The Early Childhood Family Engagement
Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging
Families with Young Children
Jeffrey Capizzano
President
Maryland State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care
Baltimore, Maryland
July 11th, 2013
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The Maryland Family Engagement Coalition
Co-Chairs
Margaret E. Williams, Maryland Family Network
Paul Pittman, Head Start of Washington County
MSDE Liaison and Project Officer: Linda Zang
Broad statewide membership (public and private)
Maryland Ready At Five
CentroNía
Judy Center Partnerships
Public Library Assoc.
UM School of Medicine
PTA
Maryland Coalition of Families
School Districts
American Association of Pediatrics
Head Start
Maryland Child Care Assoc.
MSDE
Dept. of Health and Mental Health
Dept. Human Resources
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Why develop the framework?
Proposed as Project 8 of Maryland’s RTT—ELC grant
To highlight the importance of family engagement as a core area of
early childhood that promotes school readiness
To 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
To promote family engagement strategies at the program and
provider level and to highlight available resources that support the
implementation of those family engagement strategies
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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
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Definition
Family engagement is a shared responsibility of families, schools,
and communities for student learning and achievement; it is
continuous from birth into the school-age years; and it occurs across
the various early care and learning settings where children are.
Family engagement means building relationships with families that
support family well-being, strong parent-child relationships, and the
ongoing learning and development of parents and children alike. It
encompasses the beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and activities of early
care settings and families that support their children’s positive
development. Family engagement happens in the home, early
childhood settings, school, and community. Sustainable family
engagement operates with adequate resources, including publicprivate partnerships, to ensure meaningful and effective strategies
that have the power to impact student learning and achievement.
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Maryland Framework uses the 7 goals of the Head
Start Framework
Goal 1. Family engagement initiatives should promote family
well-being.
Maryland’s family engagement initiatives and the practices of early
care and education providers should promote the safety, health, and
financial security of families so that they can successfully parent their
young children.
Goal 2. Family engagement initiatives should promote positive
parent–child relationships.
Maryland’s initiatives and the practices of early care and education
providers should, beginning with the transition to parenthood, support
parents and families in developing warm relationships with their
children that nurture learning and development
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Maryland Framework uses the 7 goals of the Head
Start Framework
Goal 3. Family engagement initiatives should support families as
lifelong educators of their children
Maryland initiatives and the practices of early care and education
providers should support and empower the family in its role as first
teacher
Goal 4: Family engagement initiatives should support the
educational aspirations of parents and families
Maryland initiatives and the practices of early care and education
providers should support parents and families to advance their own
education, training, and other experiences that support their
parenting, careers, and life goals
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Maryland Framework uses the 7 goals of the Head
Start Framework
Goal 5. Family engagement initiatives should support families
through the care and education transitions of early childhood.
Maryland initiatives and the practices of early care and education
providers should support families as they make transitions with their
children to new learning environments.
Goal 6: Family engagement initiatives should connect families to
their peers and to the community.
Parents and families form connections with peers and mentors in
formal or informal social networks that are supportive and/or
educational and that enhance social well-being and community life.
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Maryland Framework uses the 7 goals of the Head
Start Framework
Goal 7: Family engagement initiatives should support the
development of families as leaders and child advocates.
Maryland initiatives and the family engagement practices of early
care and education providers should support families to participate in
leadership development, decision-making, program policy
development, and community and state organizing activities to
improve children’s development and learning experiences.
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Strategies
Document outlines several strategies organized by program
foundation and program impact areas
Examples of program foundation strategies include:
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
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Strategies
Examples of impact area strategies include:
Environment
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
Share information with families about resources and services
for children with disabilities and special health needs
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Resources
References and resources from nationally known organizations:
Head Start Center on Parent, Family, and Community
Engagement
Harvard Family Research Project
National Black Child Development Institute
National Center for Early Development & Learning (NCEDL)
Kindergarten Project
Electronic version of the document includes “hot links” that allow the
reader to access resources immediately
Includes a “resource catalogue” that is constantly being updated
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Maryland examples
Broad representation from different stakeholders
Family Support Centers
Reach Out and Read
Learning Parties
Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library
Family Engagement in Maryland’s Head Start Programs
Family Engagement in Maryland’s Judy Centers
Examples are linked back to Framework goals and RTT—ELC
funding where applicable
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Next Steps: Implementation Memo
Create a self-assessment
How well are the state and individual programs meeting the family
engagement goals articulated in the Framework?
Use Framework to inform other parts of Maryland’s early childhood
system (e.g. EXCELS)
Use as the foundation for a Family Engagement Conference
Develop training and technical assistance around key strategies
Explore innovative uses of technology in meeting goals (e.g., sharing
assessment data)
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Discussion and Contact Information
JeffreyC@PolicyEquity.com
www.PolicyEquity.com
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