to be a select list of the current thought leaders in parent engagement. Along with offering ideas and methods for improving the school-family alliance, as well as identifying the most effective components of parent engagement programming, each influencer validates the strong relationship between parent engagement and student academic success. We provide a brief summary of each author, as well as their research and practice interests, and a list of relevant articles, books and key findings. We hope this list will offer information to support parent engagement efforts in your school or community.
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Dr. Karen Mapp
Dr. Mapp, through her research, has identified that increased family engagement in schools is strongly associated with:
- Faster rates of literacy acquisition among children
- Increased rates of going on to secondary education among youth
- Increased attendance rates among students
- Decreased rates of school dropout among youth
Dr. Mapp has also identified that when schools conduct home visits, students show a 20% decline in absences at school and those children are also more likely to read at or above grade level than their peers without home visits.
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Dr. Joyce L. Epstein
Dr. Epstien is director of both the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships and the National Network of Partnership Schools, as well as a professor of education and sociology at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Epstein’s research focuses on school leadership, as well as school programming and its effects on family and community involvement as well as academic achievement.
Dr. Epstein is perhaps most famous for her heavily cited
framework
on the six types of parent involvement.
- Parenting: Support the home environment and strengthen families so as to support students at school.
- Communicating: Create effective modes of school-to-home and home-to-school communications regarding school programs and child progress.
- Volunteering: Recruit parents to support school endeavors.
- Learning at Home: Share information regarding ideas for learning at home, as well what is going on in the classroom to support family-school alignment regarding educational endeavors.
- Decision Making: Empower parents to be leaders, and involve them in school decision-making.
- Collaborating with Community: Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development.
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Contribute to our Newsletter!
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November's newsletter topic will be on
Coaching and Adult Professional Culture
. If you have an experience or resource you would like to share on the topic, click the link below. We will feature a selection of reader submitted material in each newsletter.
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Open Enrollment Opportunities
Space is limited! Sign up today!
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ATSR Special Edition
with Jon Saphier, MaryAnn Haley-Speca, & Deb Reed
1/10, 1/30, 2/10, 3/5, 3/24, 4/9, 4/30
plus site visit
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Analyzing Teaching for Student Results (7 days)
via North River Collaborative in Rockland, MA
Instructor: Reena Freedman
10/10, 10/24, 11/14, 12/12, 1/23, 2/13, 3/19, plus site visit
New online version of our
MSTV course
Beginning in January
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The Skillful Teacher Video Contest
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“A Skillful Teacher is made, not born.”
If you believe you are a skillful teacher, or you know someone who is, submit your video today!
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Jon Saphier and Pia Durkin will continue the discussion about supervising and developing principals they began at this summer's Executive Session. This session will focus on building strong adult professional culture as well as other topics.
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Superintendents' Forum
October 17, 2019
Acton, MA
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Jim Warnock will present at the 51st annual East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) Educational Leaders Conference, October 30 - November 2, in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia. Topics he will cover include:
- Pre-Conference: Feedback: The Engine for Student and Teacher Growth
- Workshop 1: The “Big Rocks” of High Expertise Teaching
- Workshop 2: Building Trust: The Key to Strong Adult Professional Culture
- Workshop 3: What Leaders Can Do to Build Strong Adult Professional Culture
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51st Annual East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) Educational Leaders Conference
October 30 - November 2, 2019
Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia
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Learning Forward Annual Conference
December 9-11, 2019
St. Louis, Missouri
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December 9:
Adult Professional Culture
with Jon Saphier
School Turnaround Through Effective Teacher Teaming
with Nancy Love, Kristen Palatt, and Jennifer Stokes.
December 10:
What Teacher Teams Do to Maximize the Power of Formative Assessment
with Nancy Love, Robin Whitacre, and Nina Smith
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