Slide 1

Welcome, Honor, Connect Conferences: Building Relationships with Families Slide 2 Successful Schools Intentionally Build Connections with Families They purposefully: Invite involvement, are welcoming, and identify specific parental and community strengths and needs. Recognize, respect, and address cultural and class differences in the community. Create thoughtful, purposeful plans that focus on student achievement and whole school improvement. Slide 3 Get to know families, appreciate their participation, help them feel comfortable. Ask families, how can we be helpful to you? Express the belief that all families want their children to be successful. Invite families questions, stories, observations, and definitions of success. Respect their cultural beliefs, practices, and values. Explain learning. Show families what children are learning in school, ask what they are learning at home, and plan next steps to collaboratively support learning. Welcome, Honor, Connect Dr. Karen Mapp, Harvard Family Engagement Project Welcome Honor Connect Slide 4 Presentation Purpose: Explore how conferences help us welcome, honor, and connect with families. Brainstorm barriers and solutions for typical parent conferences. Consider strategies that explicitly involve families in school success. Slide 5 Welcome Think List barriers that may leave some families feeling unwelcome. Pair Make eye contact with someone you havent spoken to today; join lists. Share Join another team of two and combine lists again. How can we ensure that ALL families feel welcomed to conferences? Slide 6 Identifying barriers to family engagement Translation availability Work schedule Negative past experiences Transportation Frazzled school staff Childcare Other? Brainstorm strategies that reduce these barriers Who will be in charge of removing each barrier? How will you do it? How do we ensure that all families feel welcome to attend conferences? Slide 7 Determine roles: Recorder, Facilitator, Speakers Create 3-Column Notes: Welcome, Honor, Connect List Ideas Post for Later Charting Our Ideas Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Slide 8 Honor Jot one response on a note card. When I say go connect with a partner. Trade ideas and talk until I say, Go again. Return to your chart group and add all ideas gathered under Honor. How do we show families that we honor their contributions, stories, cultural beliefs and values? Slide 9 Focus on: Two-way sharing of information about the child. What are the familys hopes and dreams for their child? Listen to and celebrate student strengths, beliefs, and cultural practices both at school and at home. Involve the student in these conversations if possible. Help adults understand and know the importance of their involvement in their childs learning. Honor Slide 10 Connect Focus on: Problem-solving around the needs of the student. Offering practical, at-home learning strategies based on skill levels and interests. Connecting the family to school and community resources. Slide 11 Share ideas with a partner Turn to your group Paraphrase your partner for the group: 1 minute each Capture ideas on the chart What strategies have you seen that connect home with school? Slide 12 When the teacher and parent look at a childs work together, the parent is no longer just listening the parent is learning, analyzing, and seeing the rationale behind the teachers instructional decisions. *From Sharing Data with Families at Parent-Teacher Conferences http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=490 http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=490 Looking at Student Work Together Slide 13 Connect 1.Ask student and family members how they feel things are going at school and how school work in classroom and at home is going. 2.Use student work to show family members: In Reading: sample books at students independent level, genre- based reading logs, purposes for repeated oral reading, and fun writing activities. In Math: students developmental level, next steps in learning progression, examples of thinking games that support conceptual development, and fun ways to practice facts. 3.Review the students achievement test scores and grade level expectations. Explain the benefits and limitations of these tests. 4.Share homework completion and classroom participation data. Slide 14 Student Input Ask the student to set an academic goal. Include the student in planning reasonable and specific action steps. Ask the student where they might need help. Be specific about time, check-in dates, and who is responsible. Parent/Family Input Ask parent to share ideas about reasonable goals. Include parents in action step planning. Clarify their role. Be specific regarding parent-teacher-child check-ins. Teacher Input Guide the conversation toward reasonable home expectations. Provide step by step instructions. Make actions fun and easy. Determine when and where the work will occur. Seek Solutions Collaboratively Action Planning Slide 15 Thank parents who attended the conference and ask if they have further questions or concerns about how to support learning at home. Personally invite parents you met to serve on school committees or in other volunteer capacities. Contact parents who did not attend, and offer alternative ways/locations to communicate about their child. Schedule check-ins and plan details for ongoing contact (e-mail, phone call, home visit, etc.). Thank parents who attended the conference and ask if they have further questions or concerns about how to support learning at home. Personally invite parents you met to serve on school committees or in other volunteer capacities. Contact parents who did not attend, and offer alternative ways/locations to communicate about their child. Schedule check-ins and plan details for ongoing contact (e-mail, phone call, home visit, etc.). Follow-Up with Families Slide 16 Connect How do you see these Connect strategies being implemented in your district, school, or classroom? Slide 17 1.Pick one action from each: Welcome, Honor, Connect 2. Describe how it will look 3. Plan steps to implementation 4. Determine who will help Taking Action Slide 18 Contacts and Resources 51 Study Synthesis: Popping the question: How can schools engage families in education? http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/community/CF5-3-207.html http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/community/CF5-3-207.html Parent-Teacher Conference Tip Sheets from Harvard Family Research Project http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/parent-teacher- conference-tip-sheets-hojas-de-consejos-para-las-reuniones-de-padres-y-maestros Tips for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences with Bilingual Families http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/19382/ http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/19382/ Student-Led Parent-Teacher Conferences http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/classroom_solutions/2010/11/student-led- parent-teacher-conferences Theres No Place Like HomeVisits http://www.nea.org/home/32719.htm http://www.nea.org/home/32719.htm Image: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1246&bih=895&tbm=isch&tbnid=zPL0m wLk6h_RkM:&imgrefurl=http://www.maine.gov/education/communication.htm&doci d=jWdmMVjO3qxsNM&imgurl=http://www.maine.gov/education/images/parent%25 2520teacher.jpg&w=462&h=369&ei=Qi9xUuGcJsag2gX964GACw&zoom=1&ved= 1t:3588,r:0,s:0,i:81&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=175&tbnw=198&start=0&ndsp=22&tx=1 56&ty=57 Department of Public Instruction Title I and School Support Ruth Anne Landsverk ruthanne.landsverk@dpi.wi.gov Mary Jo Ziegler mary.ziegler@dpi.wi.gov Shari Bernstein shari.bernstein@dpi.wi.gov