Building Relationships with Children & Families that Support Each Child’s Success
Start with Why
Durand, T.M. (2011). Latino parental involvement in kindergarten: Findings from the early childhood longitudinal study. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 33(4), 469-489.
Fantuzzo, J., McWayne, C., Perry, M.A., & Childs, S. (2004). Multiple dimensions of family involvement and their relations to behavioral and learning competencies for urban, low-income children. School Psychology Review, 33(4), 467-480.
Farver, J.M., Xu, Y., Eppe, S., & Lonigan, C.J. (2006). Home environments and young Latino children’s school readiness. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21, 196-212.
Favazza, P. C., La Roe, J., Phillipsen, L., & Kumar, P. (2000 ). Representing young children with disabilities in classroom environments.Young Exceptional Children, 3(2), 2-8.
Harvard Family Research Project. (2006, Spring). Family involvement makes a difference: Evidence that family involvement promotes school success for every child of every age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education, Author.
Izzo, C. V., Weissberg, R. P., Kasprow, W. J., & Fendrich, M. (1999). A longitudinal assessment of teacher perceptions of parent involvement in children’s education and school performance. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 817-839.
Lin, Q. (2003). Parent involvement and early literacy. Harvard Family Research Project, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
López, M. L., Barrueco, S., & Miles, J. (2006). Latino infants and their families: A national perspective of protective and risk developmental factors. Report submitted to National Task Force on Early Education for Hispanics and the Foundation for Child Development.
McWayne, C., Fantuzzo, J., Cohen, H. L., & Sekino, Y. (2004). A multivariate examination of parent involvement and the social and academic competencies of urban kindergarten children. Psychology in the Schools, 41(3), 363-377.
McWayne, C., Hampton, V., Fantuzzo., J. Cohen, H. L., & Sekino, Y. (2004). A multivariate examination of parent involvement and the social and academic competencies of urban kindergarten children. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 363-377.
Raikes, H., Green, B. L., Atwater, J., Kisker, E., Constantine, J., & Chazan-Cohen, R. (2006). Involvement in Early Head Start home visiting services: Demographic predictors and relations to child and parent outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(1), 2-24.
Yan, W., & Lin, Q. (2002, April). Parent involvement and children's achievement: Race and income differences. Paper presented at the annual conference of American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
Super Family Engagement Sources
CONNECT Module 3: Communication for Collaboration
CONNECT Module 4: Family Professional Partnerships
National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement
Evidence-Based Practices for Family Engagement
DEC Recommended Practices: Family
PDF document
Online edition
Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center RP Resources
Family Centered Practices Checklist
Informed Family Decision Making Practices Checklist
Family Engagement Practices Checklist
Families are Full Team Members Checklist
Checklist of Effective Partnerships with Families
What Should You See? / Did You See It?YES / NO
Enhanced Communication
- Asking families open-ended questions about the people, places, and activities that are important to them
- Listening to families’ perspectives without sharing your own opinions first
- Learning about how families prefer to communicate (e.g., phone, email, in person)
- Using an interpreter to support interactions with family members who speak another language
- Learning and using key words and phrases in the languages of the children
- Seeking families’ input on topics when there are differences that need to be openly addressed
- Being persistent about communicating with each family, even when they have not been responsive thus far
- Demonstrating how disagreements or differences of opinion do not interfere with your commitment to the family and child
High Expectations
- Asking families what they see as their child’s strengths
- Focusing on the child’s strengths and not just the child’s needs
- Asking families about goals for their child
- Involving families in all decisions about their child
- Celebrating with families as children meet new milestones
Respect
- Asking families what is important to know about their culture, language(s), celebrations, and customs and showing genuine interest
- Listening to families with particular attention to insights and information about cultural and linguistic preferences and priorities
- Asking how you should address members of the family
- Asking families how they have been involved in their child’s program in the past and how they would like to be involved in the future
- Reflecting the cultures and languages of families in each classroom or program
Commitment
- Holding meetings at times and places suited to the families’ needs and availability whenever possible
- Reflecting the cultures, language(s), celebrations, customs and values of the families in environments, interactions, and curriculum
- Discussing ways to find options that are responsive to families’ cultural values
- Developing and using a process for regularly soliciting and implementing input from families to inform program decisions
Created by Camille Catlett. Adapted from: CONNECT Module 4; Teaching at the Beginning: Partnering with Parents ; Language Castle ; NCLR Core Qualities for Successful Early Childhood Education Programs
Action Items
Become aware of child and family experiences, cultures, beliefs, languages, and circumstances, and engage in interactions that respectfully, responsively, and authentically support full participation
Provide information and materials to families about the research, legal foundations, and benefits of inclusion. Share videos that will help them know what a high quality inclusive preschool looks like.
