1. Exploring Strategies for Encouraging Family Engagement
Kristin Smith and Kerry Read
ENL Teachers
Franklin Elementary School

3. Kerry Read Kristin Smith
Teaching for 15 years
Taught on West Side and North Side
Worked with all grades including college levels.
Enjoys fitness, tailgating, and spending time with family
Kristin Smith
Teaching for over 20 years
Worked in a variety of settings
Have experience teaching at all grade levels
Enjoys family time and spending time at my cabin in the Adirondacks

4. Language of the Day: Question:
How is parent involvement encouraged at your school?
Answer:
At my school parent involvement is encouraged by ________________________.

5. Essential Questions:
How can our school communities encourage and increase
family engagement?
How can family events be structured so that parents and
guardians feel welcome / comfortable in the school setting?

6. Language Objectives: Content Objectives:
Listen and orally participate in a collaborative discussion to share tips and tools to help plan events that are both inviting and comprehensible for families.
Write to reflect and brainstorm ideas of how they can plan successful family engagement during the upcoming school year.
Content Objectives:
Develop an increased awareness of ways to successfully plan family events that encourage family engagement and meet the needs of the populations served by the Syracuse City School District.

8. Fliers with visuals to make what will happen at the event to come to life.
Photographs of the teachers and kids in action in classrooms.
Promoting the event a couple weeks before it is going to take place.

9. Personalized Fliers

10. Promote events when meeting and greeting students and parents daily.
Get the students excited and have them promote the event with their families.
If you have a large ENL population ask the more proficient parents and elicit help from them to spread the word.
Use the ENL website to create translated documents for available languages.
If you have a large ENL population and will need interpreters do so at least 4-6 weeks in advance

12. Request Interpreters for ENL Families
The Superb SCSD Nationality Workers
Each of these workers speaks at least two if not more languages.
They are extremely valuable resources.
The district also reaches out to other sources for the interpreters from
other agencies as well. You must put in requests at least a week in advance.

13. Requesting Interpreters

14. Prepare a welcome agenda to pass out to families when they arrive.

15. It takes many people in a school community working together
to plan and implement family events.

17. Successfully Implemented
Family Engagement
Newsletters
Robo Calls
Curriculum Nights
Student Performances and Displays of work:
Choral and Band Concerts, Dance, African Drumming, Enrichment
Parent Teacher Conferences
Home Visits by Staff

18. in our ENL Program as well as events in the regular classrooms.
Newsletter Format
Our newsletter has helped with promoting and increasing parent involvement
in our ENL Program as well as events in the regular classrooms.

19. Parent Teacher Conferences
It can often be very challenging to get parents in for conferences.
Here are some strategies we have found successful:
Picking a parent a week and inviting them in to meet with you.
At conference time classroom teachers hang sign up sheets outside their classroom doors.
Teaming up with classroom teachers.
Using translated versions conference slips for languages available.
Reaching out for the assistance of interpreters when necessary
Creating personalized reminder notes.

20. Time for a Slideshow
Parents, students and teachers enjoying time together
at Franklin Elementary School.

21. Now we would like to give you some time
to think about some ideas and you
might have for planning for family engagement
during the school year.

22. Let’s share some of the ideas and goals that you have in mind now.

23. What is one thing from our presentation today that you plan to implement to
help plan successful events that engage families?
What is one suggestion you would give to us to help with planning for
successful events that engage families?
How could we improve the way in which we share our ideas for engaging
Families in the school community?