September 5, 2019
Greetings Members, Partners, and Stakeholders,
Welcome back! We hope everyone had an enjoyable summer and that you are as excited as we are to gear up for a productive year of advancing family and community engagement in our local communities and across the nation.
To kick off this new school year, NAFSCE is partnering with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading for the first of their GLR Partners Webinar Series. Please join us for a
free webinar on Reframing the Conversation Around Family Engagement, September 17 at 3:00 pm ET, to learn about important new research and recommendations that will help you garner increased support for your family engagement programs from your team, administration, stakeholders and the community-at-large. Learn more below and
register today.
This issue of
NAFSCE News is overflowing with new research, best-practice program ideas, and strategies for success, including an important
report from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that highlights the work of 30 equity-based family engagement initiatives from across the country. We're also excited to call your attention to a new website launched by the
Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center at The Ohio State University that offers a terrific array of resources for families and schools.
We hope these resources help you get the school year off to a great start.
Best regards,
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Vito Borrello
Executive Director
National Association for Family, School, and Community
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Webinar: Reframing the Conversation around Family Engagement
Date: September 17, 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST
Fifty years of research tells us that engaging families is central to our efforts in improving outcomes for children. Yet we see too little appetite for putting this research into action. To reverse this, we are learning that much work needs to be done around changing the narrative and re-framing “family engagement.” But what does that mean and how do we do that?
In proud association with the
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, NAFSCE invites you to join a conversation around lessons learned from ground-breaking new research designed to change the way we talk about family engagement and its importance. The FrameWorks Institute will highlight strategies to shift the conversation from family engagement being “nice to have” to be a “must-have.” If you missed our sessions at the National Conference in Reno, now is your chance to learn about these important recommendations and pose your questions to the research team.
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Moderator:
Shaun Adamec
President
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Co-Presenter:
Marisa Gerstein Pineau
Senior Associate and Researcher
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Discussant:
Oscar Cruz
Executive Director
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Discussant:
S. Kwesi Rollins
Vice President, Leadership and Engagement
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Join us for NAFSCE's September Community of Practice
Join the NAFSCE Members-only Community of Practice (CoP) for a one-hour online discussion next Tuesday, September 10 at 2 pm EST.
As a "conversation starter" this month, participants will be invited to share what they learned at IEL's National Family and Community Engagement Conference in Reno this past July. We'll then discuss any other topics of interest to the group. Hosting this CoP will be Carol Dickson, NAFSCE Ambassador.
Learn more.
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August CAFE/NAFSCE Webinar archived recording now available
Educating & Empowering Families To Navigate The Special Education & Community Support Systems. NAFSCE members can now view the recording and download the presentation from our August webinar. We have also linked several of the resources mentioned during the webinar in the archive.
Access the archive here.
Webinar registrants should have received an email with a link to the program archive. To access all of NAFSCE's
past webinars, we invite you to
join NAFSCE today!
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NAFSCE PARTNER PROGRAMS & CONVENINGS
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Date: September 27, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
The Center for Education Equity @ MAEC has partnered with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Philadelphia, and the Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights in Education at Morgan State University to bring you the second in a series of Equity Breakfast Institutes.
Realizing the Dream: Promoting Success for English Learners will offer workshops that discuss:
- English Learners with a Suspected Learning Disability
- The Unique Needs of Newcomers
- The Civil Rights of English Learners
- Bullying & Harassment of English Learners
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Date: October 27 - 30, 2019
Location: Harrisburg, PA
This conference is based upon the premise that active family involvement in the education process is the key to effective schools and student achievement. Its goal is to bring together, in a common forum, school administrators, teachers, community members, and parents, to interact and address issues that are vital to academic success and the well being of our children.
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Date: November 4 - 6, 2019
Location: Louisville, KY
The Families Learning Conference is focused on innovative strategies and practices in family literacy and learning, two-generation education, and parent and family engagement. Conference attendees will be equipped with tools and strategies to use right away with the students, families, and communities you serve.
Learn more and register.
