1. NC Preschool Pyramid Model Leadership Team Summit January 9-10, 2019
Overcoming Barriers to Engaging Families on Preschool Pyramid Model Leadership Teams
NC Preschool Pyramid Model Leadership Team Summit January 9-10, 2019
Sherri Britt Williams, NC Early Learning Network
Amy Nicholas, ECTA Center

2. Welcome!
Identify your LEA/Program Explain your response to the check-in chart question 2

3. Participants will:
Receive information on frameworks, policies, and practices emphasizing the importance of family engagement
Identify the difference between “technical” and “adaptive” challenges that might be limiting family involvement in PPM Leadership Team activities.
Identify strategies for strengthening family engagement in PPM Leadership Team activities.

4. Definition of Family Engagement
Family engagement refers to the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote children’s development, learning, and wellness, including in the planning, development, and evaluation of such activities, programs, and systems.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services/Dept. of Education’s, Policy Statement on Family Engagement in the Early Grades

6. DEC Recommended Practices: Family Practices
10 family engagement practices
F10: Practitioners inform families about leadership and advocacy skill-building opportunities and encourage those who are interested to participate.
Available at:

7. U. S. Dept. of Health & Human Services/Dept
U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services/Dept. of Education Policy Statement on Family Engagement in the Early Grades Provides recommendations to early childhood systems and programs

8. A System Framework for Building High-Quality Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education Programs
Family engagement cuts across all components of high-quality systems.
Governance
Result
Quality
Standards
Finance
Implementation of
Effective Practices
Good outcomes for children with disabilities and their families
Building
High-Quality
Systems
Accountability & Quality Improvement
Personnel / Workforce
Data
System
Available at: ectacenter.org/sysframe

9. Find your parent center at:
U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Parent Training & Information Centers
Work with families of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, birth to 26
Help parents participate effectively in their children’s education and development
Partner with professionals and policymakers to improve outcomes for all children with disabilities
Collaborate with early childhood TA centers
Find your parent center at:

10. Leading by Convening: A Theory of Action
There are both informational and attitudinal barriers to important practice changes.
Decision makers often lead change through technical strategies, such as information, training, and authority.
Stakeholders impact the extent of change by exercising adaptive strategies, such as using their influence with other stakeholders (positively or negatively).
Practice change requires both technical information and human approaches.

11. Leading by Convening Structure

12. Overcoming Barriers Technical challenge
Requires strategies that information, knowledge, or tools
Adaptive (Relationship) challenge
Requires strategies that build understanding of behaviors and a willingness to make changes to behaviors
Source: Heifetz & Linsky (2002), Leadership on the Line

13. A Family Leader’s Perspective: “Good luck with that.”25

14. Activity
As a small group, make a list of all the things that you think are limiting family participation on your PPM Leadership Team.

15. Problems Come Bundled
Which of the items on your list are technical barriers? Which are adaptive barriers? Mark your list with “T” or “A.”
Choose one technical (T) and one adaptive (A) barrier from your list. Select a strategy to overcome each of those barriers.

16. Preparing and Engaging Families
Before
Articulate purpose of the work/ decision/discussion
Describe role of stakeholders
Provide resources to build background knowledge on implementation and related data that will be discussed during meetings
During
Invite unique perspectives
Provide a safe forum to ask questions, share information, and confirm understandings
Use effective techniques for leading group discussion to ensure each voice is heard
After
Close the loop—communicate decision and provide rationale
Identify areas of needed improvement and strategies for addressing those areas in a timely and effective manner

17. Takeaways & Next Steps What’s one important “aha” that you had today?
What is one potential next step that you can take when you get back?
What additional resources or technical assistance would be helpful to you in your role?

18. Resources
Leading by Convening (for program leaders):
Serving on Groups that Make Decisions (for stakeholders):

19. Find Us Online NC ELN website: https://nceln.fpg.unc.edu/
ECTA website:
Facebook and

20. Thank you!
The contents of this presentation were developed under grant #H326P from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer: Julia Martin Eile