Work together to learn about the resources of your community to facilitate connecting families with them when needed.
Use a checklist to see if what you're doing reflects evidence-based and recommended practices.
Use a checklist to survey families and staff. Compare the results. If there are differences, target them in your continuous quality improvement plans.
Family EngagementPrint Sources / Family-Centered Practice: Empowerment, Self-Efficacy, and Challenges for Practitioners in Early Childhood Education and Care
Rouse’s article describes how family-centered practice can be used as a model for engaging in a partnership with families in the care and education of their children. Apart from the key principles of the family-centered practice model, empowerment is highlighted.
Having Their Say: Parents Describe Why and How They are Engaged in Their Children’s Education
Karen Mapp’s article describes the findings from a study identified factors that contributed to successful educational partnerships between schools and families. Data was collected through a series of interviews with parents and school administrators and teachers, as well as observations. The major findings from this study explained the nature of parents’ involvement and social and school factors that influence their involvement. The paper concludes with implications for practice and further research.
Los NiñosAprendenEn Casa: Valuing and Connecting Home Cultural Knowledge With an Early Childhood Program
This article presents the findings from a five-day parent Institute where parents from a bilingual community were taught how children learn, followed by an activity with the children and teachers. Parents were also asked to reflect on what they had learned. Through this Institute, parents realized the importance of teachable moments in the home and the teachers learnt to appreciate the strengths of the different families.
Partnering with Families of Children with Special Needs
Intended for educators, this article provides readers with an understanding of the experience and processes that families go through upon learning their child has a disability, as well basic information about IFSP and IEP services. It also explains several strategies for working with families with children with disabilities.
Partnerships for Learning: Conferencing with Families
Holly Seplocha’s article provides 13 pointers on how to use conferencing with families effectively. A handout for families is included which suggests ways in which families can be more active participants in the family-teacher conference.
Supporting Families of Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Programs
Louise Kaczmarek’s article presents ways in which inclusive early childhood intervention programs can best support children with disabilities and their families. These include coordinated planning, establishing ongoing communication, and helping families to access community resources. Three tables on each section are presented, outlining the advantages and challenges involved, as well as suggestions for addressing the challenges.
Family Engagement
Audiovisual Sources / CONNECT Module 3: Communication for Collaboration
This module describes effective communication practices for professional and families in early education and intervention. It links specific communications practices with particular purposes. Information on research findings and related policies are provided as well as examples of embedded interventions. Included in the module are suggestions for activities, handouts, video and audio clips.
CONNECT Module 4: Family-Professional Partnerships
This module presents effective practices for developing family-professional partnerships in a process of developing rapport, forming shared decisions, and partnering with the family to address challenges. Information on research findings and related policies are provided as well as examples of embedded interventions. Included in the module are suggestions for activities, handouts, video and audio clips.
Engaging Families in the Transition to Kindergarten
This video provides concrete strategies to support children and their families as they transition into kindergarten. It highlights the important role that developing strong partnerships between families, programs, and schools play in making this important transition successful.
Family Engagement With TS GOLD
This video, the first of a two-part series, features a teacher and a parent describing key family communication features and benefits in TS GOLD. The second video, “Aiden's Parent-Teacher Conference” illustrates the use of TS GOLD during an actual parent-teacher conference.
Finley’s Parent-Teacher Conference
This video explains the importance of parent-teacher conferences for parents and for teachers. The clip also shows the actual process of a parent-teacher conference and illustrates a variety of practices such as active listening and focusing on strengths.
Online Sources
Online Sources / Center for Parent Information and Resources
This site features resources, in English and Spanish, to support families who have children with or at risk for disabilities. Topics range from parental rights and dispute resolution to evidence-based practices and accommodations.
The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children
The Framework is designed to support intentional thinking and action regarding the implementation of family engagement policies and practices both at the state level and among early care and education providers who serve young children, including children from poor families, children with disabilities and special health needs, and dual language learners. The Framework can be used to assess current family engagement activities and promote policies and practices that support families. More specifically, the purpose of this document is to: 1.Recognize the importance of family engagement as a core component of early care and education; 2.Put forth a set of common goals for family engagement across the early childhood system and within individual early care and education providers; and 3.Offer family engagement strategies for early care and education providers and identify resources that support the implementation of those strategies.
Engaged Families, Effective Pre-K: State Policies That Bolster Student Success
This report from Pre-K Now identifies policies that can enhance family engagement in state pre-kindergarten and highlights examples from states that are leading the way. The reportalso addresses how family engagement programs must ensure efforts to respect the linguistic and cultural diversity of the populations they serve.
Engaging Families in Pre-K Education
This report identifies policies that enhance family involvement in pre-K education and provides examples of states that use those particular policies.
