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

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1 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 11 th , 2013 © Copyright 2012 Policy Equity Group. All Rights Reserved.

Transcript of 1 The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with...

Page 1: 1 The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children Jeffrey Capizzano President Maryland State.

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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

© Copyright 2012 Policy Equity Group. All Rights Reserved.

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Page 3: 1 The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children Jeffrey Capizzano President Maryland State.

The Maryland Family Engagement Coalition

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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?

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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

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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

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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 public- private 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

[email protected]

www.PolicyEquity.com

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