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MDE Family Engagement World Cafe
MDE Family Engagement World Cafe
Contents
Minnesota Department of Education Work Group .................................................................................................3 Community Partners ...................................................................................................................................................3 Volunteers ....................................................................................................................................................................4 Executive Summary: Engaging Families for Student Success Family Forum ...................................................5 Letter to Schools .........................................................................................................................................................6 Agenda .........................................................................................................................................................................7 Listening Session ........................................................................................................................................................8 World Caf Process ...............................................................................................................................................8 Family Forum World Caf Conversations Summary .........................................................................................9 Information Sessions ................................................................................................................................................14 Developing Next Steps .............................................................................................................................................15 Resource / Vendors ..................................................................................................................................................17 Participants ................................................................................................................................................................18 Evaluation ..................................................................................................................................................................20
Community Partners
Minnesota Humanities Center: David OFallon and Eden Bart Chicano Latino Affairs Council: Hector Garcia Indian Affairs Council: Annamarie Hill Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans: Ilean Her Council on Black Minnesotans: Donavan Baily PACER: Paula Goldberg and Jess Villaseor Minneapolis Public Schools: Heather Lindstrom St. Paul Public Schools: Tyrize Cox Northwest Suburban Integration School District: Mark Robertson and Gale Cannon Parents United: Mary Cecconi Minnesota Prevent Child Abuse: Roxy Foster Somali American Parent Association: Mohamed Mohamud Mid-continent Research for Ed. and Learning (McREL): Sue E. Mutchler Hamline University: Roberto Rivera Parents, (Minnesota Planning Committee): Kim Ellison and Jacquie Thomas
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Volunteers
Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota Volunteers: Charles Dixon Deb Diver Donna LaDuke Hannatu Green Kathie Kinder-Goble Iman Mohamund Larene Randle Lisa L. Deputie Saciido Shaie Jacquie Thomas Roxy Foster
Letter to Schools
April 4, 2012 Dear School Improvement Grant School Principal, We would like to invite you to participate in a very special event designed to support families in ensuring a quality education for their child/children. On Saturday, May 19, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), in collaboration with community partners, is sponsoring a forum entitled Engaging Families for Student Success. The goal of this event is to strengthen the parent engagement component in our School Improvement Grant (SIG) schools by engaging families in a dialogue that will better equip them to support their childs learning. Our hope is that participants will come away with the knowledge and resources to return to their schools and engage other families in the schools efforts to improve student outcomes. I am extending an invitation to you to attend the forum as the leader of your building. Please identify and bring a team of 5-10 parents from your district to be active participants at the event. Mark your calendars to join us on May 19, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. The forum will be held at the MN Department of Education, Conference Center B. Attached to this letter is a Save the Date flyer with a link to registration that you may use to recruit parents/family members for this event. It is our goal to have every SIG school represented at this forum, so, we hope you can join us for what promises to be a very powerful learning experience for you and your school. Further information including logistical information will be communicated to you through the Division of School Support. Any questions can be directed to Steve Dibb, Director of Division of School Support, at steve.dibb@state.mn.us or 651-582-8693. Sincerely,
Agenda
Family Engagement
May 19, 2012 The
Goal: The goals of this forum are to dialogue with families and equip families to be partners in the learning process of their children.
8:30 9:15
9:15 10:15 Welcome and Setting the Stage - Steve Dibb Mixer Activity - Mary Vanderwert and Rose Chu MDE Leadership Welcome - Elia Bruggeman Northwest Suburban Integration District Introduction - Mark Robertson and Mai Blia MDE Commissioner Welcome - Dr. Brenda Cassellius Minnesota Humanities Center Welcome - David OFallon 10:30 11:30 Listening Sessions facilitated by volunteers key questions 11:30 12:15 Lunch, Networking and Resource Tables 12:20 1:20 Information Sessions - variety of topics and presenters 1:30 2:15 2:25 2:45 2:45-3:00 Developing Next Steps Debrief and Planning teams small groups Call to Action Kevin Lindsey, Human Rights Commissioner and Dr. Cassellius Door Prizes Steve Dibb and Debra Landvik
Listening Session
World Caf Process
The World Caf is a method through which strategic conversations can occur about questions that matter with a diverse group of people. Roxy Foster, from Prevent Child Abuse, provided training to committee members interested in being a Table Host or a Facilitator of the Caf, in the major languages spoken in Minnesota. Parent leaders from across the state were provided by Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota who also participated as Table Hosts. There were several Cafs going simultaneously for the first hour of the event. Rooms were set up with tables that were inviting, with table clothes, large sheets of paper for doodling, markers, play dough and toys for participants. Each table had a Table Host assigned to it. Visit the World Caf website.
