1. The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children
Chair: Margaret E. Williams, Maryland Family Network
MSDE Liaison and Project Officer: Linda Zang
MSDE Staff Specialists: Wendy Baysmore and Cynthia LaMarca-Lessner
Broad statewide membership (public and private):
Maryland Ready At Five CentroNia
Judy Center Partnerships Public Library Assoc.
UM School of Medicine PTA
MD Coalition of Families School Districts
American Association of Pediatrics Head Start
Maryland Child Care Assoc. MSDE
Dept. of Health and Mental Health Dept. of Human Resources

2. Why Develop the Family Engagement Initiative?
Proposed as Project 8 of Maryland’s RTT–ELC grant, it was developed to highlight the importance of family engagement as a core area of early childhood that promotes school readiness
The MD Family Engagement Coalition was formed to:
Bring together representatives of family and child serving agencies to oversee the Family Engagement Initiative
Better coordinate the state’s family engagement initiatives, and to create a set of common goals for the allocation of family engagement resources across the early childhood system
Support family and child serving agencies to improve how families are engaged in their child’s early care and education
Promote family engagement strategies at the program and provider level and to highlight available resources that support the implementation of those family engagement strategies
The Coalition started its work by examining national Family Engagement practices

3. Definition of Family Engagement

4. Definition of Family Engagement
Family Engagement is:
A shared responsibility of families, schools, and communities
Continuous from birth into the school-age years
Sustainable, operating with adequate resources to ensure meaningful and effective strategies that have the power to impact student learning and achievement

5. Definition of Family Engagement
Family Engagement Means:
Supporting family well-being, strong parent-child relationships, and the ongoing learning and development of parents and children alike
Family Engagement Encompasses:
Beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and activities

6. Head Start Partnership (HS & DOE)

7. Head Start Framework

8. Department of Education

9. Alignment (DOE & HS)

10. Organization of the MD Framework

11. Organization of the Framework
Articulates a common definition of family engagement
Outlines common goals for family engagement applicable to the state and to programs/providers
Offers general strategies to support the goals
Includes resources to support the implementation of the strategies
Provides examples of family engagement practices in Maryland

12. MD Framework Uses the 7 Goals of the Head Start Framework
See Next Slide

14. The Framework Provides Strategies

15. Providing Strategies for the Framework
The document will outline several strategies organized by program foundation area and program impact area
Program Foundation Area (How they are affected)
Program Impact Area (Who was affected?)

16. Strategy- Program Foundation
Leadership
Develop relationships with community members and community organizations that support families’ interests and needs
Professional Development
Provide training on multicultural principles, leadership development, and advocacy for staff and families

17. Strategy- Impact Area Environment Teaching and Learning
Include family-friendly spaces with pictures and materials that affirm and welcome all families
Teaching and Learning
Consistently gather child information from families and ask parents about their child to inform teaching
Exchange information with parents about their children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development, and talk about the importance of the home language

18. Next Steps

19. Implementation
Use Framework to inform other parts of Maryland’s early childhood system (e.g. EXCELS)
Develop supporting strategies/materials to provide guidance on the Framework to parents and various types of service providers (child care, Head Start, home visitors, etc.)
Develop a timeline: Outline to Final
Develop training and technical assistance around key strategies
Explore innovative uses of technology in communicating and meeting goals (e.g., sharing assessment data)

20. The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children