PARENT INVOLVEMENTSTRATEGIES

JILL MATHEWSFamily and Community Engagement Coordinator

Idaho State Department of Educationoffice: (208)332-6800

jmathews@sde.idaho.gov

Activity

“If you think small things don’t matter, think of the last game you lost by one point.” – Anonymous

If You Want to Win, Tell Your Team It’s Losing (a Little)

• Harvard Business Review-The finding: People who are slightly behind in a competition are more likely to win than those who are slightly ahead.*People who are slightly behind exert more effort.*The effect was strongest among people high in self-efficacy.

Stanford ‘tips-by-text’ ProgramREADY4K!*scalable, inexpensive,accessible

Text MESSAGES TO SUPPORT PARENTS

• Weekly to give bite-sized tips to developing early literacy skills

• Simple nuggets around literacy strategies of information that is easy to receive and useful

• Increased the frequency of parents engaged in home literacy activities

• Parents showed higher levels of engagement by asking teachers questions about their children’s growth

Chad Schmidt - PrincipalParental Advisory Committee*Coffee/Donuts with the Principal (Teacher)*Welcoming to School – Car rider line*Goal setting with the Parent at Parent – Teacher Conferences*Adopt a Partnership Philosophy*Parents are accessible to other parents*Advisory system

Small Change

• Do the WRITE stuff• Home visits• Display student work• Positive contact• Math, literacy, & health nights• Student-led family conferences• Workshops for career planning/college

Attendanceworks.org

Building A Guidance Document

Examine the

documentation you currently

have

Adjust it for accuracy

and precision

Sequence current

documents and complete

other documentatio

n

Add Narrative

to support documentatio

n

10

The Family Engagement ToolThe State’s Role

11

School Community Network’s Building Block Framework Defined

Families, teachers, and administrators acting together in decision making – especially in areas where responsibilities of school and home overlap

Shared Leadership

Goals & Roles

Communication

Education

Connection

Written, agreed-upon guidelines that establish a course of evidence-based practices which students, teachers, and families will follow together to create and maintain a unified system that supports student success

Ongoing conversations; interactive communication among the families, students, and teachers that builds relationships based on trust and makes collaborative work possible

A learning community for everyone – families, students, teachers, school staff, and volunteers – where members are provided with education opportunities that build their capacity to fulfill their roles and responsibilities

Face-to-face association (families-school staff and parent-parent) with opportunities to form common understanding and engage in common experiences

Shared Leadership and Goals & Roles offer the best results when

supported by Communication, Education, and

Connection

13

The State’s Role:

Inform districts about FET

Promote its adoption

Make FET links and user guides available to districts and schools by posting them to the state website

Stay informed about the progress of the schools

14

The District’s Role:

Inform schools about FET

Enroll schools in FET

Review the progress of the school teams Provide support and guidance when needed

15

The Principal’s Role:

Provide guidance and support for the school’s team as they assess the school’s needs and plan for improvement in the area of family engagement

"All children are born geniuses, and we spend the first six years of

their lives degeniusing them."

- R. Buckminster Fuller

"In 1968, George Land gave 1,600 5-year-olds a creativity test used by NASA to select innovative engineers and scientists. He then re-tested the same children at ages 10 and 15. The test results were staggering! 98% at age 5 registered genius level creativity, 30% at 10 year and 12% at 15 years of age.

“The same test given to 280,000 adults placed their genius level creativity at only 2% ! In his book 'Breakpoint and Beyond', co-authored by Beth Jarman, Land concluded that non-creative behavior is learned.”

Source: George Land and Beth Jarman, “Breakpoint and Beyond” 1998

Ages 3-5 Ages 8-10 Ages 14-15 Adults0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

98%

32%10% 2%

Genius Level in Divergent Thinking

Creativity

Unintentional, inappropriate test responses from children.

"Each child comes into life with wonder, curiosity, awe,

spontaneity, vitality, flexibility, and many other characteristics of a joyous being. Each child will be a genius in a totally different way

from another child."

- Dr. Thomas Armstrong

What are the challenges to unlocking the magic, wonder and

genius in our students?

• Low engagement and trust• Teaching to the test• Limited character and leadership/life skills

Wrong wall of success Right wall of success

• High engagement and trust• Strong academic achievement• Students develop character and

leadership skills, the whole child

Low enrollment (350 out of 850)

No clearly defined mission

Lack of pride for profession

Teachers working in isolation

Poor building maintenance

50% on free / reduced lunch

Very little parent involvement

Background: A.B. Combs

Parents said…

• More responsible

• Get along with others

• Problem solvers

• Work ethic

• Priorities

• Self-starters

• Work with diverse cultures

Business said…

• Communication skills

• Teamwork skills

• Interpersonal skills

• Self-motivation

• Analytical skills

• Organizational skills

• Creative minds

What do you want students to learn in school?

Stakeholder Feedback

RelationshipsLeadership lessons integration

Events

Self-directedlearning

Environment

Student leadership

Goal setting / tracking

Student-led conferences

Creation of Leadership Model

• http://www.theleaderinme.org/media_videos/TLIM_Video_Player.html

2006 2014

A.B. Combs – #1 Magnet School

5 Magical Takeaways to Achieve Better Balance and Put Wonder Back in Schools

1. Student Leadership Roles2. Common Language3. Inspiring Environment4. Effective Goal Setting5. Making Student Work Public

36

Bridger Elementary

• Title 1 school 80% poverty

• 50% minority

• 23% mobility

You Can Be A LEADER

VIDEO

We only get one chance to prepare our children for a

future that none of us can predict.

What are we going to do with that one

chance?

-Muriel Summers