Family and Community Engagement
Sam Redding
sredding@centerii.org
Center on Innovation & Improvement
www.families-schools.org
www.centerii.org
Handbook on Family and Community Engagement
 Published in September 2011
 36 experts contributed chapters
 Partnered with U. S. Department of Education – Title I
 Download free at: www.families-schools.org
 Purchase published version from Information Age at:
www.infoagepub.com
What Is Family Engagement?
1. Families engaged with own children.
2. Families engaged with families of other children.
3. Families engaged with their children’s school.
Comprehensive Family Engagement
 Leadership, structures (teams), systems (processes)
 Doing many things well over time
 Ongoing conversation
 Engaging families intentionally, with purpose
 Connecting to student learning (academic, social, emotional)
 Adopting a “school community” approach
 People intimately attached to the school
 Relationships among all members—leaders, teachers, staff,
parents, students, volunteers
 Roles and responsibilities
 Knowing each family’s story
Student Learning Outcomes
 Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
 What the research tells us
 Strong link between family and school learning
 Curriculum of the Home
 Parental aspiration for children
 Self-efficacy perception
 Parents’
 Students’
Curriculum of the Home
Parent-Child Relationship
 Daily conversation about everyday events
 Showing affection
 Family discussion of books, magazine, newspapers, TV, internet
 Family visits to libraries, museum, zoos, etc.
 Encouragement to try new words
Curriculum of the Home
Routine of Family Life
 Formal study time at home
 A daily routine that includes time to eat, sleep, play, work, study, and
read
 A quiet place to study and read
 Family interest in hobbies, games, educational activities
Curriculum of the Home
Family Expectation and Supervision
 Priority given to reading, school work over television, video games,
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recreation
Punctuality – children expected to be on time
Children expected to do their best and accept responsibility for
what they do
Concern for correct and effective use of language
Parental knowledge and discussion of what is watched on TV and
viewed on the internet
Parental knowledge of school achievement and personal growth
Other Considerations about Parents
 William Jeynes: aspirations and expectations
 Kathleen Hoover-Dempsey: self-efficacy perception
 The Ongoing Conversation about expectations and obligations –
every opportunity
 Reaching Parents: Three Types of Parent Relationships with
Children and with School
 Distressed Families
 Child-Centered Families
 Parent-Centered Families
Lessons Learned
 Leadership matters
 Principal
 Team
 Correlation with success: regular meetings, well-attended, and
focus
 Cliques are counterproductive
 Continuity and sustainability are necessary but difficult
 Cult of the charismatic leader
 The new New Thing
Lessons Learned
 Direct interaction focused on student learning is paramount
 Home visits and home gatherings
 Parent-child activities (home links)
 Focused, three-way, linked parent-teacher-student conferences
 Open house that includes role of parents at home
 The work never takes a back seat
 Purposeful activity rather than simply more activity
Building Blocks for Strong School Communities
 Shared Leadership: Building strong, distributed leadership for family and
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community engagement.
Goals and Roles: Setting family and community engagement priorities and
defining the roles of leaders, teachers, parents, and others in meeting goals.
Communication: Promoting communication among leaders, teachers,
parents, students, and others and providing information and guidance for them.
Education: Providing education and professional development for leaders,
teachers, parents, and others to advance their knowledge and skills relative to
the roles they play in family and community engagement.
Connection: Bringing together people and groups to advance the goals of
family and community engagement and sharing their experiences.
Continuous Improvement: Establishing policies, systems, and procedures
to evaluate and continuously improve family and community engagement
efforts.
Resources
www.families-schools.org
Indicators in Action
Suggested School Practice
 From Handbook on Family and Community Engagement