Tag: Family Engagement Friday

Summary of the CAAASA Conference

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by Family Engagement Commission

The California State PTA is proud to partner with the California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA) to support its statewide professional development summit titled: An Equitable Approach to Aligning Education and Health for the Success of African American and Other Students of Color.

As a sponsor of this event we are pleased to share the valuable information and resources, below, that you can use to build equity, support students, and create family engagement in your PTA and school community:

  • The Equity Blueprint for Action, created by the San Diego County Office of Education over the past few years with the aid of students, parents, teachers, staff, and district administrators. 
    • The blueprint is tied into Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) priorities and could be a model for other districts to look at as they are thinking about their own equity work. Additionally, their website is full of great information that PTAs, as well as schools and school districts, can use in this important work of making everyone feel welcomed.
  • Best Practices for Facilitating College Success for African American Students, by Marlene Garcia the Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission  
    • New legislation requires all high school seniors in our state to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This document helps students see a few things that are important in determining whether or not they can afford college: 
      •  Gives their family’s expected contribution (FEC) — which is the amount that colleges or universities will expect their families to pay toward college 
      •  Shows how much funding they will receive in the form of grants or loans that they will qualify for 
      • Your PTA can support students and families by sharing how to complete the form and/or having a clinic where they can use school or library computers to fill in the form
  • The Palmdale Promise is a document created by the Palmdale School District over the span of a decade, to help their K-8 district ensure that every African American student is successful. 
    • They looked at their testing data and noticed that their African American students were not scoring well in the areas of language arts or mathematics. This document is being used on school campuses to inform their LCAPs and is shared with parents and community members to help them focus on these students and the support they need. 
  • Three experts in the field of early childhood learning spoke about universal pre-K that will finally be fully implemented for all four year old children in the 2025-2026 school year and how that will have a huge impact on Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) children. They also shared with us the state’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care which helps schools, communities and families understand just how critical early learning can be for the success of children. 
  • The conference closed with an extraordinary Plenary Session: Addressing Misinformation and Educational Concerns in Communities of Color Due to COVID19.  Panelists: California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, President of Voice of Our Fathers, Lillie Tyson Head, a legacy foundation founded by the descendants of the African American men who were victims in the Tuskegee Study, and Camila Chavez Executive Director of the Dolores Huerta Foundation along with her mom Dolores Huerta, Co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association. 
  • The speakers explained the importance of factual educational information around COVID19 especially in communities with significant historical abuse and medical experimentation. The discussion started by acknowledging that as recently as between 1997 and 2014, over 1,000 women were forcibly sterilized in California prisons, most of them Black. There is a reason for mistrust of medicine in communities of color.
    • Superintendent Thurmond shared how the state is partnering with local education agencies to help increase awareness about vaccinations and COVID 19 safety protocols.  
    • Chavez explained how her organization worked to help Latinx families gain access to Covid-19 vaccines and how they worked to ensure front line workers including farm workers were among the first to be eligible for the vaccines. And she pointed out that a recently 
    • Tyson Head explained some of the history of mistrust among African American families.  Especially toward the medical profession because they have been mistreated and abused throughout history. Voice of our Fathers was formed by descendants of the 623 African American uninformed men from Tuskegee/Macon County, Alabama who were victims of physical and social abuse in the United States Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama. Her father was one of the men that was used in this experiment for years without his knowledge or consent. Thanks to the advocacy of families such as hers, we now have to complete medical consent forms before any medical procedure.  
  • The panelists all agreed that addressing and acknowledging our history is important as we inform and educate the public about health policies. 

California State PTA is proud to partner with CAAASA. There are great, free, resources, tools, and virtual programming for anyone to enjoy on their website. 

8 Tips for Families with Young Children 

Posted on by CAPTA IT

By California State PTA Family Engagement Commission

Did you know that during the first three years of life, brain development is especially rapid, with more than 700 neural connections created each second? This means that more is learned — at a faster rate — than at any other time in a child’s life. That’s why parent, guardian, and caregiver interactions with infants and toddlers have long-lasting impacts on development and throughout life. As we celebrate the Week of the Young Child, April 9-15th, here are some of our favorite family engagement tips for families with young children:

  • Set up daily routines including healthy eating and sleeping habits
  • Respond to cues and clues by noticing changes in a child’s moods and habits
  • Surround a child with language by talking, reading, and singing to them
  • Encourage safe exploration, discovery, and play
  • Talk to a child about feelings and teach words to describe those feelings
  • Increase outdoor play and limit TV, video game, computer, and screen time
  • Communicate with daycare providers or preschool teachers about how your child is doing
  • Recognize that each child is unique

For more information on early childhood development, including how to select the best preschool for your child, visit our website.

