Family Engagement Cohort NEWS
February 6, 2020
A Note from Kimberly
I loved our discussions around your LEA's Family Engagement Assessment results. You now have actionable data to share with your campus, district staff, families and community!
There were many aha's and what if's....I love that type of thinking outside the box!
This actionable data was used during our last training session to make a plan on engaging families in learning throughout the year.
Your campus team left with a story map that helped you define at least one area of academic focus that was stripped apart until you recognized the "why" behind students not being successful in this focus area, identifying strategies to help overcome the "why" AND then peeling off even more layers to drive you to list specific actions that families can undertake at home to address this focus area and help support their child in reaching mastering of this focus area.
Many of you took a look at your Campus Improvement Plans and recognized that Family Engagement, while it was there, was a separate focus. You now have the opportunity to embed Family Engagement strategies in all of your campus focus areas and you have been given actions and strategies to help you accomplish this!
The work doesn't stop now that our training sessions are over. Keep reading for next steps and guidance on where you should be headed now to move the Family Engagement work forward!
I will continue with my bi-weekly newsletters to share resources, ideas and tips to hopefully help keep your momentum going!
Great Things are Happening!
~Kimberly
Download Session #3 Participant Guide Below to Have Access to the Planning Documents for Continued Use!
Let's Start with Some Celebrations!
- They have a new principal--Susan Oldfied (Yay)! While she is new to the campus, she is not new to education and has enthusiastically shared her support for engaging families! She has started Coffee with the Principal sessions and has had 20+ families participate! Way to go Susan!
- We were all impressed and excited about Karina's Biology Family Conference and look forward to round #2!
- KUDOS to Jubilee for making it a non-negotiable that all school documents are translated in Spanish!
- KUDOS also for opening up your Family Resource Center on the campus! Whoo hoo!
Ciavarra Elementary, Devine ISD
- A new welcome sign was added on the fence that all families seek and approach when entering their campus! See picture below! This simple gesture sure brightened up the area and makes families and community members feel welcome!
- Rhonda Shelton can't wait for her family conferences coming up on February 17th! We can't wait to hear how they go as you share specific data and strategies with your student's families.
Devine Intermediate
- KUDOS for making it a priority to open up visitor parking spaces so there's easier parking spaces for families and community!
- KUDOS for working hard to make your family events meaningful, not just something to do to check off your list! An ESC-20 consultant is providing a parent training on Writing Strategies that will be full of hands-on make and take activities and opportunities to connect with each other to learn how to support writing in the home. Writing is a district-wide iniative. KUDOS for making the necessary changes to make this meaningful, interactive, collaborative, relational and linked to learning! It's happening tonight!
Meyer Elementary, Hondo ISD
- We celebrate your outside of the box planning to host your first grade level family data sharing meeting at the local movie theatre! What a great turnout and opportunity to share specific data with families and help them set goals to support their child and then eat popcorn and watch a movie! Love it!
- KUDOS for moving on to planning for 2nd grade!
Woolls Intermediate, Hondo ISD
- KUDOS for making all your front parking spaces Visitor parking for families and the community!
- We celebrate and applaud your 1st ever Data Sharing Open House! You completely organized it differently and had a different approach to share pertinent information with families. What a great turn out!
- KUDOS to your leadership team on your immediate reflections on how you will do things differently to keep families informed about their child's learning and ensuring they leave your even with a tangible tip/tool/strategy that they've practiced to take home to do with their child!
So much to celebrate!
Remember the importance of celebrating each little step you take to move your Family Engagement plan forward. As much as we wish, it will not happen overnight or maybe not even completely in this school year and that's OKAY! Baby steps... Hold tight to your new learning and Family Engagement plan and tackle one step at a time as you are all doing and then celebrate!
After you celebrate, then reflect:
- What went well?
- What surprised you the most?
- What didn't go so well?
- What would you do differently?
- Did something happen that you didn't plan for and how might you plan differently around that?
- Did families leave with a new tip/tool strategy to implement in the home?
- Did families leave with instruction (modeling) and practice on that skill to implement with their child?
- Did families leave with a better understanding of their child's progress and how they can help at home?
- What is your plan for families that didn't attend the event/conference? How will you reach out to engage them?
Ciavarra Elementary School, Devine ISD
I used to think....Now I think!
Wow... Take some time to read through these....
There have been some pretty significant changes in the way Family Engagement used to be viewed and how it has changed.
It's a New Way of Thinking which is going to yield New Results!
Download ALL the responses below.
What is the ONE thing, that if you did it consistently and superbly well, it would make a big difference in building positive relationships with families at your school?
Keep pondering on this question......
Ask your staff and see what their responses are!
Compile the ponderings and take steps to accomplish something that is shared! Stick with it and be consistent!
Devine shared some great ideas of writing positive notes home. They plan to give teachers time during faculty meetings with an expectation that each teacher will write a positive note to a child or family member. They will pay for postage and create some note cards for the teachers to use. They are building in the time for their staff to accomplish this!
Woolls Intermediate shared a similar idea but with positive phone calls. Teachers will have a way to distinguish a positive act for a student and will ask a member of the Leadership Team to make the positive phone call. Teachers do not have phones in their room to make their own calls. Discussions are also being made on how they can also build in time for teachers to make their own positive phone calls without having to use their personal cell phones.
