Embedded Files
General Recommendations
Ensure all families receive a comprehensive calendar outlining events for the entire school year. We recommend schools to distribute this annual calendar during Open House to all families, have hard copies available in the Front Office, and be readily available on the school website.
This calendar should encompass PTSO meetings, end-of-quarter dates, parent-teacher conferences, board meetings, and other events relevant to parents or the entire school year.
Following each event, distribute concise summaries of 5-minute and/or 15-minute durations detailing family events such as curriculum nights, PTSO meetings, and others.
Provide and ensure all families sign a Learning Compact to further ensure the collaboration of students, families, and teachers. Compact templates for families can be found here.
Understand that families may be engaging in their own ways at home. It can look like conversations about academic
choices, student grades, schedules, and college prospects. (Leonard, 2013)
Encourage families to help their students succeed, provide a College Update Newsletter that includes:
Readiness timelines for all grades
Exam preparation resources
Information about learning experiences
Outline ways that families can be active participants in their student's academic journey. This may include:
Different topics to talk about with students
How to start conversations with students
How to bring up important deadlines and check in on progress
Connecting to Community
Families must meet their basic needs to ensure that they can engage in their students' academic success. The families you serve may need to connect with community organizations to access necessary resources. The intake form can be used to identify needs.
Creating a communication channel is important so families and educators can share information, learn more about one another, and establish a strong partnership.
During the open house or the beginning of the school year, sending a letter letting families know they can contact you if they need any resources can open up the possibility of family engagement and connection.
Data Collection
It is essential to plan using data. Collecting data from families can help with making community connections and family-focused events. These connections and events can meet the needs highlighted by the data collected.
Pre-Surveys
At the beginning of the academic year, families can receive a pre-survey that measures perception, engagement, and confidence levels regarding the relationship with the school.
This pre-survey can also include a section where families can provide information on their needs. Some examples are housing, medical/mental health, workforce development, and finances.
Example of a pre-survey here.
Post- Surveys
Post-surveys can measure changes in perception, engagement, confidence, and the impacts of community connections and family-focused events.
Data collected from post-surveys can then help plan for the following academic year.
Example of a post-survey here.
Family Focused Events
Organize interactive curriculum nights where your school offers an engaging learning experience for families. Curriculum Nights can be held once a month or every other month where a topic such as science, math, or language arts will be the focus of the event.
Includes mock RSVP for events
Continue hosting magnet events, open houses, orientations, and principal's coffees to provide regular opportunities for teachers to interact with families, build community, and foster fellowship.
Events focused on creating community and fostering fellowship, which include teachers, are crucial as they provide opportunities to build family relationships and trust. When families interact with teachers outside their educator role, it becomes easier to engage in the future once trust is established. Examples of such events include:(see comprehensive calendar for event options)
If the budget permits, providing food and transportation for events is encouraged. Taking RSVPs can help with planning and removing barriers, thereby boosting family engagement.
For college readiness, reaching out to university organizations may be helpful. UNCC has the Hispanic College Awareness Program (HCAP). The program consists of bilingual university students who dedicate their time to helping the Spanish-speaking community prepare for college. They hold parent nights at the UNCC and schools; they go over the college application process, including FAFSA. They also help undocumented students and parents navigate the application process.
To ensure that families are on track with college readiness, they can be provided a checklist. This checklist covers what should be done by semester and includes a checklist for parents.
Explaining to families that college readiness starts before their student's senior year may aid in preparing 1st generation college students.
Provide incoming freshman families:
Information about college readiness so they can have a head start and stay caught up come senior year.
Transition tools for the change from middle school to high school
Proactive Transitions
The tools below can be shared with families of incoming 8th graders who are transitioning into High School.
You can share this tool with 8th-grade families as they prepare to transition into High School.
Highlight 3 major changes
Procedural
Procedural changes emphasize the daily schedule, regulations, and protocols students must adhere to in high school
Social
Social changes mainly revolve around relationships among peers and teachers and participation in extracurricular activities
Academic
Academic changes focus on the volume and standards of schoolwork and the academic expectations set for students in high school.
Incoming high schoolers can begin college readiness by providing information about college readiness to have a head start and stay caught up come senior year.
Transitioning into College or Vocational Programs
College Transition
What students have to say about the transition into higher education here.
For students wanting to enter the workforce or into vocational training, NCIA of Charlotte is a great option that can come out to the school. They offer free vocational training for students 16+ (with food stamps) and all students 18+. They offer automotive, CDL, and HVAC options. NCIA also ensures that their students are placed in the workforce through counselors.
She Built This City is a local non-profit aiding adult workforce development. The program, geared toward women, is an excellent option for CTE students. Students can complete a Pre-Apprenticeship Program that prepares them for long-term careers in the construction industry.
Overcoming Anticipated Barriers
Creating a student/family needs survey, for teachers to provide within the first day of classes, will build the relationships between staff and families and will provide teachers with an understanding of the needs of families.
So families can submit feedback, creating an "open suggestion box for [TEACHER NAME]" or comment box that is teacher-based may help. Every teacher can provide a link or QR code that is specific to them at the beginning of the year to all parents and students. Regardless of grade level, the goal is still for families to be involved in their child’s education. This will strengthen family engagement by empowering families to connect with teachers on their own time.
As the student population continues to grow more diverse, it is important to target language barriers, it is recommended that teachers use the interpreter services offered through CMS.
Hotline Number
When welcoming families at the beginning of the school year, teachers can use the English Learner Services Technology Support Hyperdoc. This will ensure that families have access to the necessary technology to engage with CPEC and be active in their scholar’s education.
Providing translation equipment at meetings and events would be inclusive of families that may be facing a language barrier. (Amaro-Jiménez et al., 2020)
The need for difficult conversations may arise throughout the school year. Hence, we strongly encourage teachers to build relationships with individual families at the beginning of the school year. Here is a tracker that teachers may find useful to track communication. Here is a list of conversation starters to encourage teachers to build relationships with individual families:
“Thanks for talking with me.”
“I’d like to share something I observed during [subject/time period] to get your take on it.”
“I’m reaching out to ask for your help so I can better understand some challenges I’ve observed [student] having with….”
“Today during [subject/time period], I noticed that [student] really struggled with [behavior/skill]. In the moment, we handled it by…. “
“Recently, I’ve noticed that in class, [student] is [describe concern]. I’ve been trying some strategies to provide extra support. They include [describe specific strategies you have used and the outcome].”
“I’ve observed a change in [student]’s behavior/progress/motivation/ability in the past [time frame]. They were [describe what was going well] and now they are [describe the change].”
Additional Recommendations
To remove barriers that could be related to having families show up to PTSO meetings, the PTSO can provide both in-person and virtual options for meetings. Meetings can be recorded and posted on the PTSO website so all families can access the information covered. Recordings can be provided with the meeting minutes.
Partner with the PTSO to support less involved families by establishing a mentorship program where highly engaged parents connect with them. This initiative could involve providing updates on missed events and important upcoming dates and sharing relevant information.
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