Family Engagement Cohort NEWS
November 20, 2019
A Note from Kimberly
If you haven't already, I strongly encourage you to make a plan to share your scavenger hunt results with your whole campus.
During this edition of the Family Engagement Cohort News, I share the documents and resources that I indicated I would share with you during our training session, plus some check point questions to help you keep the momentum going on the work you have started. Check out the photo gallery!
The Academic Parent Teacher Team video really sparked some of your interests so I've shared that video PLUS a link to additional videos and resources on the topic. I've done training on APTT's and have coached some teachers through implementing them so please reach out to me if you have implementation questions. This is really a GREAT way to elevate your parent teacher conferences and engage families in supporting their child's learning in the home.
I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving break and treasure the special time with your family and loved ones.
As always, I'm here for you and will continue to stay in touch to help support you through this cohort!
Blessings!
~Kimberly
We've had our second training session....Now What?
I hope you are continuing to recognize that engaging families is not the role of just one person but actually everyone involved in the school. How are you helping your campus reframe their understanding of Family Engagement?
Here are some things to think through so that you can keep the momentum going:
1. Continue to reference your vision poster. I know you all put it in a prominent place! Be intentional to reference it so that you are communicating your vision so clearly that is starts to become a reality with your staff and families!
2. Allow the campus team to share a testimonial during an upcoming faculty meeting. Can Family Engagement be a topic of discussion at every faculty meeting? How can your campus team support this? How can ESC-20 help encourage and support this?
3. Have you done the Core Beliefs activity with your campus staff?
4.. How are you sharing your new learnings with district level staff so they can know how to support you throughout this cohort?
4. Debrief with your campus team. Share your "ahas". Share something that you learned that you didn't know. Share something that challenged you. What are new ideas/thoughts that you can immediately put into practice or make changes to?
5. What follow-up is needed as a result of your Scavenger Hunt discoveries? What's your next step?
Believe me I know how hard it is to be away from the office for a day and then I return with so much to catch up on! I also know how easy it is to put something on the back burner and think, "Oh, I'll get to that tomorrow and then that item gets pushed farther and farther down on my to do list!"
Keep that momentum going!
Documents
- Training PPT slides
- Icebreakers to use at family gatherings
- Essential Elements Rubric (you can use this to reflect on as you plan your Family Engagement event and incorporate the 5 Essential Elements (process conditions).
- Participant Guide, 2nd session
Something I'm Working On!
Coming Soon!
Take Home Assignment
Your homework assignment to prepare prior to Session #3 is share an update on your retooling event. Some of you WILL NOT have had your event prior to January 30th and that is okay. If you have not had your event before January 30th, talk more in depth about your planning process and how you plan to embed the process conditions in the event. What will the event look like? You will likely need to converse with other staff members who will be a part of the planning process.
If you do have your event prior to January 30th, prepare to share how it went. What did you notice? What might you change going forward? What feedback did you receive from families? What was surprising? What did you learn? Where are we not, and where do we want to be?
Family Engagement Assessment Debriefs
8:30a.m.---10:00 a.m. Woolls Intermediate
10:00 --- 11:30 a.m. Meyer Elementary
1:30 p.m.--3:00 p.m. Devine ISD
Wednesday, January 29th
9:00 a.m.--10:30 a.m. Jubilee Lakeview University
Jenni & I will come to your campus for the assessment debriefs. It's encouraged that you have as many from your campus team to participate in the debrief that you can. You will be utilizing your assessment results to develop your campus plan during the 3rd training on Thursday, January 30th. It will be helpful to have your team understand the assessment results in order to provide valuable input into your campus plan.
3rd Campus Team Training
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2020
Time: 8:30 a.m.--3:30 p.m.
Location: Woolls Intermediate School, Hondo ISD
Training #3 Engaging Families Throughout the School Year
The 3rd training helps participants connect family engagement to their student learning goals as they plan for the coming year. Participants use this session to “plan the work” for the next 12 months.
The campus team will share the successes and challenges of their repurposed family engagement activity. They will also learn how to design and implement additional family learning events that are aligned with best practices.
The session concludes with a review of action team membership to ensure each team has the right partners to help them “work the plan.”
Bring a copy of your current CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP).
What Comes After the 3rd Training Session?
To share a little more information, each campus will receive 3 on-site coaching session (2 hours each), to equal a total of 6 hours.
Jenni & I will discuss more in depth what this can look like when we do the Family Engagement Assessment debrief in January.
The on-site coaching sessions are determined by what you need to help move your plans forward. There are lots of different options and it's something I am looking forward to!
There's nothing for you to plan for at this point, but I did want to share the Individualized Coaching Checklist so you can get an idea of what that support could look like.
You can download it below.
Video Shared During the Training
A Guide for Educators: Helping Families Engage in Their Children's Learning
Helping Families Engage in Their Child's Learning is a research-based guide to support teachers and administrators in creating a vibrant school community by developing partnerships and by helping their students’ families to better understand: state learning standards, college and career readiness, family practices to help children learn, and family-school relationships," including effective communication, policies, shared leadership, and connections.
Click HERE to download the article.
Scavenger Hunt Presentations
Teams Hard at Work
Process Conditions Activity
Retooling Family Events Initial Planning
Jubilee Lakeview University Prep
Devine ISD
Hondo ISD
Meyer Elementary--Spring Kite Event
Kimberly Baumgardner, Consultant, Family Engagement--Education Service Center, Region 20
Kimberly has become quite passionate about empowering families to be more involved in their child's education and future as well as challenging and supporting schools to increase their efforts to involve families in their child's educational journey and focus on Family Engagement as an instructional tool that improves student's academic outcomes.
Kimberly enjoys living out in the country with her husband, Tyson and two daughters, Lynette & Lucy Sue.
Email: kimberly.baumgardner@esc20.net
Website: www.esc20.net/parentresources
Location: 1314 Hines, San Antonio, TX, United States
Phone: 210-370-5431
Facebook: facebook.com/escregion20
Twitter: @ESCRegion20