Family Engagement Opportunities at the 2022 Convention

Posted on by CAPTA IT


By California State PTA Family Engagement Commission

The Family Engagement Commission is excited to meet you at our upcoming state convention on April 29-May 1 in Ontario! We have been planning workshops to help you take your PTA family engagement to the next level. Bonus: these workshops are also full of information that is valuable to you as a parent. 

Expanding your Engagement is our foundational course in family engagement. Learn more about the National Standards for Family Engagement including ways to use them to evaluate the programs at your school and how to move your school towards being even more inclusive to all families. Our commissioners will share suggestions and resources to engage families at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. This workshop is being presented twice, once in Spanish and once in English.

Family Engagement: Learn, Share, Grow is an interactive, member led table talk where we get to learn from one another! Participants will be able to choose five rotations from ten different family engagement topics. Join us to share your best ideas, brainstorm with fellow PTA members throughout the state, and learn from other convention attendees. At the conclusion of the workshop, every participant will receive the complete list of proven family engagement ideas generated by attendees during the workshop.

Building CommUNITY and Cultural Capacity in PTA. Special guest speaker Jacqueline “Kiki” Bispo, a family engagement specialist from Vista Unified School District, will help participants build cultural capacity by diving into the ability to understand, appreciate and work effectively with culturally diverse groups. This is an interactive session with Spanish interpretation. When you leave this class you will be prepared to strengthen relationships and improve inclusion within your school and community.  

The Path to College/Career — A Family Voyage.  During this workshop, you will hear about the college and career experience from a diverse panel of speakers: a student, a parent, an educator, and a college consultant. Topics will include how to help your child find the right college, funding opportunities/scholarships, strategies for finding the best career path for your child, and more! Bring your questions and be ready to take lots of notes during this workshop filled with practical tips and useful information. Note: this is not just for high school parents, you’ll find information and resources on preparing for college and career at all ages and grade levels. 

As an added bonus — all participants attending Family Engagement workshops will receive a family engagement ribbon to add to their Convention name badges.  

There are many workshop offerings at the 2022 Convention — whether you are a Convention first-timer or a seasoned PTA leader. You can view the workshop list on our website, then register for your top workshop choices. Attendees will have access to the Convention Program Book and will find the most up-to-date information in the Convention App.

We can’t wait to see you in Ontario!

Celebrating Arts in Education Month at Home

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Family Engagement Commission and Arts Committee

March is Arts in Education month.  Here are some resources and tips to help you celebrate:

Here are five reasons to make art a part of your family time: 

  1. Art is something that all ages can enjoy together! The entire family, from grandparents to babies, can participate together in song and dance (even if you are holding little ones as you move). Once a child reaches preschool-age they begin to enjoy forms of visual arts including coloring and painting, which are great activities for the entire family. 
  2. Art is calming.  When frustration or stress runs high, participating in a form of the arts can be calming. Taking a moment to listen to a song, write a poem, color a picture, or sculpt something out of clay gives your brain a distraction from its normal thoughts and can lower tension. 
  3. Art can help you express your thoughts. As children grow, they are constantly experiencing new feelings, emotions, events, and situations that can be confusing or overwhelming. When you see your child might be feeling overwhelmed, take a break to paint, play an instrument, write, draw or dance. This allows them to express these new feelings in a way that is developmentally appropriate. This can also be helpful for adults who are dealing with the challenges of loss, grief, or sadness. 
  4. Art builds confidence.  As children take an idea and turn it into a finished product they gain skills of problem-solving, resilience, and confidence. Art allows us to think out of the box — we can turn a toilet paper roll into a car or use crayons to make a  color we want to use— all skills that are so beneficial to our children in life. There are no rules in creating art.  
  5. Art makes us happy! Think back to the pandemic —when we were locked down and isolated —where did we turn?  TO THE ARTS!  We watched movies, found new hobbies like baking, photography, or painting. We played our instruments or sang along to our favorite music — experiencing art can evoke joy. Incorporating art into your family routine can increase your family’s happiness, too. 

