Aspiring Superintendents Work Conference 2011 Keynote Slides

1. Michele P. Brooks Assistant Superintendent Office of Family & Student Engagement Boston Public Schools Building Systemic Engagement

2. Overview Reform or Transform? Why Engage Families and Communities? Transforming Engagement Leadership Matters

3. Introductions Who is in the room?

4. Reform or Transform What is the difference? Reform indicates a fix Transform indicates a shift

5. Why Engage Families? What is the core enterprise of school districts and schools?

6. Why Engage Families? Instructional Core – Dr. Richard Elmore, HGSE Student Influencing Factors: ~Family/Home Culture ~Community Culture ~School Culture Teacher Content

7. Why Engage Families & Communities? 5 Essential Supports Leadership Parent-Community Ties Professional Capacity Student-centered learning climate Instructional Guidance

8. Why Engage Families? The impact of school, family and community connections on student achievement www.sedl.org/connections

9. Why Engage Families? When parents and school staff work together to support learning, students: Earn higher grades and test scores Enroll in higher level programs Are promoted more and earn more credits

10. Why Engage Families? When parents and school staff work together to support learning, students: Adapt better to school and attend more regularly Have better social skills and behavior Graduate and go on to higher education A New Wave of Evidence – Key Findings

11. Why Engage Families & Communities? What does effective engagement look like?

12. Why Engage Families & Communities? Family engagement in student learning… Is a shared responsibility. Is continuous across a child’s life. Occurs in multiple settings in which children learn. National Working Group for Family and Community Engagement

13. Family Engagement: Reframing the Work

14. Transforming Engagement Requires a paradigm shift From seeing families/communities as a part of the problem to seeing them as a part of the solution. From seeing families/communities as by-standers to seeing them as c0-producers. From seeing families/communities as passive participants or adversaries to seeing them as partners.

15. Transforming Engagement District-Level Context Leadership Matters – A commitment to family/community engagement that is clearly articulated and supported at the highest levels Shared Vision – A collective vision for what success looks like Structures and Resources – Alignment of structures, staffing and resources to support the work

16. Transforming Engagement Defining the Work Vision, Core Values/Beliefs & Goals Organizing the Work Standards, Expectations & Outcomes Facilitating the Work Tools, Strategies & Evaluating for Continuous Improvement

17. BPS Context: Defining the Work BPS Vision for Family & Student Engagement “Every school will welcome every family and every student, actively engaging them as partners in student learning and school improvement”

19. Every parent* has the capacity to support their children’s learning

20. Parents and school staff should be equal partners in the education of children

21. The primary responsibility for building partnerships between home and school rests primarily with school leaders and staff *regardless to race, class, culture, socioeconomic status, language limitations, sexual orientation or disability Adapted from “Beyond the Bake Sale”, Henderson, Mapp, Johnson and Davies, 2006.

23. When students are at the center of the decision-making process they are more engaged and take “ownership” of their education; enhancing school climate, improving student/adult relationships and increasing overall student achievement *regardless to race, class, culture, socioeconomic status, language limitations, sexual orientation or disability

24. BPS Context: Defining the Work Defining the Work: CAPACITY BUILDING of Schools of Families of Students of Communities of The District

26. Provide a guide for the district for aligning professional development and support

27. Provide measures for accountability

29. Boston Context: Organizing the Work Policy Implications BPS Acceleration Agenda Strategy #3 – Deepening partnerships with families, students and community. Title 1: Section 118 Parental Involvement Seven Essentials of Whole School Improvement Essential 6: Partner with families and community to support student learning and engagement. Dimensions of Effective Teaching and Principalship Both include: Partnerships with Families and Community BPS Achievement Gap Policy Partnerships in Family and Community Engagement

32. Boston Context: Facilitating the Work High Impact Strategies that link Engagement to Student Learning The strategy focuses on a specific group of students (such as all 1stgrade students or students struggling with a specific math concept) It is organized around a specific learning task (such as learning 100 high frequency words) It has a home learning activity that engages parents to help students with the learning task (such as flash cards or a game) There is two-way communication between parent and teacher regarding student progress with the learning task and celebrating success

34. Description of the strategy

35. Connection to the research

36. Alignment to Academic targets

37. Implementation plan (structured for WSIP)

38. Electronic copies of all materials needed

39. List of resources for implementationHigh Impact Strategies for linking Family Engagement to Learning

40. Facilitating the Work: Tools of Engagement Family Learning Guides Learning Goals for each grade based on the BPS standards; Math, ELA, Science & Social Studies Tips for talking with your child Tips about talking with teachers

41. Facilitating the Work: Tools of Engagement Multi-Tiered System of Supports Focused differentiated instructional strategies and support Based on BPS Academic Achievement Framework OFSE adapted the model to create a framework for supporting the engagement work in schools

42. Family Friendly Schools Certification and Engagement Award Schools with engagement practice that meets the designations of “progressing” or “excelling” based on the Standards Assessment Tool Grounded in the BPS Family & Student Engagement Standards and existing BPS best practice

43. Parents Are Powerful! Preparing Parents to become Powerful Partners for Student Learning and School Improvement

44. PARENT UNIVERSITY Parents Are Teachers Child Development Parenting Strategies Supporting Learning from Birth to Five Parents Are Advocates Navigating the BPS Learning Standards Advocating for Children with Disabilities and English Language Learners Parents Are Leaders Leadership Skills School Parent Council/ School Site Council Organizing Skills Parents Are Learners Areas requested by parents Nutrition Money Management

45. PARENT UNIVERSITY Format 3 full day Saturday Learning Sessions (October, January & May) Intersession offerings at schools and community based organizations Year-long ESL classes Strand of classes in Spanish, Haitian Creole and Chinese

46. PARENT UNIVERSITY Indicators of Success Qualitative Parents report positive behavioral changes Parents report increased engagement their child’s learning at home Parents report increased engagement with school and teachers Parents report more confidence in advocating for their child Schools report increased engagement Quantitative # parents attending # parents attending more than once # parents completing 5+ PUPs # parents completing 10 + PUPs # non-English speaking parents # schools represented Indicators of Success

47. PARENT UNIVERSITY 1500 Parent University Participants 2010-11 153 parents completing 10 + PUPs 60% non-English speaking parents 94 schools represented

48. PARENT UNIVERSITY : THE DATA 95.6% of participants ranked their experience as Good or Excellent 89% say that they are better able to help their children with homework 94% say they have a better understanding of what their child should be learning 72% say they communicate more with their child’s school or teacher as a result of Parent University 98% say they have been able to use what they learned in Parent University

50. Conclusion Student Achievement is the goal of any engagement effort and it must be a district wide endeavor Structures must promote collaboration and connections in ways that impact the work from the executive level down into the classroom There must be an awareness and an intentionality to reduce the impact the role that privilege, race and class have in the level of engagement of families and the practice of educators Families and community must be viewed as an asset; respected and valued as partners in student success

51. Conclusion Our practice must reflect our beliefs and the leader is the role model. Engagement of families must become more than what we do … It must be part of who we are