Welcome to the PRIDE Post!

The Importance of Family Engagement in Education


In this edition of the PBIS Post:


  • The Pillars of Family Engagement
  • Resources
  • Branching Minds
  • PBIS PRIDE

"The most accurate predictors of student achievement in school are not family income or social status, but the extent to which the family creates a home environment that encourages learning, communicates high yet reasonable expectations for the child’s achievement, and becomes involved in the child’s education at school."


National PTA. 2000. Building Successful Partnerships: A Guide for Developing Parent and Family Involvement Programs. Bloomington, Indiana: National Education Service, 11–12.


The Pillars of Family Engagement

Review our list of tips and tricks to evaluate your Family Engagement strategy for your students. What do you already incorporate?


Intentional ways to establish trust and safety

  1. Begin at the start of the school year
  2. Express your passion for teaching 
  3. Communicate positives about the student
  4. Affirmations of partnering with the family
  5. Create goals for the year
  6. Relay success stories
  7. Develop specific strategies for partnering with them


Establish clear boundaries

  1. Establish office hours
  2. Use of a variety of methods to meet a variety of needs 
  3. Ensure multi-directional communications 
  4. In meetings, ask questions, seek input, avoid jargon!
  5. The more intense the information, the more frequent the need for updating and communicating



Cultural responsiveness communication strategies

  1. Begin on a personal level and allow a combination of personal and academic 
  2. Show respect for the whole family
  3. Communicate how much family involvement is valued
  4. Discuss the student’s achievements in the context of the classroom community
  5. Use inclusive pronouns (“We” instead of “I” or “You”).  
  6. Maintain 50% teacher/50% parent talk time in meetings
  7. Ask parents how they would best like communication to occur



Increase Accessibility 

  1. Create a parent/family community network for families who speak the same language
  2. Use apps that eliminate language barriers
  3. Provide parent training or “front loading”



Restoring Broken Partnerships

  1. Start by thanking them for taking time to talk
  2. View them as advocates that share a common goal
  3. Consider how you can involve them 
  4. Actively listen
  5. Reach out for more information when appropriate
  6. Recognize holidays and birthdays
  7. Call or ask for occasional feedback
  8. Invite them to share their interests and talents
  9. Respect parents’ dignity

"Regardless of family income or background, students whose parents are involved in their schooling are more likely to have higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school."


Henderson, A.T., and K.L. Mapp. 2002. A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

Resources:


Supporting Families with PBIS at Home

WHCSD is working hard to establish meaningful behavioral expectations and routines in our school buildings.  Children respond to predictable and reinforcing environments in the home as well, which can lead to better preparedness for school.  Please utilize the following document to help support your scholar’s families with PBIS at home!


"Supporting Families with PBIS at Home"


Upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences - Feb 8-10: 

Read this excellent resource for tips on establishing effective parent engagement!


 "Parent Teacher Conferences: Strategies for Principals, Teachers, and Parents"


PRIDE Praise!



At the Middle School, they held their 1st Semester PBIS raffle! All PBIS note earners who used the notes to purchase items from the PBIS store were entered into a raffle to win a PBIS swag bag. There was one winner per grade level:

  • 6th Alan Madison,
  • 7th Melina Quaranta
  • 8th Nadia Kelly.

Branching Minds Update


Documenting Family Communication in our MTSS


Why do we document Family Communication? Logging family communication on BRM will help teachers collaborate with each other and families in streamlined, accessible, and transparent ways. 


Find a How-To Tutorial Here.

One Team! One Vision! One Goal!