Family Engagement

Social emotional learning in a culturally responsive classroom goes beyond the student-teacher relationship. Family engagement is a critical component in developing meaningful relationships with students and their success in school. Families play an important part in a student’s education “as supporters of learning, encouragers of grit and determination, models of lifelong learning, and advocates of proper programming and placements for their child.” (SEDL, US Dept. of Ed.)

I plan to create spaces where family members sign up for arts & crafts, reading, or simply help provide materials and learning equipment for the classroom so that we become one big family during the school year we are together. If we can create a community of support, than each and every student will never lack support whether they have it at home or not. Creating a space of love and unity will make our classroom evolve

According to Karen Mapp (Senior Partner, Harvard University) family engagement should be: Relational, based on building meaningful relationships with families. Interactive, requiring 2-way communication. Collaborative, giving way to the families’ funds of knowledge. Developmental, helping families see the connection to future growth. Linked to learning,

moving families from observers to facilitators of learning. Student success in school is tied to meaningful family engagement!

Obstacles to Implementation:

Communication challenges can be an obstacle to meaningful family engagement. This might be because the family does not speak English. This obstacle can be overcome, at least in part by the utilization of translation services. Google Translate can be used as well as school interpreters. Another communication challenge is dealing with families that do not respond or are resistant to engagement. Continuous effort should be made to reach out to these families. Do not assume that they do not want to engage. Maybe they are busy with work or other obligations and have not had time to respond yet.

Some families may not be able to come into the school to participate in an in-class activity. There should be multiple opportunities for families to participate and share their knowledge. This might be in the form of a video, letter, or photos. All contributions build on family engagement and build the worldview of the students.

References:

Partners in Education in A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family–School Partnerships (2013). SEDL, U.S. Department of Education. https://www2.ed.gov/documents/family-community/partners-education.pdf

Mapp, K. (2014, October 8). Linking Family Engagement to Learning: Karen Mapp's '8 for 8’, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDPY1t8E6Cg