Dear Educators,
As a part of the
educational system, and as advocates for student success you need to be aware of
family engagement in your school community. The purpose of school engagement is
to include all stakeholders in helping students to succeed in school. Being
purposeful in inviting parents to be a part of their student’s lives at schools
is an important component of engagement as well as student achievement. There
are various ways that teachers can promote engagement in their schools.
The first step is to be
conscious and intentional in understanding all groups of students and parents
present in the community. For example at any given school there are many
different cultures, languages, learning styles and life styles represented. In
beginning a conversation of engagement all parties needs and feelings need to
be addressed. Without purposeful forethought, groups will not fully buy into
engagement programs or will fell marginalized by the system. Teachers have the
closest link to their students and therefore must be conscious of the family groupings
represented in their classrooms and schools.
After considering the
school population, groundwork needs to be laid to invite families to participate, share and listen about the purpose of and importance of engagement. Through
this conversation further information about needs can be gathered. Lastly, with
implementing an engagement program teachers need to promote the program and its
importance to their colleagues. Only with the buy in of both teachers and
parents can engagement truly benefit the students served in the school
community.
As you conclude your
teaching year, and look to the future, consider the importance of promoting
family engagement in your classroom and school. The benefits will handily
outweigh the time, energy and work involved in the creation of this tool for
students success.
I agree family involvement in school plays a major role in kids’ success in their school environment. It’s great you mention some of the different people involved in one school community because this will be helpful for teachers to be aware of their focus for the families. I will definitely be using these ideas for next year to include everyone.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Yes!! Well said. This is the work that I've been doing at the District, and is the exact reason I asked Gary Howard to come speak to my department. Equity and inclusion for excellence is the name of the game. Great work!
ReplyDeleteBeing purposeful equates to being proactive. I think that is the perfect way to approach educators regarding the changes they must make to differentiate between participation and true engagement. The teachers are the advocates, and the facilitators of advocates. I appreciate your intentionality in laying out the groundwork, conversation, and then program implementation needed to facilitate meaningful engagement.
ReplyDelete