1. Strengthening Family Engagement
Oregon GEAR UP Professional Development for Educators

2. It’s not a dream, it’s a plan.
COLLEGE
It’s not a dream, it’s a plan.
Oregon GEAR UP is a federally-funded program that seeks to increase the numbers of low-income students who enter and succeed in postsecondary education.
As a GEAR UP school, we receive funding, technical assistance and other support to change the culture in our school and community to one that promotes college*-going for all students.
*Note: Oregon GEAR UP defines “college” as any type of education or training after high school – community college, 4-year universities, apprenticeships, job training.

3. GEAR UP’s Model
A refresher on GEAR UP’s research-based model – briefly review the 5 R’s.
Today, we’re going to be focusing on the importance of relationships, specifically engaging families in order to work as partners in student success.

4. ^
How are we doing on family engagement? What are our strengths? What opportunities for improvement exist?
5-10 minutes for discussion.
Depending on the size of the group, this could be a table discussion and then a share out to the larger group.

5. 6 Components of Family Engagement Programs
Encourage family participation
Provide consistent, two-way opportunity for communication
Allow opportunity for families to share their knowledge, skills and culture
Extend learning activities into the home
Support parents developing a home learning environment
Provide training to staff to help them fully engage with families.
Distribute copies of the Family Engagement research brief and ask participants to read the first page and a half. Also ask participants to read a section of the Partnering with Parents research brief beginning with “Be a Myth Buster” on page 4.
Review the six components of family engagement programs (p. 1). Have volunteers read each one aloud.
Family Engagement Research Brief

6. 6 Types of Family Involvement
Parenting
Communicating
Volunteering
Learning at Home
Decision-Making
Collaborating with the Community
Review the six types of family involvement (p. 2). Have volunteers read each one aloud.
Family Engagement Research Brief

7. ^
Using this information, how can our school strengthen family engagement? Use the planning template to organize your ideas.
15-20 minutes: Ask each table group to discuss how your school can strengthen family engagement using the six components and six types of family involvement. Ask participants to use the handout, Family Engagement Planning Template, to organize their work.
10-15 minutes: As a total group, use a round-robin approach to report out the ideas that each group identified. Record ideas on a flipchart or white board. Then ask each table to briefly discuss the ideas and identify one thing they can commit to doing to increase family engagement.

8. I came expecting . . . I got . . . I value . . . I commit to . . .
5-10 minutes Ask each participant to respond to this prompt.
• I came expecting . . .
• I got . . .
• I value . . .
• I commit to . . .
Invite participants to share their commitment on a post-it-note and place it on a flipchart as they leave the meeting. Use these “notes” to guide further work on a family engagement plan and for discussion at a follow-up meeting.
You might also ask for one volunteer from each table to review the suggestions and work with you to plan a follow-up discussion.

9. bit.ly/gearup-pd-eval
Evaluation
bit.ly/gearup-pd-eval
An online evaluation form can be found at bit.ly/gearup-pd-eval. Jennica Vincent to receive the results.

10. It’s not a dream, it’s a plan.
COLLEGE
It’s not a dream, it’s a plan.
oregongearup.org