During EDL 560, External Development Leadership, I focused on Leadership Disposition #7: engage in dialogue with other decision-makers affecting education, and Leadership Disposition #8: engage families and communities in mutually beneficial ways.  I wrote a two-part leadership goal related to these dispositions. 

Part 1: 

PSD is exploring different methods and programs to communicate with families to eventually replace our current school messenger system. PSD is investigating two-way communication to build stronger ties with families, particularly across language barriers. To address Leadership Disposition #8, my leadership goal was:  I will gain knowledge of new methods of communication with families within PSD by attending a webinar titled, “Implementing Family Engagement Strategies in the Second Semester: Root Causes, Resources, and Relationships” sponsored by the communication system, Talking Points.

This disposition and goal aligns with Leadership Competencies from Transforming Professional Practice component 1a- Establishes solid foundation, by building caring effective relationships with stakeholders.  It also aligns with component 1c- Initiates effective communication, as it includes modeling and applying an understanding of the cultural context of the community.   In achievement of my goal, I participated in the Talking Points webinar which provided insights into developing yearly family engagement plans, with a focus on Tier 2 and 3 engagement for second semester.

I was able to gain an increased appreciation of the importance of family engagement through this leadership goal.  The webinar gave a general overview of guidelines around family engagement, as engagement should be purposeful, focusing intentionally on improving student outcomes, inclusive, as it advances equitable access for all students and families, and responsive, in that it adapts to evolving best practices.  The webinar discussed elements to include in a yearly family engagement plan, with nuances between the focus of family communication in the first semester versus the second semester.  This was timely information, as we are about to enter the second semester of the 2024-2025 school year.   It was beneficial to see key points of the EDL 560 course on External Development Leadership directly reinforced through this webinar.  See the figure to review my notes taken from the webinar on development of a yearly family communication plan, with a focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 family engagement for second semester.

Part 2:

The Department of Language, Culture and Equity for Poudre School District is working in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to refine its Language Instruction Education Program (LIEP) plan.  One of the language acquisition models for PSD includes Newcomer Programming at 4 secondary sites, including Fort Collins High School.  To address Leadership Disposition #7, my goal was: I will represent Fort Collins High School on the Poudre School District (PSD) Newcomer Site collaboration.  The collaboration will develop and refine success criteria for building district aligned newcomer programming model (including scheduling) to allow equitable access and opportunities for MLs.

This disposition and goal aligns with Leadership Competencies from Transforming Professional Practice component 4c- Upholds rules and regulations, specifically, upholds federal, state, and local laws, policies, and regulations.  This goal also aligns with component 4d- Practices and refines resourcefulness, by using outside resources and establishes partnerships. In accomplishment of this goal I participated in the district-wide Newcomer collaboration where district leaders and staff collaboratively developed and refined success criteria for vertical and horizontal articulation of newcomer programming in PSD.  Through our partnership we collaboratively created success criteria around: equitable and integrated access, including high school guidelines, balanced instruction, and anti-bias decision-making that aligns with federal and state regulations around language acquisition for multilingual learners.

First and foremost, through the Newcomer collaboration, I have realized that in support of our multilingual learners at FCHS and in PSD, we are held to laws and regulations including the Colorado State  English Language Proficiency Act (ELPA) to accurately identify English language learners, provide evidence-based English language development programs for identified students while also providing access to grade-level content, and provide professional development for staff members to support English language learners gain proficiency in English through grade-level content (Colorado Department of Education, 2023).  Through the district-level Newcomer site collaboration, as a team, we collaboratively developed and refined criteria aligning newcomer programming across our district, to allow equitable access and opportunities for multilingual learners.  We also developed an action plan and timeline, while noting resources and professional development needed, for moving the various district programs into alignment based on the agreed upon criteria.  This collaboration is a work in progress, and as a team we will continue to meet to collaborate and further develop additional criteria throughout the year around best practices for language development for multilingual learners in our district.  I will continue to foster competency for this disposition by being a voice and an advocate for the newcomer program at FCHS during our district collaboration time.

While these two leadership goals may appear to be distinctly separate, in my work, they are intertwined.  As I continue to support multilingual learners, and specifically newcomer students at FCHS and PSD, we must continue to engage families for their support in educating their children.  To continue my work around developing a yearly family engagement plan for FCHS, I plan to continue to collaborate with the Family School Community Partnership Director and district-level FSCP Advocate for Poudre School District, to build relationships with newcomer families to reengage our newcomer student population and to adopt a new two-way family communication system.  I hope to support PSD and FCHS as we build stronger ties with families, particularly across language barriers.

References:

Colorado Department of Education. (2023). English language proficiency act (ELPA). https://www.cde.state.co.us/cde_english/elpa

Pechacek, K., & Werner, K. (2024, December 12). Implementing family engagement strategies in the second semester: Root causes, resources, and relationships. edWeb.net. https://media.edweb.net/edWebinar/?view=20241212edwebnet23

Strike, K. T., Sims, P. A., Mann, S. L., & Wilhite, R. K. (2019). Transforming professional practice: A framework for effective leadership (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.