1. An Introduction to the Right Question School-Family Partnership Strategy

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3. AGENDA
Overview
Asking questions using the Question Formulation Technique
Working with questions using the Framework for Accountable Decision Making
Reflection and Lessons

4. The Right Question School-Family Partnership Strategy focuses on:
Sharing two skills:
Asking better questions
Participating more effectively in decisions
So that parents can play three roles:
Support
Monitor
Advocate

5. “We don’t go to the school because we don’t even know what to ask.
LAWRENCE, MA, 1990
“We don’t go to the school because we don’t even know what to ask.

6. An integrated strategy
A Strategy, NOT a program
Complementary to existing programs

7. Integration opportunities…
Meeting with a parent
A teacher helps a mother
generate questions to address
an issue
Question Focus:
Sam seems to be having trouble doing his homework.

8. The Questions: Is he behaving? Is he causing problems?
Is he doing his homework?
What do you mean by “trouble”?
How do you know he’s having trouble?
When did this start?
Did he do his homework before? 
Is he getting punished for not doing his homework?
What’s going to happen to him?
Why do you think he’s having trouble?
What should I do to make sure he does his homework?
What happens when he doesn’t do his homework?
Will he be held back?

9. Developing partnerships…

10. Parent Engagement Activities
Parent Engagement Activities

11. Outcomes
Parents have foundational skills they can use to partner and advocate more effectively
Parents and school staff are resources for each other on behalf of children
Educators and school staff have tools and a strategy for building strong partnerships with families

12. AGENDA
Overview
Asking questions using the Question Formulation Technique
Working with questions using the Framework for Accountable Decision Making
Reflection and Lessons

13. Asking Questions about Decisions Using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT)

14. Rules for Producing Questions
Ask as many questions as you can
Do not stop to answer, judge or discuss
Write down every question exactly as stated
Change any statements into questions

15. Question Focus (QFocus)
We will use a new process next year for assigning students to specific teachers.

16. Prioritizing Questions
Review your list of questions
Choose the three questions that are most important to you.
While prioritizing, think about your QFocus:
We will use a new process next year for assigning students to specific teachers.

17. Prioritizing Questions
After prioritizing consider…
Why did you choose those three questions?

18. AGENDA
Overview
Asking questions using the Question Formulation Technique
Working with questions using the Framework for Accountable Decision Making
Reflection and Lessons

19. DECISION: A decision is the selection of one option from among two or more options.

20. We make decisions every day

21. What decision(s) are embedded in the QFocus
What decision(s) are embedded in the QFocus? We will use a new process next year for assigning students to specific teachers.

22. What decision(s) are embedded in the QFocus
What decision(s) are embedded in the QFocus? We will use a new process next year for assigning students to specific teachers.

23. The Framework for Accountable Decision-Making
When decisions are made it is important to focus on:
REASON: the basis for a decision.
PROCESS: the steps and actions taken, people involved, information used in making the decision.
ROLE: the part the people affected by the decision play in the decision-making process.
In your list of questions, identify one question about reason, one about process, and one about role.

24. Share:
SHARE
Your questions about
reason
process
role

25. The Framework for Accountable Decision-Making (Summary)
Identifying decisions
Decisions are the selection of one option among two or more options
Focusing on three key points in decisions
Reason
Process
Role

26. AGENDA
Overview
Asking questions using the Question Formulation Technique
Working with questions using the Framework for Accountable Decision Making
Reflection and Lessons

27. Reflection What did you learn? How did you learn it?
How can you use what you learned?

28. Democracy
“We need to be taught to study rather than to believe, to inquire rather than to affirm.”- Septima Clark
See Chapter 6 on Septima Clark in Freedom Road: Adult Education of African Americans (Peterson, 1996).

29. Decision-Making and Democratic Principles
In a democracy, we should expect and require that all decisions are guided by the following criteria. There should be:
Legitimate reasons: The decisions are based on policies, standards, rules that are fairly applied.
Transparency: The process used to make the decision is visible to all.
Opportunities for participation: There is a role in the decision making process for the individual affected by the decision.
These principles can be used as criteria for accountable decision-making in a democracy.

30. The three criteria correspond to key democratic principles:
Reason
Process
Role
Legitimacy
Transparency
Opportunities for participation

31. Outcomes Increased ability to: asking questions about decisions
focus on three key areas in a decision: the reason, the process and their role
participate in decisions beginning at a micro-level

32. Resources www.rightquestion.org/
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