Parent Engagement Leadership Initiative Family Engagement Network Meeting April 19, 2016 Jewels from Joyce New Directions for Programs of Family and Community Involvement for Student Success Partnerships THEN and NOW Parent Engagement Leadership Initiative

ACTIVATE How does your school or district the Six Types of Parent Involvement? Simply knowing the Six Types means nothing unless you have embedded the Action Team for Partnership structure!

An ATP is NOT an EVENT! Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) School Site Council (SSC) Create the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) WHAT teachers and staff do Not implementers HOW parents and community help accomplish WHAT teachers and staff do…a committee to help reach ALL families! Focuses only on partnerships and creating and implementing family and community activities that support school goals that lead to academic achievement.

as they see it… Type 1: Parenting This Type focuses on Parent Learning… How can we help parents fulfill their role as a parent as they see it… not telling them how the school wants them to do it.

Type 2: Communicating Facts: Question: Most schools and districts offer parent workshops and conferences. 76% of mothers work outside the home. Question: How do you get information to those who do not attend? (low tech and high tech) School telephone recording: Parent Workshop Top Three Tips.

Type 2: Communicating, continued Challenge: Getting report cards into the hands of parents. Solution: Create a ‘parent pick up’ night to distribute them.

Type 3: Volunteering “Improve recruitment…to involve families…as audiences at the school…” Create a Volunteer Punch Card that gets punched at school events (sporting, drama, awards, music, etc.). A full punch card can be used as admission into the end of the year volunteer luncheon.

Type 3: Volunteering, cont. Dr. Joyce’s Promising Practice Jewel ACTIVITY: Create an Action Plan for “BES Goes to Work”.

Type 4: Learning at Home This type focuses on student learning… How do we help set home conditions that are conducive to student learning, or in other words…a child as a student at home? Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS)…design homework so students can share with their families what they are learning, and make it FUN!

Type 5: Decision Making This type relates to any opportunities in which parent voices come into play. Parents can become leaders representing their communities. How are we training these parent leaders to represent their community?

Type 6: Collaborating With the Community GOT College? “Going On To College” Parent Student Workshop

Academic Goals Should not focus on “reducing D’s and F’s”…but should focus on increasing grades overall. We need to focus on raising the MEAN, not closing the GAP.

Climate of Partnership Goals Idea: Partner with local businesses to create a discount card to give to students that have improved attendance from the previous semester. These cards expire at the end of each semester and must be renewed based upon improved attendance.

What Creates a Healthy School? Nurturing Environment “Family-like School”: Where teachers treat students like their own children. “School-like Families”: Where families treat children like students (Expectations such as homework, college preparation, etc.). Safe Environment Safety is no longer enough…schools must now produce positive results for students.

Solving Challenges to Involve All Families THEN NOW “Barriers” Diverse family structures, economic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. A deficit model. “Realities” Solutions sought, solutions found, solutions shared. A strengthening model. Families send their children to school to SUCCEED!

One Final Jewel from Joyce The Action Team for Partnerships turns partnership plans into actions and partnership goals into results.

Presenters Ellen Larson Mimi Badura Parent Engagement Leadership Initiative Riverside County Office of Education ellenlarson@verizon.net (951) 334-3736 Mimi Badura Parent Engagement Leadership Initiative Riverside County Office of Education m.badura@yahoo.com (951) 492-9000