Family Engagement Newsletter
March 2024
Families and schools working together, because our students are worth it!
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month!
Governor Josh Shapiro has issued a Proclamation that March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, in which he "...encourage(s) all Pennsylvanians to support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families through all aspects of our communities." Read the article here.
#DDAM2024
(Article and image courtesy of the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.)
Do You Have Difficulty Reaching Families?
Do You Want Productive Family-School Communication?
Are There Other Family Engagement Strategies You Seek?
If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, we can help!
LET US ASSIST YOU WITH A CUSTOMIZED SUPPORT PLAN!
The PA Bureau of Special Education and PaTTAN consultants, along with IU partners, will provide LEAs direct support, at a local level, in various areas of need, including family engagement. Types of support offered: Systemic, Critical, Emergent Short-Term, and Professional Development Customized Supports.
Contact familyengagementconnect@pattankop.net
To learn more, visit PaTTAN's - Customized Professional Development and Technical Assistance and Watch this short video.
Our PaTTAN Family Engagement Team is available to assist you through the support request process.
Share Your Professional Development and Technical Assistance Preferences
PaTTAN's Family Engagement team supports schools in enhancing their family and community engagement efforts. Please take a moment (literally, a minute or less) to complete these 5 questions to help us develop training and technical support based on your preferences and PD needs.
CLICK ON THE BOX BELOW.
Making a Difference: Educational Practices That Work!
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2024 PDE CONFERENCE
The 2024 Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Conference was an exciting event! More than 1,200 in-person and 200 virtual attendees gained valuable insight on best practices and current research on family engagement and other critical topics around special education.
In addition to our distinguished conference speakers, we had a surprise guest speaker, Governor Josh Shapiro! Among other inspirational talking points, the Governor shared his proposed 2024-25 budget, including a $50 million increase to special education funding.
J. Michael Hall's Session on Engaging Fathers
Family Engagement Session, Real-Life Scenarios, with School & Family Partnership Panel
BSE Director Dr. Carole Clancy with FAMILIES to the MAX Vice-Chair Nikki Huggan
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PUBLICATIONS, WEBINARS, AND TRAININGS
Join the National PTA’s Center for Family Engagement and the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) for a webinar series that will dive deeper into topics related to strengthening family-school partnerships through the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. Be inspired by panel discussions with leading practitioners, researchers, and policymakers who are improving family-school partnerships so that all children can reach their full potential.
The U.S. Department of Education is committed to supporting parents, families, educators, state and local leaders, and organizations that work with families to strengthen parent partnership for student success. In Raising the Bar for Parent Partnership and Engagement, see the exciting work the U.S. DOE is doing and resources it is sharing to increase the partnership among parents and families, educators, district leaders, and entire school communities to support students.
BIG IMPACT!
Strategies to Get Parents to your Table as Partners
Parents have the biggest stake in how their children can be safe, supported, and thrive in the world. No one is more engaged, committed and passionate.
Here are three easy ways to partner with families, adapted from the Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) resource, *"We're Glad You Asked."
Parents as equal partners and decision-makers
Are you willing to change how you do business?
If your goal is to engage parents, start by making your table and your effort welcoming! Have you been invited to a meeting and felt left out or disrespected? How can you avoid doing that to parents? Hold the meeting bilingually? Open the meeting with an opportunity to share something about their families?
Parent leadership requires a strategic investment
Like every endeavor to build stronger organizations..., parent leadership requires a strategic investment of time and resources--time to build relationships and establish trust and resources to support participation.
Share Information and Training Opportunities with Families
Training Courses for Families and Educators from Pennsylvania Organizations
A great family engagement strategy is to share resources and
training and networking opportunities with your school community members. This will:
- help improve their knowledge and skills
- increase achievement of students' goals, successes, and educational results for your school, and
- demonstrate your desire to partner with families, children, and community groups to collaboratively support and develop the youth of today--our hope for tomorrow
Statewide organizations, such as PaTTAN, FAMILIES to the MAX, PEAL, HUNE, PA Family Network, and many others, provide free, family-friendly training courses on various topics of special education and health (see flyer and click to register for courses.) PaTTAN's Youth Engagement Specialists (YES), a program of OVR, offer support and student-focused sessions on secondary transition planning, self-advocacy, and more.
Reach out today! Trainings are also available to LEAs, IU staff, and service providers. Request virtual or in-person sessions for school staff (great for in-service professional development!), families, community members, or any combination, to improve outcomes for children who receive special education services. Isn't that what we committed to do when we entered this profession?
The Essential Bulletin for Educators
Do you receive the Essential Bulletin for Educators, Monthly Updates from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education and PaTTAN? Check out this month's edition for tips and events happening in our Commonwealth.
2024 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES Save These Dates!
Connecting and Learning for Equity & Opportunity Webinar Series
March 20, April 16, May 23
28th Annual National Autism Conference - New Location!
August 5 - 8
APR Networking and Learning Community Opportunities
Various topics and dates
Pennsylvania Special Education Leadership Academy
Gettysburg, PA
July 9 - 112024 PaTTAN Literacy Symposium
Registration is open!
VirtualJune 11 - 13
PA Transition Conference 2024
July 31 - August 1
IEL National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference (CSxFE)
Atlanta, Georgia, May 29-31
2024 National Family Engagement Summit: The Practitioners’ Conference
In-Person: Oct. 9-11
Savanna, GA
NAFSCE 2024 National Assembly for Family Engagement
Denver, CO
October 21-25
If you found this family and community engagement newsletter to be helpful, please share it with colleagues and families in your school, district, IU, or agency. Thank you!
The mission of the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) is to support the efforts and initiatives of the Bureau of Special Education, and to build the capacity of local educational agencies to serve students who receive special education services.