Family and Community Engagement
Effective Practices to Welcome All Families Families say that feeling welcome and being treated with respect by school staff is the key to feeling connected to the school. In this session we’ll explore how to welcome families into your school and have dialogue that empowers them to become active participants in their children’s education.
Recommended for: PreK–12 district leaders, principals, teachers, and support staff Time: Full day Item #: 809019 Participants: Up to 30
Learning outcomes: • Assess your current welcoming practices • Understand why families can feel estranged from the learning process • Recognize the difference between “doing to” and “doing with” • Implement strategies that enhance two-way communication • Design initiatives that move from compliance engagement to authentic relationships with families • Engage in active listening
Recommended Reading: Rooted in Strength by Cecilia Espinosa and Laura Ascenzi-Moreno
Reaching All Families Promoting educational equity necessitates family engagement. When families are authentically engaged, listened to as active partners, and viewed as co-teachers, students achieve at higher levels. Training initiatives that build families' capacity to support student achievement are strong levers for addressing racial and economic disparities. Though engaging families has always been critical, COVID-19 reminds us of the central role that families play in teaching and learning and the need for educators to co-construct learning with families. Learning objectives: • Reflect on what has or hasn't been done to engage families and imagine what it would take for home-school partnerships to flourish • Address the status quo, challenge traditional biases, address innate power dynamics • Understand how to value and honor family voice, and identify ways to integrate
Recommended for: PreK–12 district leaders, principals, teachers, and support staff Time: Full day Item #: 731392 Participants: Up to 30
engaging families as an instructional strategy • Move beyond implementing “one size fits all” family engagement to executing intentional practices that individualize and recognize each family's unique strengths
Recommended Reading: Life, Literacy, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Don Vu
Visit scholastic.com/professional or call 1-800-387-1437 for more information | 69
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