Family Engagement and Children with Disabilities: A Resource Guide for Educators and Parents
This resource guide provides an annotated bibliography describing resources for both educators and parents in three areas of parent-professional partnerships: a) Families as advocates, b) Family roles in assessment and intervention, and c) Families as partners in student learning.
Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education hood.pdf
This document discusses the importance of family involvement in early childhood care and education and school-home relationships. The implications for policy, practice, and research are presented.
Gathering and Using Information That Families Share
In order to support the learning and development of young DLLs, staff need to understand children’s backgrounds and experiences with more than one language or dialect. This resource can help you learn to gather accurate and useful language information for assessment and planning.
National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement
This website from Head Start contains information on the Parent Family and Community Engagement Framework as well as related resources that are useful for educators and service providers.
Parent–Teacher Conference Tip Sheets for Principals, Teachers, and Parents
This document provides tip sheets for principals, teachers, and parents respectively. Educators are provided with ideas for before, during and after the conferences. Parents are provided with pointers on what to expect, what to talk to the teacher about, and ideas for follow-up.
Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Simulation: Boosting School Readiness through Effective Family Engagement
What you do and say matters! Explore and practice everyday strategies to develop positive goal-oriented relationships with a family with these simulations. Simulation 1 allows you to practice building bonds with families, beginning with an intake visit. Simulation 2 explores the process of developing and implementing goals with families.
Racing to the Top: Maryland’s Promising Practices in Family Engagement
This document describes the values, process, and products that have shaped Maryland’s systematic and systemic family engagement efforts as part of their Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge grant.
Reaching All Children: Understanding Early Care and Education Participation Among Immigrant Families
This document discusses the research on young immigrant children and how their socio-economic characteristics can influence their participation in early care and education programs. Policy recommendations and suggestions for future research are also presented.
Supporting Children Who Have an Incarcerated Parent
This tip sheet offers evidence-based practices for teachers of young children.
Taking a Closer Look: A Guide to Online Resources on Family Involvement
This document presents an annotated guide to online resources on family involvement. The resources are grouped in seven categories: knowledge development, professional development, standards, programs, tools, convening, and special initiatives. An appendix listing relevant organizations is provided.
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Ideas for Promoting Family EngagementOffer opportunities to learn and be involved at program/school (1094)
- Survey families to find out when it is most convenient for them to be involved; find out family interests and build on them; solicit input for activities
- Hands on activities for children and families; home activities; idea sheets
- Family night; family fun night; bilingual family nights
- Open house; meet and greet; meet the teacher; meet and greet night; back to school
- Support language and literacy development (e.g., family literacy night with engaging activities for children and family members; book fair; fairy tale night—families put on puppet show; bring in a storyteller; family reading program – send books home for family to share read)
- Support math/science development (e.g., use science and literacy kits to support learnings and collaboration at home/school; math/numeracy night, science night)
- Parent/family-teacher conferences
- Support cultural heritage; use objects from home in school projects; draw ideas from community calendar, curriculum map; cultural heritage week
- Field trips (families invited)
- Monthly family classes; free classes for families (e.g., computers, parenting); focus on one content area (e.g., literacy)
- Events: potlucks; food/cooking family activities with their child, festivals (fall, harvest); community resource fairs; Family Fun Friday (family day at school); fundraisers (pancakes, games, spaghetti); Bingo; school plays; art projects;
- Involve families in other school events
- Establish working relationships in the very beginning
- Family members on hiring committee
- Invite families and make them feel needed
- Combine activities with Parent Advisory Council (PAC)
- Use Head Start Policy Council as a model for family engagement
- Hold community classes in school buildings
- Family movie night hosted by PTA and school
- Holiday activities (Thanksgiving, Christmas; making costumes)
- Autism night; night with stars; movie night
- Plan activities close to pick up and drop off for family convenience
- Listen
- Daily communication
- Family newsletter; include suggestions for ways to extend learning at home, e.g., healthy eating tips
- Show empathy, kindness, and understanding
- Home visits
- Open door
- Encourage classroom visits; encourage pick up from classrooms; encourage families to work in classrooms
- Random positive phone calls
- Be really truly interested in knowing the families
- Include photos in ongoing correspondence
- Personal invitations with text message reminders
- Engage “families” – not just parents
- Send lots of personal reminders
- Learn the names of all family members
- Learn family preferences for eye contact
- Create opportunities for children to invite their families to come to school
- Acknowledge that families know their children best
- Don’t blame families
- Point out the good, not the bad
Program environment (7)
- Photos of families on the walls; reflective of families
- Family lounge/center; family resource room
- Have a white board in the lobby/entry way with activities each day to share with families
- FUN and interactive
- Provide food
- Book/toy giveaway
- Offer door prizes
1