Arts can include:

  • visual art including drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, architecture
  • performing arts including singing, dancing, drama, playing an instrument
  • culinary arts
  • digital/media arts including filmmaking, digital photography, graphic design
  • literary art including poetry, literature

Now that you know how much value the arts can bring to your family, here are some suggestions on how to make art a part of your family’s regular schedule:

  • Have art supplies readily available. Paper, crayons, paper towel tubes, etc. If you have supplies in an easily accessible spot for you, as the parent, creativity doesn’t have to be a chore.
  • Schedule time to do something artistic. Take twenty minutes each day to stop what you are doing and participate in an art activity. Take photos during your evening walk, listen to music and dance, draw a picture, or bake something fun — all of these count as artistic activities. To avoid distractions, turn off your phone (or place it in silent mode) so you can be in the moment with your family.  
  • Allow everyone’s creativity to flow. Use this time to free your mind and let go of the rules you adhere to the rest of the day. Try not to say no, or give too many directions/instructions. If an activity is messy —move it outdoors, put on old T-shirts as smocks, and leave your shoes inside.  Do your best to remove all barriers that might pull you away from your art time. 

For more ideas on making art a part of your family time, including some fun activities, visit the California State PTA Resource Library. 

 

 

Interview: Ways to Include and Engage the Men in Your PTA

Posted on by CAPTA IT


Byline: LaQuisha Anderson, Family Engagement Commissioner

The California State PTA Family Engagement Commission sat down with PTA dad Murali Vasudevan to discuss his experience serving in the PTA at his daughter’s schools, ABC Council PTA, and Thirty-Third District PTA for many years. Watch the video interview to learn more about Vasudevan’s experience and find ways you can include, create engagement, and involve men in your PTA. 

Do you have a great Family Engagement story, practice, or idea for building parent and caregiver involvement? Please share it with us and you may be featured on our social media.

Keeping Family School Partnerships Strong as COVID Challenges Continue

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by By Kathleen Fay, California State PTA Family Engagement Commission Consultant

When families are involved in their children’s education they have better outcomes and when families and schools are partners all children do better.  That’s the findings of more than 20 years of research on family engagement.  But the trick is how do you get families involved and keep them involved?  

Keeping families engaged with schools can be difficult even in the best of times, add in a worldwide pandemic and the challenge increases. COVID-19 upended the usual families engagement activities and school district  rules about who can be on school campuses and when. Yet the pandemic also underscored the importance of families and schools working together. 

In Orange County, a forum hosted by Fourth District PTA, included a panel of school district superintendents discussing how their districts are handling family engagement challenges as the pandemic continues. Here are some of their suggestions:

  • Utilize Surveys – Inviting direct input from parents is critical in helping to insightfully determine spending priorities and learn how to meet student and family needs.
  • Adjust – Remain flexible to “meet parents where they are” (such as adjusting schedules, offering virtual options, or providing outdoor meeting alternatives).
  • Reach out to those families we don’t normally see – This is an important time to offer outreach to segments of the school community who face challenges staying in touch with their schools (due to language barriers, technology gaps, or work/childcare time limitations, for example).
  • Offer communication from leaders – As the stress of COVID continues, it’s important for parents to hear from their school community leaders more often and in greater detail than usual, including information on available resources and how to access them.
  • Tech tools – use all available.  Many schools experienced an astonishing increase in participation when parent-teacher conferences went virtual, and PTAs saw big boosts in attendance when meetings and presentations were offered on Zoom or via webinar.  Leveraging technology allows you to reach families in new ways.  Parents appreciate being able to engage in school activities without having to take the day off work.  It’s likely that many schools will keep new technologies that have proven useful even after the pandemic ends.
  • Listen to parents.  It’s important to remember that parents are children’s primary educators:  Listen to them when they advocate for what students truly need.  The voice of the parent is central to all education efforts; parents must be engaged as authentic partners in education.
  • Encourage two-way communication.  Many families are used to having information flow to them from school leaders; promote feedback by encouraging the use of email, for example, to stimulate direct back-and-forth interactions between school leaders and parents.
  • Be patient, kind, and show love when dealing with families during this stressful time.

PTA leaders can encourage their schools, districts, and members to work together, using these ideas,  to ensure that parents and schools remain partners in education. Decades of  research shows when families and schools work together students succeed.

 

A High School Counselor Shares Tips for Families to Help Preparing Their Child for College or Career

Posted on by CAPTA IT

By: Family Engagement Commission

A high school counselor shares tips on how families and counselors can work together for success after high school.  February 7-11 is National School Counseling Week. Kimberly Goller, a counselor at Canyon High School in William S. Hart Union High School District, recently shared her thoughts on the subject with the California State PTA Family Engagement Commission (FEC).  

FEC: How can families help their child prepare for college or career?