Each table had either question 1 or 2; the Table Host facilitated the participants response to the question and took notes about what was being said, allowing about 15 minutes. The participants were then asked to move to a different table with different people and respond to the other question.
Once participants were able to respond to both questions, the facilitator asked each Table Host to report to the group the major themes that were shared. The note taker recorded all the responses and returned them to the committee. A member of the committee will synthesize the themes.
A third resource is simply time. Participants said, Time! Time [is] limited. Dont take enough time. Teachers are in school all day and parents [must] work late. Lack of Knowledge and Skill. Another barrier related to human resources is knowledge and skill. Caf participants discussed this need in terms of both educators and parents/families. Regarding educators, the need is clearly for greater understanding and respect for student and family culture and language. The importance of this knowledge was articulated by one participant as directly related to student success in school: The principal and teachers have to be able to connect their teaching with the childrens real world experience. Various participants named the following needs for educator knowledge and skill: lack of knowledge of culture and religion, valuing of students skills in languages other than English, recognition of different cultures (e.g., Our [Oromo] community is misidentified as the Somali community), and understanding of the strengths of families (e.g., Uneducated families have togetherness, helpfulness, ideas, and visions). Regarding parents/families, Caf participants primarily centered on their needs for personal literacy, knowledge about education today, and skills in navigating the American educational system. For example, one participant said, Education has changed. Parents did school work one way and now [it is] done another way. This problem makes it difficult for parents to help their children with homework or school problems. Two people asserted that a cultural shift needs to take place for parents/families: Some parents see the school as solely responsible to educate and discipline the children while at school. Individual and Organizational Behaviors. It became evident that all school community members parents, educators, and districts play roles in erecting barriers to how families and schools work together to help students succeed. The major issue parents appear to bring to the table is an unwillingness to step forward and get involved. One Caf participant asserted, Parents rely too much on teachers to do the job without participation in PTOs and other meetings. Another observed that parents dont network with each other, so there are not enough parents to bring awareness to the table. Compared to the relatively few examples of unhelpful parent behaviors identified by participants, many school and district behaviors were discussed. At the school level, participants focused on teacher behaviors. The following problems were raised: Teachers are not caring enough to communicate with parents sooner when [a] student is failing or not doing well. Teachers do not exert the necessary time and effort to effectively reach parents. Teachers do not use a range of teaching approaches so as to meet students learning styles. Teachers dont demonstrate accountability to follow through with parents; Teachers have a job [I] understand they must go home, but they are teachers.
As was the case with teachers, districts and the broader education system were viewed as unhelpful in a number of particular ways. Participants seemed to give greatest weight to the failure of the district/education system to simply make the family/school relationship a priority. One individual said, Honestly, the system is not broken; its designed that way. Other participants asserted that testing and other federal requirements were of primary importance to
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districts and teacher training and continuing education do not address partnerships with parents. As one person put it, the bottom line is that the system is frozen and creative people are needed to break out of [the] barriers.
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Equally important to participants, all people in the school would have new knowledge and respect for their own and each others cultures; we will respect all cultures, all day, every day. Individual and Organizational Behaviors. As was the case with the elimination of resource barriers, Caf participants envisioned schools that have strong family/school partnerships as being characterized by a wide array of positive behaviors from parents and families. For example, schools [would] look more like Head Start with parent volunteers and parent involvement in governing bodies. One participant predicted parent support groups might emerge and meet regularly. Another suggested that parent involvement would continue into secondary school, where it presently is a rarity. Parents would be comfortable in seeking out the resources they need. They also would contribute their own resources to the school, for example, by helping teachers apply curriculum to real world situations by bringing family stories to the classroom and providing information about their careers and jobs. Most importantly, perhaps, there would exist a new valuing of school when parents see they can contribute and help mold schools. One participant said, More involved parents say what they want for their children. [Now other] parents will understand [how to do this]. Participants offered the following observations: Parents will make sure [their] kids are there. Parents will take it more seriously. Education [will be] valued more [by] students and parents. [I will] set an example for all kids as well as my own.
