1. Collaborating with Families: Partnering for Success

2. Why are Family Partnerships Important to You?
Engage group in open discussion

3. What does the Research Say about Collaborating with Families??
Related to school readiness, we know:
When parents are actively engaged in their child’s learning and schooling, there are important benefits for children, families, and schools
Parent-professional partnerships are predictive of increased academic performance, socioemotional benefits, better work habits, more consistent school attendance, school completion, and greater connections between home and school

4. What Do You Want From Families?
Brainstorming activity, in dyads
Go around room until all ideas are on the table

5. We Need to:
Help parents recognize that they are essential in their child’s learning and schooling early on, and continuing into preschool, elementary school and beyond
Help parents define a role for themselves as supporter, advocate, facilitator for their child
Help parents believe in their ability to be a meaningful contributor in their child’s education
Promote the notion of “the curriculum of the home”

6. What is the “Curriculum of the Home?”
Home support for learning
Actions, beliefs, communications to the child that support the child’s learning and emerging autonomy
Support of the home environment as a learning environment
Emphasis on family/parental influence on students academic, motivational, behavioral, and social growth and performance

7. What Makes Up the Curriculum of the Home?
Home Expectations and Attributions
Set realistic expectations
Attribute child success to effort, practice, hard work
Discipline Orientation
Authoritative child management style
Rules and consequences for behavior

8. What Makes Up the Curriculum of the Home?
Home-Affective Environment
Warmth and sensitivity
Attached relationships
Strength-building; affirmative
Parent Participation
School activities
Reading
Communication with educators
Open family discussions
Coordination of activities and tasks with teachers
Discussion and dialogue; language-rich environment
Everyday experiences for learning

9. What Makes Up the Curriculum of the Home?
Structure and Learning
Provide time, space, materials
Limit certain activities, such as TV viewing
Establish regular routines
Monitor homework completion
Examine leisure time

10. Remember…
Of all the things parents can do to support their child’s learning, four are considered especially important:
1. Setting educational expectations
2. Talking with their child about school
3. Providing learning materials at home
4. Providing learning opportunities

11. How Do We Encourage the Curriculum of the Home for All Students?
Remember the “4 A’s”
Approach, Atmosphere, Attitude are prerequisite to “Actions”
Collaboration and Partnering for Success

12. The 4 A’s: Developing Pathways to Partnerships
Prerequisite Conditions:
These “3 A’s” must be in place for
Actions to be accepted and effective
Approach
Actions:
Communicating a tone of partnership through two-way home-school communication and fostering family involvement in learning at home;
Family involvement at school; Children’s learning at school
Successful Learning Experiences & Outcomes for Students
Attitudes
Atmosphere

13. Atmosphere
What do you already do to create an atmosphere that is family-friendly, open, and inviting?
Get list on board…

14. Attitudes You’ve already described why parents are important to you…
How do you convey this attitude to parents?
Brainstorming activity

15. To What Extent Do You Convey the Attitude That:
All families have strengths
Parents can learn ways to help their children if they are provided with the opportunity and necessary support
Parents have important information and perspectives that we need
Schools and families influence each other
No one is at “fault” – if a child is not succeeding, the partnership has not been utilized to its potential

16. Actions for Achieving “Engaged Partnerships” Communication and Collaboration

17. Engaged Partnerships…
Empower both families and schools
Are ongoing, mutual, reciprocal
Are coordinated interventions across home and school
Send congruent messages across home and school
Require shared information and resources
Require open communication and dialogue
Promote collaboration and joint decision making in planning for the child – “Collaborative Planning”

18. The Importance of Communication and Trust
How do you communicate a tone of “partnership?”
What are some effective communication practices?
What strategies can be used when communication is difficult?
How can we build trust to engage “unengaged” parents?
Self-reflection activity

19. The Importance of Collaboration
What do we mean by “Collaborate?”
What do we mean by “Partner?”
What do we mean by “Partnership?”

20. Definitions
Collaborate: to work jointly with others or together; to cooperate with or willingly assist
Partner: one who shares
Partnership: a relationship involving close cooperation between parties having specified and joint rights and responsibilities

21. What is a Collaborative Partnership?
A process wherein teachers and parents work together to meet a child’s developmental needs, address concerns, and achieve success by promoting the competencies of all parties

22. Goals of Family-School Collaboration
Determine the desires/needs that family members and teachers share for a child; make decisions jointly
Provide a context for families to feel empowered
Actively invite and use parents’ ideas and strengths to address concerns and goals
Establish collaborative partnerships

23. How Does It Look? Steps of Home-School Collaboration
1. Discuss child strengths and needs
2. Prioritize desires and needs
3. Define goals
4. Discuss what’s been tried -- What works? What doesn’t?
5. Brainstorm strategies and develop home-school plan to meet goals
6. Observe and reflect; assess progress toward goal
7. Follow up- recycle; promote linkages across time and setting

24. Insert flowchart??

25. Discuss Child’s Strengths and Needs
Parents and teachers focus discussion on observations that are most relevant to facilitate the child’s individualized learning and development
Strengthen parent’s confidence in their ability to note child strengths, preferences, and needs
Focus attention on what child is doing now, comment on observations, suggest areas that might be important for the child’s continued development

26. Prioritize Desires and Needs
Parents can discuss what is most important to them at home
Teachers can use school-based information to communicate about age-appropriate expectations, suggest areas for focus
Parents and professionals agree on priorities that make sense for the child’s ongoing development

27. Define Goals
Mutually decide on short term goals to facilitate the child’s ongoing learning and development
Start with a goal that the child is capable of achieving, or one that is slightly beyond where the child is at

28. Discuss What Has Been Tried
Discuss activities or strategies already attempted and their outcomes (Did it work well? Somewhat well? Not at all?)
Determine what has or has not worked, and why
Emphasize practices and strengths already brought to bear on the solution

29. Brainstorm Strategies and Develop Home-School Plan
Parents are encouraged to think about and describe what is appropriate and possible in their own home, including daily activities that can be embellished or strengthened to support new learning
Professionals can provide information about strategies, activities, and alternatives for teaching new skills
Parents and professionals select strategies that are acceptable and effective in helping the child meet the goal
A consistent plan is developed that supports child at home and at school
Emphasis is placed on strategies that can be used to promote continuity across home and school, including ways to enhance the curriculum of the home

30. Develop Home-School Plan
Discuss when, where, and who will be responsible
Encourage continued observations of child’s responsiveness and progress toward goals

31. Observe and Reflect – Assess Progress Toward Goal
Parents and teachers can assess child’s ongoing progress, including his/her response to selected strategies and implemented plan
Professionals can:
affirm competencies in parent related to parent-child interactions
elicit parent perceptions about comfort, confidence, competence in using strategies at home
Discuss modifications and ideas for strategy use at home and school

32. Follow Up and Form Linkages
Reflect on plan put into place at home and school
Ask: What did we do? How did it go?
Jointly decide whether to continue with the same goal and/or strategies, or select new ones
Plan for continuation:
Continue with goal
Establish new goal
Brainstorm strategies and continue cycle
Promote continued linkages over time and settings