Goller: Talk about your job and the things you love about your work. Kids often have no idea what their family members do for a living and they tend to gravitate toward jobs they know. They see teachers and understand what they do, so they think about teaching. They see their doctor and begin to think about being a physician. Help them begin to think about lots of different career options simply by talking to family and friends about their jobs. There are also lots of free online resources to help families with this: 

For kids who want to aim for college, they will need your support with study skills and scheduling. About 30% of students dropout of college after their first year according to the Education Data Initiative. When we ask students why they are leaving college they often tell us that school is so hard. Many of these kids are sailing through high school AP and honors classes because school has always come easy for them. They begin college and don’t know how to take notes, plan their study schedule, and be more independent learners. Parents play a huge role in helping students develop those skills so they can be successful in college. 

Also, I suggest you begin to visit college campuses as early as possible. The idea of college and the reality are two different things — your child might be drawn to a UC school, but when they realize they might be in a class with 800 other students that might be a turn-off. Let them see what different campuses look and feel like to help them determine the best fit for them.

FEC: High school is a big transition, how can families help their children prepare for this?

Goller: One of the big issues we see at both the transition from elementary to junior high (or middle) school and then again from junior high to high school are changes in friend groups. During these transition times, friends change — kids begin to associate more with the kids from their sports team, their fellow band-mates, or their classmates.  Sometimes kids that have been friends for years, find they don’t have as much in common any more and feelings can get hurt. Families can help their children understand that this is normal. In high school, students may feel a lot of pressure and there can be perceived levels of competition. Parents can help remind their children to be kind to themselves and others. 

FEC: How can the PTA partner with the counseling office to support students and families in the community?

Goller: Our counseling door office is always open — we love to hear from families! We are here as a resource to everyone and we could offer parent education on topics including college and career readiness, parenting groups (dealing with high school kids can be challenging), or social-emotional issues like dating or friendship in secondary schools. We also need feedback from families as to what is going well and what we can do better — we want to be proactive as opposed to reactive. Sadly sometimes parent groups (and parents) don’t reach out to us because they don’t want to be judged. We are here to support you and your child. 

Looking for more information on College and Career? Or just looking for more ways your PTA can create and support family engagement in your school community? Visit our blog and search “Family Engagement” for articles and information from the California State PTA Family Engagement Commission.

National School Counseling Week is February 7-11

Posted on by CAPTA IT


By: Family Engagement Commission

There are many people on a school campus that families should become acquainted with — one key person is the school counselor. The week of February 7th is National School Counseling Week. To help families understand more about the counselor’s role, commissioners from the California State PTA Family Engagement Commission (FEC) reached out to Kimberly Goller, a counselor at Canyon High School in William S. Hart Union High School District for her thoughts. 

FEC:  Tell us a little bit about your journey to counseling.

Goller:  I began as a junior high and high school teacher, teaching history, reading, Japanese, and Sign Language. Our district was opening a new school to help students who hadn’t been promoted after four years and I was so intrigued. Turns out I was the only teacher in the district who applied, so I got the job. As I was teaching there I came across a lot of kids who had serious life issues and we had no counselor to support them at our site. One day I was helping a student who had been raped —as I was helping her get the services she needed for her mental and physical health I realized that that’s what I wanted to do full-time. I went back to school to get my Masters in Counseling and have worked as a counselor in both junior high and high school ever since. I have been here at Canyon High School for thirteen years. 

FEC:  How is  counseling different  at the high school, junior high, or elementary school levels?

Goller:  Iin elementary school there are a few counselors for the entire district. They focus mainly on group counseling for things like grief and divorce, and they do very little individual work with students. However since the pandemic, funding for social emotional health of students has increased, so I’m hoping this will change. 

At the junior high and high school levels we focus more on academics with our students — helping them to be successful in their courses. In our district, the junior high school counselors do class presentations on things like college and career preparation, in addition to some group work with students. In high school we are mainly working one to one with students to help them remove barriers so they are successful in high school and beyond. 

FEC:  What are some ways that families can connect with their counselor?

Goller:  First of all, children should be encouraged to get to know their counselor. We can be a great resource for them, and we love it when they come to check in. 

In secondary schools (middle and high school), we do talk about students self-advocating and reaching out to us directly when they are in need of help— however, if your child is in need of assistance and they aren’t reaching out—we hope that parents feel that they can reach out to us as well. Sometimes parents assume that teachers are sharing information with counselors, but that isn’t always the case — so please keep your child’s counselor up-to-date if they are missing school for extended periods or if they need any kind of social, emotional, or academic support. 

We want to be proactive with our students, but often we find ourselves in reactive mode since we were late to get involved. Our counseling offices are also judgment-free zones —we know that parenting is hard (especially for high school-aged kids). If you reach out to us to ask for support, we are not judging your parenting —we simply want to help. 

