Supporting Effective Family Engagement

October 19, 2023

Posted By: Dana Schon, Ed.D. in Superintendents,

These four strategies serve to strengthen family connections.

This New Leaders post explains the benefits of family engagement (“more united school community, an increase in teacher morale, trust between parents and educators, and a significant boost in overall student success”) and encourages readers to apply these strategies with intention for stronger family partnerships.

Pursue family engagement over family involvement.

Family Engagement	Family Involvement
Families viewed as integral part of school life.	Families attend events and activities.
Multi-directional communication—families are listened to and respected for what they know about their student/s.	One-way communication—schools tell families when and how they can participate; provide newsletter updates.
Parents and schools collaborate so that parents can learn about and understand how schools work and what they can do to partner to meet their student’s needs.	Parents help with homework.

Prioritize listening to and learning from your families.
- Possible questions to ask via survey, focus groups, meetings, etc.
  1. What method of communication do your families prefer?
  2. What is their perception of their student’s experience in school?
  3. What does the parent wish they heard more about from the school or district?
  4. What’s most important to the parent in their student's education?
Reframe your role and that of the building principal to focus on family and community engagement.
Empower parents to be co-creators in their student’s education.
1. Are there ways to communicate more with parents about a particular program, subject, or technology a student is using, and why it’s important?
2. Is there a chance to channel parent feedback in a positive, constructive way to promote student success?