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A new report from the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) presents findings from adolescent student focus groups involving 100 10 to 12 year-olds
students. The students were asked what they would like to hear and see in the ideal parent, carer or support person that would help them at school. The report points to "four key ingredients that will let your child know you are keen for them to do well and that you’re ready to help," said ARACY CEO Penny Dakin.
Read more.
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A study from the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics found that students with strong family and school ties had positive health outcomes and were less likely to suffer from poor mental health, substance abuse and risky sexual activities into adulthood.
This article describes the study and lists four recommendations for educators to foster positive family-school relationships.
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In this
policy brief,
Families In Schools identifies key findings and lessons learned from the first two years of California's effort to measure parent engagement, and recommendations for what it will take to measure progress more effectively and meaningfully moving forward.
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The Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center at The Ohio State University recently launched its new
website featuring resources for families and schools, stories from across the state, and tips, tools and trainings to help Ohio schools, families and communities work together to achieve student success. The site offers many best-practice resources that will be helpful to anyone working on family engagement programs of their own.
Learn more.
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A group of parents created the Allentown Parent Network in an effort
to empower parents and be a supportive resource for each other as they navigate the school system. The group surveyed over 600 parents to find out what they wanted out of a parent organization. Workshops have been held on child safety and CPR training, with future topics including cyberbullying and immunizations. "This organization is led by parents, and parents know what they need,” said City Councilwoman Cynthia Mota.
Read more.
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New security measures taken by Sarasota County Schools require any person entering a school, including parents and caregivers, to have their driver’s license scanned for a background check. The new policy has caused long lines and wait times for parents wanting to walk their children to their classrooms. The possible unintended effects on families are “a big concern of ours. We never want to do anything that tells families they’re not welcome or we don’t value them as a partner,” Principal of one Sarasota school, Chad Erickson, shared.
Read more.
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A new report from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation shows how equity-based family engagement initiatives from across the country have helped parents and caretakers in underserved communities become effective advocates and culture-bearers in schools, which boosts educational quality and relevance.
Read more.
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Learning Heroes
launched the
Super 5: Back-to-School Power Moves
, a research-based campaign in English and Spanish that includes five simple actions parents can take to support social, emotional, and academic learning in order to set their child up for success in the new year.
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School leaders have the power to set the tone and vision for their school communities and the choices school leaders make can have a huge impact on immigrant families' and children's success.
This blog post from the
National Association of Secondary School Principals
lays out 12 strategies for school leaders to foster a welcoming environment for the immigrant population in a time when many feel marginalized and fearful.
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The
LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment and
First 5 LA, recently hosted
Families at the Center Summit which brought together parents and leaders from community programs, schools, health organizations, funders, and researchers to talk about how to engage families in ways that are more informed, aligned and connected. This
blog post shares the 4 key takeaways from the summit.
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Springboard Collaborative runs after-school and summer programs with struggling readers in low-income elementary schools in 13 cities across the U.S. Once a week, a family member attends an hourlong workshop to help learn and practice the strategies students are learning in class. "Parent engagement is the beating heart of our programs," says founder Alejandro Gibes de Gac. "It's the spirit in the cocktail." And it works! In just five weeks, on average, 3 out of 4 students get to the next reading level or even further.
Read more.
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This article highlights strategies parents can use to encourage more than one-word responses from their children to questions about school. It includes an overview of children's communication skills at different ages and general tips for getting kids and adolescents to open up.
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Many districts across the country require background checks and finger-printing for parents to volunteer in schools for obvious safety reasons. However, some schools charge parents fees to be able to complete the background checks or don't take into account families' immigrations status. Both are issues that can act as deterrents for families to participate. In this Education Dive take on the issue, Natalie Gross looks at how some districts are addressing those barriers to encourage the participation of marginalized communities.
Learn more.
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MORE PROGRAMS & CONVENINGS
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Date: September 10, 2018, 2:00 - 3:00 pm EDT
Learning Heroes' Parents 2019 research offers a look at how parents view their child’s education, and for the first time includes data from high school teachers and parents of high school students.