Jubilee had some great discussions centered on consistent communication and WHAT they are communicating to families!
They believe that if they did these things consistently and superbly well it would change the culture of building positive relationships with families!
Next Steps
ASK
A (Attitudes)--What are the values & beliefs that staff continue to need?
S (Skills)--What are the skills/competencies that staff will need?
K (Knowledge)--What do staff need support in understanding?
When are you meeting with your team? Set a date and time and make it happen!
Coaching & Implementation Support
Once dates are confirmed, I will follow up with an agenda of our coaching sessions that we will develop based off the feedback from your coaching checklist.
Powerful Partnerships Book Study
I'm going to brush up some of my technology skills and plan to make an interactive/online format for the book study.
AND
I will make a plan to conduct an overview of the book with any leadership staff that would like to go through it to help build your capacity to share with your staff in a live webinar format!
More to Come!
Woolls Intermediate Family Assessment Activity
Below are pictures of the final outcomes!
What do you notice? How might doing something like this on your campus to give you some immediate data/feedback to help guide some future decisions and planning?
Monitor or Limit Electronics
Reading with Your Child
Getting your Child to School on Time
Ensuring your Child stays for tutoring and/or Attend PT Conference
Making Sure your child Gets a Good Breakfast (school or home)
Making Sure your Child Gets a Good Night's Rest
Photo Gallery: January 31, 2020
Linked to Learning Presentations: Take Home Assignments
Meyer Elementary
Jubilee Lake View University Prep
Woolls Intermediate
Story Map Development
Story Maps
Woolls Intermediate
Ciavarra Elementary
Jubilee Lake View University
Deep Discussions & Looking at Data
Valentine's Day is Next Week! Here are some Activities/Resources you Can Share with Families!
Valentine's Day Conversation Starters
Here are some questions to ask your kids at the dinner table or in the car as Valentine's Day is celebrated this week.
- I would define love as...
- My family is special because...
- My favorite Valentine's tradition is....
- I am happy when my family...
- My favorite love story from a book is....
- 3 ways I can show others I love them are...
- What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?
- How do you know someone loves you?
- What do you think it means to be someone's Valentine?
- How many different kids of love do you think there are?
- Do you know anyone who may not get a Valentine this year and how we can make them feel special?
- What do you think is better: to love someone or be loved by someone?
- What is your favorite Valentine's day candy?
Here are MORE!
25 Valentine's Day Conversation Starters for Your Family
15 Fun Valentine's Day Family Traditions
We all need to be cherished. But despite our good intentions, too often we forget to tell the people we love just how precious they are to us. Valentines Day reminds us to tell all of our loved ones (not only our sweethearts) how glad we are that they're in our lives.
Want some simple ideas to celebrate Valentines Day, when you’re too busy, too broke, and maybe even too harried to remember that you really adore these people you live with?
1. Rethink Gifts
2. Alternate Gift Ideas
3. Get up a few minutes early so you can enjoy opening each others' Valentines at breakfast
4. Let your kids know your love is with them all day
5. Make the dinner mood festive.
6. At dinner, go around the table and give each person a chance to give an appreciation.
7. Find five minutes to spend by yourself giving thanks for those you love.
8. Spread the love.
9. Keep Valentines from past years and decorate the house.
10. Your kids can make very simple Valentines for their class.
11. Make some extra valentines.
12. Need candy to make the day complete?
13. How about a telephone Valentine chain?
14. Sound surround yourself with love.
15. Love in Practice.
Read all the details about these 15 Family Traditions HERE.
Challenging Negative Assumptions About the Uninvolved Parent
This week's podcast is "The Myth of the Uninvolved Parent." We've talked about this all throughout our training series, but I wanted to share because this could be a quick podcast you share in a faculty meeting to have some engaging discussions with your staff!
They are also quick and easy to share via DOJO/REMIND, social media, in a newsletter or email to your families!
Here are other engaging podcasts in the series!
Beyond Academics: Preparing Your Kids for Life
¿Está su Hijo Recibiendo los Servicios que Necesita?
Partnering with Your Child's Teacher
How to Handle Homework: The Good, Bad & the Ugly
Middle School: What Every Parent Should Know
How is Your Kid Really Doing in School?
Kimberly Baumgardner, Statewide Special Education Liaison--Education Service Center, Region 20
Kimberly has worked in the field of special education for 20 years. Her special education journey began in Waco ISD as a special education teacher where she wore many hats as an inclusion, resource and co-teacher at the elementary, middle school and high school level.
She has been on staff at Education Service Center, Region 20 for ten years, serving six years as a special education curriculum specialist, four years as the Family Engagement Consultant and is currently a Statewide Special Education Liaison. As a Special Education Liaison, she works to connect resources and supports across Texas to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.
Email: kimberly.baumgardner@esc20.net
Website: www.esc20.net/spedfsa
Location: 1314 Hines, San Antonio, TX, United States
Phone: 210-370-5431
Facebook: facebook.com/escregion20
Twitter: @ESCRegion20