Discussion of school behaviors was so extensive that it is useful to discuss them separately. First, participants envisioned a beautiful school environment that is enthusiastic about learning. Examples of activities in such an environment included the celebration of grandparents contributions and a parent of the month tradition to celebrate parents. Second, an array of communication strategies would share positives, not just negatives between parents and educators. Group texts, instant messaging, robocalls, email, newsletters, phone calls, and personal visits would all be used, as appropriate. Communications would be regular and proactive. Importantly, although participants talked about communication as largely initiated by the schools, they also said it would be two-waywith parents taking responsibility as well. Indeed, earlier in the discussion, participants had predicted that more parents and family members would go to the school during the day, providing one-on-one opportunities for communication. With stronger avenues for communication between families and educators, participants saw collaboration become a reality. One person said, [Everyone would be on the] same team. All parents, not just active parents, [are involved]. The end result would be that school actions will make parent and family access a reality, as well. Participants imagined a particularly numerous and diverse set of events taking place in schools that would bring families and educators together throughout the school year. Such ideas include: Parent nights for parents only to go bowling; enjoy a meal together, etc. A Star Search talent show.
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A monthly family night with dinner. A quarterly Opening Ceremony. A Math Carnival for parents and students. An Ice Breaker Carnival run by students in content/subject based clubs. Evening educational activities for children and families. An all-day Open House where community service providers attend and various information topics are presented.
The bottom line: Student performance. Unlike the first discussion, this second discussion prompted participants to envision the effects of family/school partnership on student performance. Caf participants declared there would be no achievement gap: all students would be successful. As a matter of fact Our students will succeed academically and will pursue college. Our students will graduate from school and join higher education. In part, these outcomes will be due to changes in the school; one person said schedules of schools would change to adjust [to] student learning and higher achieving students [will] mentor some students having challenges. In addition, changes in family attitudes and behaviors will contribute significantly. For example, parents will know how to read test scores, students will be absent less often, and there will be fewer (or no) suspensions. Summary World Caf participants at the Family Forum drew on their personal knowledge, spoke honestly with each other, and opened their minds to consider the experiences and opinions of others. In so doing, it became evident that a deeper and broader involvement of families in their childrens schools will take the effort of the entire school community family members, educators, and the greater education system itself. If the barriers participants discussed were to be targeted, a real partnership might be built. It would be characterized by: 1. A district priority to support family involvement. 2. A welcoming school environment that offers trust, communication, representation, and collaboration. 3. Sufficient resources to ensure family access to educators, school events, and assistance. 4. New organizational structures (e.g., parent support groups, multiple communication strategies). 5. New opportunities for information and celebration (e.g., parent nights for parents, carnivals, parent talent shows, open houses). 6. Improved student performance.
