Together We REALLY Are Better: How Collaborative Efforts Support Each Child and Family

Resources to Support Your Work

National Black Child Development Institute. (2013).Being black is not a risk factor: A strengths-based look at the state of the black child. Washington, DC: Author.

Candy Ball Game

Collaboration: The Prerequisite for School Readiness and Success

Covey, S. (1989).The seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Simon &Schuster.

El Grupo de Familias

Hayden, P., Frederick, L., & Smith, B. J. (2003).A road map for facilitating collaborative teams. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.

Institute on Community Integration. (n.d.).Collaborative teamwork checklist. Minneapolis, MN: Author.

Mattesich, P. W., Murray-Close, M. & Monsey, B. R. (2004).Collaboration: What makes it work: A review of research literature on factors influencing successful collaboration. (2nded.) St. Paul, MN: Amherst Wilder Foundation.

Minnesota Centers of Excellence

Wheatley, M. (2009).Turning to one another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the future. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Evidence-based Practices

Buysse, V., & Wesley, P. W. (Eds.).(2006). Evidence-based practice in the early childhood field.Washington, DC: Zero to Three.

Buysse, V., Wesley, P. W., Snyder, P., & Winton, P. (2006). Evidence-based practice: What does it really mean for the early childhood field? Young Exceptional Children, 9(4), 2-11.

Odom, S. L., Brantlinger, E., Gersten, R., Horner, R. H., Thompson, B., & Harris, K. R. (2005). Research in special education: Scientific methods and evidence-based practices. Exceptional Children, 71, 137–148.

Family Engagement

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(6), 817-839.

Mantizicopoulos, P. (2003). Flunking kindergarten after Head Start: An inquiry into the contribution of contextual and individual variables.Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(2), 268-278.

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(3), 363-377.

Harvard Family Research Project. (2006, Spring). Family involvement makes a difference: Evidence that family involvement promotes school success for every child of every age. Harvard Family Research Project: Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Seven Principles of Highly Effective Collaboration (with apologies to Stephen Covey)

  1. Be proactive (take initiative & responsibility)
  2. Begin with the end in mind (establish and live by your values)
  3. Put first things first (prioritize)
  4. Think win/win (find solutions that address multiple challenges)
  5. Seek first to understand, then be understood
  6. Synergize (make the whole of the team better than the sum of its parts)
  7. Sharpen the saw (renew your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual selves)

Collaboration Checklist

  • Do all partners understand their shared purpose?
  • Do all the partners have a common goal or vision for all children?
  • Do all partners have a common understanding of the agencies and perspectives represented on the team?
  • Do all partners have a common understanding of the community context related to services and supports for the readiness of young children?
  • Do all the partners identify priorities together?
  • Do all the partners have an investment in working together to accomplish their goal?
  • Do all the partners understand the knowledge, skill, and abilities of the other partners?
  • Do all the partners respect and support one another professionally and personally?
  • Are all the partners willing to work with one another to complete tasks?
  • Do all the partners communicate in constructive ways and is there respect for the contributions of each partner?
  • Do all the partners trust one another and feel safe in communicating?
  • Do all the partners share responsibility for successes and setbacks?
  • Do all the partners have regularly scheduled times to interact?
  • Do all the partners have an effective collaborative process for problem solving and consensus decision making?
  • Do all the partners have effective methods for resolving conflicts?
  • Do all the partners take time on an ongoing basis to celebrate their collaborative accomplishments?

Adapted from Collaborative Teamwork Checklist and A Road Map for Facilitating Collaborative Teams

A possible starting point for our conversations

"For conversations to take us to a deeper realm, I believe we have to practice several behaviors. Here are the principles I've learned to emphasize before we begin a formal conversation process:

We acknowledge one another as equals

We try to stay curious about each other

We recognize that we need each other's help to become better listeners

We slow down so we have time to think and reflect

We remember that conversation is the natural way humans think together

We expect it to be messy at times"

Margaret Wheatley [1]

[1]Wheatley, M. (2002).Turning to one another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the future(pg 29). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.