Pursuing Systemic Change to Advance Family Engagement Vito J. Borrello NAFSCE Executive Director

Today’s Presentation NAFSCE Background The Research Systemic Challenges to Advancing Family Engagement Progress and Opportunities

Your Primary Goal for Family Engagement My primary goal for effective Family Engagement is to achieve strong public and community relations in our school/district community.   My primary goal of effective Family Engagement is to increase student achievement in our school/district community.

Our New Association . Mission: NAFSCE’s mission is to advance high-impact policies and practices of family, school, and community engagement to promote child development, and improve student achievement. Vision: A world where family engagement is universally practiced as an essential strategy to improve children’s learning and advance equity. WHO: Educators, parent leaders, Early Childhood providers, community-based organizations, researchers, higher education and policy makers. WHAT: We expect to offer an ongoing webinar series, current research and information clearinghouse, community of practice networking, talent and job banks, and policy and advocacy for FSCE. WHERE: www.nafsce.org CONTACT: Vito Borrello, Executive Director, at borrellov@nafsce.org .

NAFSCE - The Need Current climate of school reform disregards importance Professionals are isolated and relegated to low status Educators are unprepared to engage families Few education organizations have FSCE as a Priority For generations, there hasn’t been a coordinated effort to elevate and advance family engagement as the key strategy to child development and student achievement that we know it is. Many administrators implement family engagement from more of a public relations perspective. Most school districts don’t have designated staff to support family engagement; teachers are unprepared to engage families when they enter the classroom, and it eventually undermines their attitude in wanting families as partners. Finally few education organizations have family engagement as a priority; focused funding for building capacity for family engagement hasn’t this low since prior to 1995; and yet the research has never been more compelling…The time for an association dedicated to elevating and advancing family engagement as the key educational strategy it is is long overdue…

NAFSCE - The Participants Elevating High-Impact Family Engagement Early Childhood thru Post-Secondary Educators State, District and School-based Leaders Parent Leaders Community and Parenting Organizations Educational and Non-profit Organization Staff Policy-Makers and Researchers

Interesting Time in Family Engagement

Positive Student Outcomes Studies show that family engagement leads to: Higher grades and test scores Enrollment in higher-level programs/classes Grade promotion and advanced credit accumulation Adaptation to school and improved attendance Better social skills and behavior On-time graduation and post-secondary matriculation Family engagement matters because when parents and caregivers are meaningfully engaged in education, students experience positive outcomes like better grades and increased attendance. Additionally, recent research has identified family engagement as one of five key ingredients to implementation of successful school-turnaround efforts. Why is this especially important to family engagement in the context of Title I? Because chronically underperforming schools are nearly, if not always, title I schools. Historically, they are also the schools that lack robust family engagement programming and practice. Low-income parents and caregivers face a multitude of challenges and barriers to engagement in education – but we know from research that all parents, regardless of socioeconomic status, want to engage – there’s a lack of know-how, both on the part of schools and parents. Historically, this has often manifested in closed and contentious school-parent relationships. While NCLB sought to remedy lack of family engagement in title I schools and districts via provisions like section 1118 (which we’ll detail on the next slide) and was a step in the right direction, the family engagement provisions tied to title I funding are flawed – PTA is working with Congress and the administration to fix them. Henderson, A., & Mapp, K. (2002). A new wave of evidence: The impact of school, family, and community connections on student achievement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

School Improvement Outcomes Research from Anthony S. Bryk, the ninth president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching His current research and practice interests focus on the organizational redesign of schools and school systems and the integration of technology into schooling to enhance teaching and learning The following were essential in improving Chicago’s Urban Schools A coherent instructional guidance system The school’s professional capacity Strong parent-community-school ties A student-centered learning climate Leadership that drives change Improving schools entails coherent, orchestrated action across all five essential supports. Primary value lies in their integration and mutual reinforcement. Schools with strong indicators for these supports are much more likely to improve than schools with weak indicators. Indicators include engaging the family and community about classroom learning, high-quality professional development, and strong local leadership. The presence of families is a multifaceted resource for improvement. The quality of family engagement links directly to students’ motivation and school participation and can provide a critical resource for classrooms.

2016 Family Engagement Study A Meta-Analysis: The Relationship Between Parental Involvement and African American Student Outcomes Journal of Black Studies-April 2016

2016 Family Engagement Study Question 1: Is parental involvement for African American students associated with stronger academic and behavioral outcomes. Question 2: Are there any differences in the effects for these students by grade level? Question 3: Are school-based parental involvement programs helpful for African American students? Question 4: What types of parental involvement expressions appear to help those students the most?

Need for Teacher Preparation in Family Engagement Gen Y teachers rate their lack of preparation to engage families as the #1 reason that could contribute to failure and burnout. Public Agenda Poll 2010 Think about it…how do you feel when you are not prepared or comfortable in doing something? Discuss Met Life and Public Agenda research. Discuss the systemic issue…teachers, principals, superintendents, state education commissioners, DOE Secretaries.

Family Engagement Systemic Challenges Teacher Preparation in Pre-service and Professional Development Inconsistent SEA Capacity and Standards Lack of Awareness/Understanding of High-Impact Family Engagement Misperceptions and Misunderstandings Regarding Family Engagement

NAFSCE Definition Shared Responsibility Family engagement is a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage families in meaningful ways and in which families are committed to actively supporting their children's learning and development. Cradle to Career Family engagement is continuous across a child's life and entails enduring commitment but changing parent roles as children mature into young adulthood. Across Contexts Effective family engagement cuts across and reinforces learning in the multiple settings where children learn at home, in pre-kindergarten programs, in school, in after school programs, in faith-based institutions, and in the community.

Family Engagement: Reframing the Work Illustrative example of the evolution…INTENTIONALITY around learning and partnership Source: National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group

The Dual Capacity Building Framework for Family-School Partnership Authors: Karen J. Mapp and Paul J. Kuttner, USDE 2014 This Framework could be a game changer regarding how we look at Family Engagement. The question is how do we put this into practice? How do we align policies and practices to enable this perspective to be not only adopted but embraced. Candidly, this framework was in draft form for almost two years before it was even introduced. Explain each section…

Every Student Succeeds Act Statewide Family Engagement Centers Continuing Section 1118 (Now Section 1116) Continuing 1% Title I Funds for Family Engagement School Districts may keep 10% of funds (vs. 5%)

NAFSCE Plans for the Future Provide a Platform for Best Practices Build Capacity in the Field Advance Federal and State Policy Reframe the Family Engagement Conversation Establish a Higher Education Consortium to Address Pre-Service Teacher Preparation Work with SEA’s to Support Capacity and Increased Standards

Contact Information Contact Information Questions & Answers Vito J. Borrello Executive Director, NAFSCE P: 716-472-6867 E: borrellov@nafsce.org www.nafsce.org