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Information Sessions
Family Resources on the Minnesota Department of Educations Website, Presenter: Anne Sheridan This session will show how to navigate the new Minnesota Department of Educations Website resources for parents. Discover the new resources for you and your child at your fingertips. Understanding the Developing Brains of Boys, Presenter, Mary Vanderwert Exciting and ongoing research into the brains of boys and girls is showing us that boys and girls are different from the day they are born. This workshop will explore boys and how their brains develop and ways that parents and teachers can understand their needs and be able to support them as they prepare for and enter school. Special Education: What Parents Need to Know, Presenters Bonnie Smith, Jess Villaseor This presentation helps parents understand special education, learn how to resolve disagreements, and discover the role of parents in the process. Family Engagement, Presenter, Debra Landvik This session will inform the participants what the requirements for family engagement/parent involvement when a state, district and school receive Title I funds. Resources and networking opportunities will be shared on what is working at the state and local level to engage families and community agencies. Career Development A Systematic Approach, Presenter Al Hauge Career Development is a process. It needs to be implement at an early age and driven by a step by step process. This session will provide some needed baseline information that will assist a parent/guardian with their childs career and academic advancement. Prepare for College During High School and Use Resources Available, Presenter, Deborah Malaga This presentation will review how to prepare for college during high school and how to best use the resources available to high school students. Preparing for College in High School and Dual Credit Options, Presenter, Jessica Espinosa In this session, you will learn about programs that allow students to earn college credits while they are still in high school. All of these programs can save your family time and money and prepare your children for success in college and career. Learn about strategies to support your students throughout high school. Benefits of Bilingualism, Presenter, Ruslana Westerlund This presentation will focus on the benefits of raising bilingual children and give practical suggestions as well as research to equip parents to raise children bilingually. Family Focus on Bullying Prevention, Presenter, Nancy Riestenberg Family and schools can work together to prevent bullying and to help children learn positive behavior if they hurt someone. This session will outline family actions to help their child to get along and be prepared to learn. It will also outline steps schools can take to make all children safe. Bring your questions, concerns and own recommendations to prevent bullying.
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Implement an action team to plan and carry out family engagement activities; team made up of administration, staff, parents, community members and students when applicable. Develop a family engagement plan Allocate funds for family engagement activities. Possible funding sources could be Title I, special education, desegregation/integration and English Learners.
2. A welcoming school environment that offers trust, communication, representation, and collaboration.
Locate bilingual staff at the front office. Bilingual parents share their stories and skills, in the classroom or staff development activity. Pictures posted around the school represent the student/family population. Parents are represented in the site council with a share in decision-making.
3. Sufficient resources to ensure family access to educators, school events, and assistance.
Collaborate with special education, Title I, English Learners, and other divisions to offer family engagement activities. Collaborate with community agencies to offer family engagement activities.
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4. New organizational structures such as parent support groups and multiple communication strategies.
Implement culturally specific parent groups. Collaborate with community agencies to implement parent groups.
Offer regular family activities, monthly, same day of the week. School implements parent/teacher home visits. Provide school information in multiple languages and post information in community areas where families congregate. Utilize the Title I compact to establish two-way communication between the teacher/school and the family.
Read Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.8955 - Parent and Family Involvement Policy
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Resource / Vendors
1. Circle of Parents: Roxy Foster 2. Minnesota Reading Corps: Anne Knier 3. PACER: Jess Villaseor 4. Library Resources: Nancy Walton 5. Connecting Parents to Education Opportunities (CPEO) Minneapolis Public Schools: Damon Guy 6. Minnesota Humanities Center, Eden Bart
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Participants
District Global Academy -1 Anoka - 2 Aurora Charter School -8 Braham - 7 Brainerd Area Schools -1 Brooklyn Center -9 Eastern Carver County -2 Cass Lake-Bena ISD #115 - 5 Dugsi Academy Charter School -1 Duluth Public Schools -1 East Central School District -3 Edina -1 Hmong College Prep Academy -1 Minneapolis Public Schools -35 School Global Academy -1 McKinley Elementary - 2 Aurora Charter School - 8 Braham Area High School -7 Forestville Middle School - 1 Brooklyn Center High School -7 Earle Brown - 2 Chanhassen High School -2 Cass Lake High School -5 Dugsi Academy Charter School -1 Laura MacArthur School -1 East Central Elementary school -1 East Central Secondary School -2 Edina ECFE -1 Hmong College Prep Academy -1 Edison 7 Hmong Academy -4 De La Salle High School -1 Loring -1 South High School -1 Bethune 3 Broadway High School -2 Wellstone -9 Andersen Community School-1 Sanford 1 Lucy Craft Laney -1 District 2 Not specified -3 Friendship Academy 1 New Visions Charter School -1 Orono High School -1 Birch Grove 1 Crestview 1 North View Junior High School -11 Pine City District -1 Red Lake High School 4 Meadow Lake Elementary -1 Roseville Area High School -1 Humboldt 4 Adams 1 Farnsworth - 1 Capitol Hill -1 Horace Mann -1 Murray -1 Battle Creek Elementary 2 Como Senior High -1