Join them for a first look at this new research, as well new research-based back-to-school resources.
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Date: October 7 - 8, 2019
Location: Meridian, ID
Registration is now open for the 4th Annual Idaho Family & Community Engagement Conference (10/7/19 - 10/8/19)! The purpose of this event since its inception is to help fulfill the need for school staff personnel in gaining knowledge of practical, effective, and sustainable methods and strategies for community involvement. This year Ms. Elizabeth Smart and other experts within their field will share invaluable information with school staff personnel throughout the state.
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Date: October 14 - 17, 2019
Location: St. Louis, MO
Parents as Teachers is celebrating 35 years of building strong communities, thriving families and children that are healthy, safe and ready to learn with its international conference: Investing in Families, Impacting Communities.
Cultivate lasting peer-to-peer relationships and contacts while at the same time gaining valuable and quality education at this 4-day event.
Learn more.
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Date: October 25, 2019 from 8 AM-4 PM
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
This event, hosted by the Florida Department of Education Region IV Alliance for Family Engagement, is a 1 day conference. The keynote speaker is Lonnie Moore, of Franklin Covey. Lonnie is the author of the High Trust Classroom and a contributor to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. The conference includes a continental breakfast, lunch, parking and 3 breakout sessions. For more information see the
event site.
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Date: June 22 - 24, 2020
Location: Arlington, VA
This 3-day event will present the latest research surrounding child care, Head Start, Early Head Start, home visiting, child welfare, special education, pre-kindergarten, early elementary, and other early childhood programs.
Learn more.
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Family Math Project Manager (Costa Mesa, CA)
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Public Media Group of Southern California (PMGSC) is seeking a Family Math Project Manager, responsible for the comprehensive strategy, project management, implementation of all the Family Math engagement within and on behalf of the station’s network of Compton school and community partners. The Project Manager serves as the primary liaison between the system of Compton schools, community partners and station staff and is responsible for facilitating and maintaining strategic programmatic partnerships and for participating in community-based collaboratives and networks in Compton.
View the job description.
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Project Director, Research & Evaluation, Brazelton Touchpoints Center, Boston Children's Hospital
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Brazelton Touchpoints Center, Boston Children's Hospital is currently seeking a Project Director of Research and Evaluation who will play a lead role in evaluation team projects including collaboration in study design, execution, and writing and presentation of findings. The ideal candidate is a highly qualified applied researcher with the abilities to think strategically, delegate responsibility, and communicate effectively. Preference will be given to applicants with strong writing skills and an interest in and experience with quantitative method and data analysis.
View the job description.
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Senior Educational Equity Specialist, MAEC (Bethesda, MD)
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MAEC is looking for a dynamic individual to develop and deliver customized trainings, professional development, and technical assistance to schools and school districts on civil rights and educational equity issues (race, gender, national origin (ELs), socioeconomic diversity, and/or religion). This individual will also evaluate the effectiveness of training programs to provide feedback to clients and to improve MAEC services.
View the job description.
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NAFSCE's Career Center
features a searchable job bank focused solely on family engagement opportunities. Posted positions are promoted in NAFSCE News, reaching thousands of family engagement professionals each month.
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When you support NAFSCE, you are supporting initiatives that have the potential to change the way our country thinks about the family's role in our children's education. From our partnership with the NEA to develop higher-education training for future teachers, to our work with the FrameWorks Institute to create a fundamental shift in the way people think about engaging parents and caregivers, NAFSCE's work will have a profound effect on how we all think about family engagement.
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Our members tell us that one of the most important benefits of their NAFSCE membership is the ability to learn from one another. You want to be able to ask for advice, network, share resources, and problem solve together.
To make those connections easier, NAFSCE has created its own
Members-Only Facebook Group.
Join this private group today and let's get the conversation started!
To request to join the group,
click here. A NAFSCE administrator will confirm your membership and then approve your request to join. You do not need to use the same email address you used to join NAFSCE. And if you haven't already, please follow us on
Facebook and
Twitter!
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601 King Street Suite 400-404
Alexandria, VA 22314
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