High - Impact Family Engagement A core strategy for improving schools Anne T. Henderson National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement AnneTHenderson1@yahoo.com Notes: George’s introduction…

Agenda for the Discussion What is High-Impact Family Engagement? What does Good Look Like? Learn about new research and practice How can SEAs promote and support higher impact FE policy and practice?

A New Wave of Evidence: Family Engagement Has a Powerful Impact on Student Achievement By Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp www.sedl.org/connections 3

Overall Finding: When families are engaged at home and at school: -- Children do better in school and -- Schools get better all the way through high school.

If Parents are Engaged, Students from All Backgrounds Tend To: Earn higher grades and test scores Enroll in higher-level programs Be promoted and earn credits Adapt well to school and attend regularly Have better social skills and behavior Graduate and go on to higher education

School Practices are KEY What are the strongest, most consistent predictors of whether parents are involved at home and school? Specific school programs and teacher practices that encourage and guide parents to become involved. Dr. Joyce Epstein Johns Hopkins University

What Does Good Look Like? Important new studies reveal high-impact strategies

Strong Ties to Families and Community Long-term Chicago study: Schools with strong family and community ties were 4x more likely to make significant math and reading gains. Teacher ties to community: Understand local issues, spend time in community, use local resources. Teacher outreach to parents: Invite parents to observe in class, try to understand parents' concerns, and embrace parents as partners Parents respond: Become involved in school activities and respond to teacher concerns about schoolwork. Anthony S. Bryk et al, (2010) Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago (Chicago: University of Chicago Press)

Achievement for All / 3As Program focus is raising achievement for UK students with special needs, ES-HS Linchpin of program: Structured Conversations between teachers and parents AFA students did 25% better than all UK students and 50% better than non-AFA special needs students. Aspirations, access and achievement Welcome families Focus on Skills Share Strategies Establish new Learning Behaviors Develop a plan

Impact of Teacher Outreach Strategies Students’ reading and math scores improved 40-50% faster when teachers: Met with families face-to-face Sent materials on ways to help their child at home Telephoned routinely about progress Westat and Policy Studies Associates, 2001

Combine High-Impact Strategies Build relationships Share knowledge and goals for child Explain class data Focus on skills Develop a plan Share progress Evaluate Home Visits + Link Family Engagement to Learning Improved student performance

Keys to Powerful Partnerships Linking to Learning Addressing Differences Equalizing Power Building Relationships

What is Family Engagement? Family engagement means that parents are seen as welcome partners in the education of children, and have a valued voice in the school. As a result, families are active participants, and communication is flowing between home and school. We believe that family engagement means mutual respect, honesty and trust. (Connecticut parents, August 2017)

Discussion What are your states doing now to promote family engagement? What is needed to move toward higher impact policy and practice?

CCSSO on SEA Role Establish a universal vision for FE Provide resources and supports to districts, schools, community organizations, and parents. Model strong engagement processes to LEAs Encourage FCE through CSI/TSI school improvement plan questions. Limit barriers (e.g. cross-agency collaboration, legislation that supports engagement). Collaborate with parent, family, and community organizations on trending issues.

How SEAs Promote Family Engagement CCSSO Project: Co-Develop w families and practitioners an FE Framework that applies to all programs and management systems. 17 states. State FE Directors Working Group, co-facilitated by NAFSCE and AIR/SEDL. A learning community of 30 members. CT SEA: Project to revitalize School-Parent Compacts under Title I, largest source of FE$, w website, TA and PD. Project to co-define FE with families and practitioners, develop framework.

To learn more, go to: www.nafsce.org NAFSCE: Join Us! The National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement offers: A website filled with information about the field Opportunities to network Communities of practice Professional development Advocacy for better policy and more resources To learn more, go to: www.nafsce.org

Beyond the Bake Sale The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships Anne T. Henderson, Karen L. Mapp, Vivian R. Johnson and Don Davies The New Press, 2007 www.thenewpress.org/bakesale

Resources Website on re-doing School-Parent Compacts: www.ctschoolparentcompact.org Partners in Education: Dual Capacity-Building Framework http://www.sedl.org/pubs/framework/ CCSSO paper on FE: https://www.ccsso.org/sites/default/files/2017-12/SDI_FAQ_Topic_4-_Family_and_Community_Engagement_09062016.pdf

Resources Parent Teacher Home Visit Project: www.pthvp.org Academic Parent-Teacher Teams: http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/academic-parent-teacher-teams-reorganizing-parent-teacher-conferences-around-data Beating the Odds college pathways assessment toolkit http://www.annenberginstitute.org/publications/putting-kids-pathway-college-how-your-school-doing