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Friendship Academy - 1 New Visions Charter School -1 Orono -1 Osseo 13 Pine City 1 Red Lake -4 Robbinsdale 1 Roseville Area Schools - 1 St. Paul 21
District
School Harding 3 Maxfield Elementary 2 Not specified - 4 Warroad Public School -1 Inver Hills 1 Chicano/Latino Affairs 1 Circle of Parents -1 Council of Black Minnesotans-1 Council on Asian Pacific-1 Council on Disabilities-1 Humanities Ctr-2 Indian Affairs Council-1 MN Minority Ed Partnership-2 McREL-2 NDCAD-1 PACER-1 Parents United-1 Prevent Child Abuse MN -5
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Evaluation
General: (Disagree = 1, Agree = 5) 1 I felt listened to I learned new things Im inspired to be more engaged as a parent. Im glad I attended the forum 1 1 0 0 2 3 1 2 2 3 4 8 4 4 4 7 12 9 9 5 30 21 24 28
Listening Session: Comments are quoted from the evaluations. The most important thing I heard at the listening session was:
Family and staff need to build a relationship in order for the child to be successful. More communication between parents and school is needed. A would like to see a family forum in the community to make sure parents are heard.
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Every culture and community has voice within the system if they speak up. I am talking about my Oromo community. To not only be concerned with your student but to all. I was impressed with the immediate sharing of ideas.
Hearing parents and educators from across the state had to say about moving their student forward and making connections to work together. I liked the idea of having a parent night on the same day every month to keep consistency in hopes to raise attendance.
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Information Session Comments are quoted from the evaluations. The most important thing I heard at the information session was: I was hoping that recommendation would be taken out of this workshop and posted to the department. The brain of the boys and girls works differently. Family engagement communicating school, and parents are very important and my child will succeed. Got a lot of resources my family and community can use. It was very interesting to learn about the anatomical and physiological brain differences between male and female brains. Start working with your child early to prepare them for postsecondary education. This was my first conference, and I feel that Im leaving here with a lot of information and a go to person at my child school that I didnt have before. School should provide different culturally learning at the school for bilingual children. Title I information. The statement about Dayton the Governor not wanting to hear the politicians suggestions but to hear the peoples suggestions and to follow out different suggestions.
Was very helpful cause I learned what programs my kids have to take for be succeed. The presentation about bullying was EXCELLENT!! The need to be more creative in how we educate our students.
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Developing Next Steps Comments are quoted from the evaluations. The first thing Im going to do for family engagement when I get back home is:
I will recommend a family program for African American and low income parents, look at dealing with the social problems that get in the way of learning and supporting our student. Get a list of services: community resources for parents/action plan. To tell my friends and neighbors that we need to engage. Be more active in school and be more involved. Bring the caf model to the parent engagement at my district and to my specific school.
Sit down with a team of parents and staff on how we RECRUIT more parents and engage more parents and move our mission forward to have all student succeed and achieve contribute to community and engage in a lifetime of learning.
Additional Comments and Suggestions for Future Conference I think parents should and must be involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the next Family Engagement Forum. What mean by parents is; parents of various economic and cultural backgrounds. All students should be represented at the table, if not by parents by a community representative.
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Educate immigrant families the education system to participate actively family engagement. Parents need to play a big part in the decisions made concerning our children, An opportunity for parents to share what they want with parent engagement would be helpful. Also sharing best practices to encourage parent engagement would be beneficial too. This conference was an outstanding example of multiple-group collaboration. I found the conference to be very informative and an excellent source of information to bring back to my school. Key takes ways thoughts to consider: embed community/parents engagement, understanding what familys view as student achievement. Absent narratives: what are the absent narratives at our school? Multi- tier family engagement plan. 1. Familys that are engaged. 2. Familys that would be engaged if offered in right way use absent narratives. 3. Familys that will never be engaged. Ran out of creamer and coffee 1st thing in the morning.
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