University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill



Family Engagement: Evidence-Based Investments for Tangible, Long-Term OutcomesCamille CatlettFrank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (919) 966-6635camille.catlett@unc.eduStart with WhyFamily Engagement Resources from Parent Education and Family Involvement → Family EngagementCommitments that Support Family EngagementClarify your values and terms, togetherDo you have agreed upon definitions of key terms to use in your work (e.g., cultural competence, inclusion)?Do you have guiding principles to underscore your shared commitment to families in all aspects of your work? Have they been developed collaboratively with families?Communicate, communicate, communicateIs communication with family members shaping the quality of your work? Are family members helping you to intentionally and effectively support practices that connect home cultures and languages to their learning?Acknowledge and respect diversity Do you welcome all families and all family configurations, sizes, and circumstances?Are you building the capacity of diverse families to support the capability and success of their children?Use relevant, evidence-based curricula and instructional approachesHave you identified specific competencies related to evidence-based practices for supporting each young child, including those who are culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse, and their families?Do you have explicit requirements for early childhood professionals in developing their capacity to support each young child and their family? NAEYC Family Engagement Resources Start Parent, Family and Community Engagement Interactive Framework Early Learning Standards/FrameworksNorth Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development Recommended Practices: Family Module 4: Family-Professional Partnerships nothing – handout is available to download at handout is available to download at of Effective Partnerships with FamiliesWhat Should You See?Did You See It?YESNOEnhanced CommunicationAsking families open-ended questions about the people, places, and activities that are important to themListening to families’ perspectives without sharing your own opinions firstLearning about how families prefer to communicate (e.g., phone, email, in person)Using an interpreter to support interactions with family members who speak another languageLearning and using key words and phrases in the languages of the childrenSeeking families’ input on topics when there are differences that need to be openly addressedBeing persistent about communicating with each family, even when they have not been responsive thus farDemonstrating how disagreements or differences of opinion do not interfere with your commitment to the family and childHigh ExpectationsAsking families what they see as their child’s strengthsFocusing on the child’s strengths and not just the child’s needsAsking families about goals for their childInvolving families in all decisions about their childCelebrating with families as children meet new milestonesRespectAsking families what is important to know about their culture, language(s), celebrations, and customs and showing genuine interestListening to families with particular attention to insights and information about cultural and linguistic preferences and prioritiesAsking how you should address members of the familyAsking families how they have been involved in their child’s program in the past and how they would like to be involved in the futureReflecting the cultures and languages of families in each classroom or programCommitmentHolding meetings at times and places suited to the families’ needs and availability whenever possibleReflecting the cultures, language(s), celebrations, customs and values of the families in environments, interactions, and curriculumDiscussing ways to find options that are responsive to families’ cultural valuesDeveloping and using a process for regularly soliciting and implementing input from families to inform program decisionsCreated 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 ................
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