Effective Communication Between Educators and Families is the

Effective Communication Between Educators and Families is the KEY TO SUCCESS! Developed and Presented by: Helene Fallon hafallon@optonline. net Long Island Parent Center; LIU Long Island Advocacy Center **Selected materials developed by NYS Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities

Outcome of Today’s Session You will: Learn new strategies to strengthen and involve families into your school or community Ø Share strategies that are working in your area of expertise Ø Gain access to new information in this area and discover new ways to find more Ø Become part of a dialogue that will help bridge the communication barriers between professionals and families Ø Working within the framework of Communities of Practice Ø

10/90 RULE 10% of our time talking about the past… 90% of our time talking about making things better!

Parent Involvement… Family Engagement (A) parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning; Ø (B) parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school beginning at the pre-school level; Ø (C) parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; Ø (D) parents feel respected, understood and welcomed; Ø

NCLB Section 1118 (e) Explains the requirement to build capacity for family involvement: Ø (e) Says that each school must: • Ensure the effective involvement of parents. • Support a partnership among the schools, parents and community to improve student academic achievement. • Have a written parent involvement policy. (if they are receiving Title I funds)

NYS State Performance Plan Purpose: Ø New York State must report data to the Federal Government (DOE/OSEP) regarding their efforts to implement the requirements of IDEA and to describe how the state will improve its implementation Ø Ø Data is collected based on the SPP - which covers a six year period (2005 – 2011)

INDICATOR # 8 NY State Performance Plan PARENT INVOLVEMENT… NYS Dept. of Education needs to see an Increase in the percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities.

Use of Joyce Epstein’s “ABSOLUTES” Ø Communication- effective two-way street between home and school Ø Collaboration with community- efficient use of resources and services for students and families Ø Learning- involve families with home and school based learning activities

Ø Volunteering- support families in active participation through recruiting, training and modifying schedules to accommodate their needs Ø Parenting- assist families with child-rearing skills that are developmentally appropriate and supportive and augment school personnel’s understanding of parents Ø Decision-Making- include parents in all aspects of school governance and decisionmaking through teaming

RESEARCH SHOWS!* Schools participating in the National Network of Partnership Schools: (John Hopkins University – www. partnershipschools. org) Ø Ø Ø Higher grades and test scores Increased in more challenging academic programs More classes passed and credits earned Better attendance Improved behavior at home and at school Better social skills and adaptation to school *Epstein, J. L. (2007). Partnerships Then and Now. Baltimore, MD: National Network of Partnership Schools at John Hopkins University.

Are Parents Welcome as equal team members? ?

Barriers – Obstacles to Parent Involvement… Umbrella Parent Grieving Parent Angry Parent Unavailable Parent

Why Family Engagement? Research based strategies… Harvard Family Research Project www. hfrp. org Johns Hopkins School Partnerships www. partnershipschools. org National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools www. sedl. org National Center for Parent Involvement in Education www. ncpie. org

Beliefs/Values/Cultures

Parent/Educator Conferences… Ø How much time is allotted? Ø Is everyone having a “good” day? Ø Is the family member feeling anxious upon arrival? Ø When was the last time you spoke with the family? Ø Has the student been invited? Ø What might be a good approach today? ?

Parent Involvement…. RTI – All students – GENED initiative Ø FBA/BIP – Whenever a behavior impedes learning - PBIS Ø PARENT INVOLVEMENT POLICY – All districts receiving Title 1 funding Ø Development and reading of the IEP/IFSP Ø Chapter 408 of the Education Law Observation of Programs – NCLB Ø Transition Planning Ø

HOW DO WE SEE PARENT INVOLVEMENT? ? PARTNER? TEAM MEMBER? ONE MORE THING TO DEAL WITH? CLIENT? CONSULTANT?

A Community of Practice “Group of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their understanding and knowledge of this area by interacting on an ongoing basis. ” (Etienne Wenger et. al. , 2002)

IDEA PARTNERSHIP, NASDSE www. ideapartnership. org www. sharedwork. org “As a State Director of Special Education for a number of years, I worked hard with stakeholders but I didn’t work smart. More times than not, I didn’t involve them up front in the decision making process. Thinking deeply about community building has led me to understand just how important it is to have stakeholder involvement from the very beginning. ” Bill East Executive Director NASDSE

NYS Learning Community on Family and School Collaboration Funded through IDEA Partnership, NASDSE Current Work Groups Ø Ø Ø Response to Intervention Pre-school Task Force Parent Involvement/Partnerships IEP Certificate vs. Diploma Family Engagement in Teacher Preparation VISIT WWW. LEARNINGPORT. US AND WWW. IDEAPARTNERSHIP. ORG Conference call first Friday of every month @ 1 PM – call into 1 712 451 -6125 - code - 671851# WWW. SHAREDWORK. ORG ALL PARTICIPANTS AND IDEAS ARE WELCOME

Listening is a disciplined skill You can’t do two things at once if one of them is listening!

Fundamental Values Ø The student/young adult should be present and participate as much as possible in any meeting regarding their services. “Nothing about me without me” Ø School and family relationships must be built on trust and positive interaction. “Your child did a great job today”

Consensus I agree to support the team’s decision. You understand my point of view. I understand your point of view.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

RESOURCES WWW. WRIGHTSLAW. COM WWW. NYSED. GOV WWW. IDEAPARTNERSHIP. ORG WWW. THELIAC. ORG WWW. AUTISM. ORG WWW. LDONLINE. ORG WWW. FCTD. INFO WWW. ADA. GOV WWW. DIRECTIONSERVICE. ORG/CADRE WWW. LEARNINGPORT. US WWW. NICHEY. ORG WWW. FTNYS. ORG WWW. JUSTICECENTER. NY. GOV WWW. LDANYS. ORG WWW. LIPARENTCENTER. ORG WWW. VCLC. OR/ECDC WWW. INCLUSION-NY. ORG WWW. PARTNERSHIPSCHOOLS. ORG Ø These are just a few of the thousands of informational sites available to us all.