The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children Chair: Margaret E. Williams, Maryland Family Network MSDE Liaison and Project Officer: Linda Zang MSDE Staff Specialists: Wendy Baysmore and Cynthia LaMarca-Lessner Broad statewide membership (public and private): Maryland Ready At Five CentroNia Judy Center Partnerships Public Library Assoc. UM School of Medicine PTA MD Coalition of Families School Districts American Association of Pediatrics Head Start Maryland Child Care Assoc. MSDE Dept. of Health and Mental Health Dept. of Human Resources

Why Develop the Family Engagement Initiative? Proposed as Project 8 of Maryland’s RTT–ELC grant, it was developed to highlight the importance of family engagement as a core area of early childhood that promotes school readiness The MD Family Engagement Coalition was formed to: Bring together representatives of family and child serving agencies to oversee the Family Engagement Initiative Better coordinate the state’s family engagement initiatives, and to create a set of common goals for the allocation of family engagement resources across the early childhood system Support family and child serving agencies to improve how families are engaged in their child’s early care and education Promote family engagement strategies at the program and provider level and to highlight available resources that support the implementation of those family engagement strategies The Coalition started its work by examining national Family Engagement practices

Definition of Family Engagement

Definition of Family Engagement Family Engagement is: A shared responsibility of families, schools, and communities Continuous from birth into the school-age years Sustainable, operating with adequate resources to ensure meaningful and effective strategies that have the power to impact student learning and achievement

Definition of Family Engagement Family Engagement Means: Supporting family well-being, strong parent-child relationships, and the ongoing learning and development of parents and children alike Family Engagement Encompasses: Beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and activities

Head Start Partnership (HS & DOE)

Head Start Framework

Department of Education

Alignment (DOE & HS)

Organization of the MD Framework

Organization of the Framework Articulates a common definition of family engagement Outlines common goals for family engagement applicable to the state and to programs/providers Offers general strategies to support the goals Includes resources to support the implementation of the strategies Provides examples of family engagement practices in Maryland

MD Framework Uses the 7 Goals of the Head Start Framework See Next Slide

The Framework Provides Strategies

Providing Strategies for the Framework The document will outline several strategies organized by program foundation area and program impact area Program Foundation Area (How they are affected) Program Impact Area (Who was affected?)

Strategy- Program Foundation Leadership Develop relationships with community members and community organizations that support families’ interests and needs Professional Development Provide training on multicultural principles, leadership development, and advocacy for staff and families

Strategy- Impact Area Environment Teaching and Learning Include family-friendly spaces with pictures and materials that affirm and welcome all families Teaching and Learning Consistently gather child information from families and ask parents about their child to inform teaching Exchange information with parents about their children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development, and talk about the importance of the home language

Next Steps

Implementation Use Framework to inform other parts of Maryland’s early childhood system (e.g. EXCELS) Develop supporting strategies/materials to provide guidance on the Framework to parents and various types of service providers (child care, Head Start, home visitors, etc.) Develop a timeline: Outline to Final Develop training and technical assistance around key strategies Explore innovative uses of technology in communicating and meeting goals (e.g., sharing assessment data)

The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children http://marylandpublicschools.org/msde.html http://marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/child_care/challenge/engagement.html