CAFÉ: CONVERSATIONS ABOUT FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

Sonia Johnson, Executive Director

Family and Community Engagement/21st CCLC

Academic Affairs and Planning

Alignment to Learning Forward Standards The new education law, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), redefines professional

development with a purposeful influence from Learning Forward.

Learning Forward, a national association recognized as leaders in professional

learning, has established standards for professional learning that set a high bar for

quality learning experiences.

This session aligns to the following standard(s) -

Leadership: Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and

results for all students requires skillful leaders who develop capacity, advocate,

and create support systems for professional learning.

On your sticky note share… • What does an engaged family look like?

• What does an engaged family do?

On Our Panel

• Paige Whalen Center for Community School Strategies at the Community Service Council

• Mindi Bisdee Union Public Schools

• Erin Velez Center for Community School Strategies at the Community Service Council

Session Objectives:

• Participants will leave with broader perspective and definition of family engagement.

• Participants will better understand how their values, beliefs and assumptions influence family engagement.

4 Core Beliefs for Family Engagement

1 All parents have dreams for their children and want the best for them.

2 All parents have the capacity to support their children’s learning.

3 Parents and school staff should be equal partners.

4 The responsibility for building partnerships between school and

home rests primarily with school staff, especially school leaders.

Henderson, Mapp, Johnson, & Davies. (2007). Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships.

Involvement vs. Engagement • What is the difference?

• What does success look like?

Rosa Parks Elementary • Home Visits

• Health Fairs

• Family Conferences

• Individualized Homework

• Communication in Home Language

• Parents Welcome in Classrooms

Boevers Elementary

• Neighborhood Walk-about

• Family Flag Project

• Community Nights

• Family Field Trips

• Site Advisory Team

• Beyond the Bake Sale Book Study

State and National Discussion

• Oklahoma State Department of Education Strategic Plan • Objective 3 - Create Engaged Communities

• Strategy 3.2 - Strengthen and increase family and community engagement

to support student learning.

• Every Student Succeeds Act • Develop with parents, a written parent and family engagement policy.

• Build schools’ capacity to engage families.

• Evaluate family engagement policy and practices, with meaningful input

from families.

• Involve parents in deciding how to use funds.

Reflection In my role, how can I better engage families?

Questions/Comments

Sonia Johnson Executive Director

Family and Community Engagement/21st CCLC

Sonia.Johnson@sde.ok.gov 405.522.6225