FEC: What’s the best part of being a school counselor? 

Goller:  THE KIDS!!!! Without question, the best part of my job is getting to know the kids. Before I leave every day I write four summons so I know I will get to see at least four kids the next day. I only have four years with your child, so I’m going to do everything I can to move the blocks out of their way to make their future brighter.

Use National School Counselor Week as an opportunity to begin a dialog with your child’s counselor —it might just make their day!

Building Relationships Starts With Trust

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Family Engagement Commission

Relationships are at the core of high-quality family engagement. As a PTA leader, you must take the time to build trusting, authentic relationships with families on your campus before they buy into attending your events, participating in your PTA meetings, or serving on your PTA board. The PTA National Standard for Family-School Partnerships begin with “Welcoming All Families” and “Communicating Effectively” for a reason — it is where our work begins. 

Eyal Bergman, a Harvard doctoral candidate who worked with Dr. Karen Mapp, created a relational trust matrix to help us as we embark on this work. He describes four key elements of relational trust: respect, competence, integrity, and personal regard. While this list was originally intended for educators, we think there are some great lessons for PTA leaders.  As your PTA embarks on its family engagement work to help ensure that everyone feels included and welcomed on your school campuses, you will do well to understand these four elements.

Respect:  “Am I seeking input and listening carefully to what ALL families have to say?”  

As PTA leaders we need to not only seek out all families but also listen to what they are telling us. We need to remember that not all communication is verbal and that not everyone speaks the same language. Offering multiple opportunities and modes for feedback and input can go a long way to helping everyone feel that their opinion is valued.

Competence:  “Am I demonstrating to families that I am competent AND that I am honoring their roles as good caretakers?” Cultural competency is something that PTA leaders constantly need to work on. In many ways, it is easier to understand people from within our own culture, but understanding other cultures takes time and practice. We all parent differently, but we all love our children and want the best for them. Our common denominator of wanting what’s best for our children should help unite us and help as we build cultural competence over time.  

Integrity:  “Do I keep my word with families?”  Our PTA leaders need to make sure that we are being honest, open, and transparent with the families on our campuses. During the past few years, we have had to pivot our activities to comply with pandemic complications, but so long as we communicate those changes in a timely manner with our families they feel our integrity. As long as we keep the mission of the California State PTA (“To positively impact the lives of all children and families”) at the heart of all we do, our families can feel confident that they can trust us. 

Personal Regard:  “Do I show families that I value and care about them as people versus objects?”  The families on our campus are not fundraising machines or a number of tickets sold for an event — they are parents, caregivers, siblings, and children who want to feel connected to the school.  As PTA leaders, we need to make sure that we think of them and treat them as such.  

The work to build relationships begins as soon as you step into your PTA role, and continues every day afterward!  Make sure you extend the invitation to all families to be a part of your PTA, to attend your family engagement events, to connect with your campus, and to join your PTA in the work you do on behalf of children and families.  

It is up to each of us to establish these relationships for the benefit of all of our children.

Family Engagement is a Shared Responsibility

Posted on by CAPTA IT


By Heather Ippolito, Vice President for Family Engagement , California State PTA

Whose job is it to create partnerships between families and the schools that serve them? That question has driven the work of Dr. Karen Mapp, a Harvard professor and a contributing expert to the PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships that we have been sharing over the past few months. 

At a really basic level, her answer to that question is that both school personnel and family members are crucial to making the partnership work.

Dr. Mapp has spent her career working with educators and parents to cultivate partnerships between schools, families, and the community to support the best outcomes for our students. In 2019 she updated her Dual-Capacity Framework to better reflect the challenges faced by both educators and families and to give more direction on how we can work together in our schools.  

The framework contains four sections. Addressing all four can provide crucial support for strong family, school and community partnerships. Let’s go through each section briefly:

#1 – Challenges.  Dr. Mapp notes that before we talk about all the things that need to happen for successful partnerships we need to address the barriers and challenges that schools and parents face for family engagement.  

Barriers educators face include not having received much training in this area and, with the exception of very few, not seeing family engagement done well.  Parents’ challenges include not feeling welcomed on campus or having negative experiences with their own education that color their feelings towards a school setting.  

#2 – Essential Conditions. There are two different types of essential conditions; process and organizational conditions.  

Process conditions include things like having family engagement linked to student learning and making sure it is culturally responsive. Additionally, Dr. Mapp says that in the process category family engagement should be collaborative and interactive with a focus on building relationships. The organizational conditions that need to be met include family engagement being visible across the entire educational system — meaning that family engagement needs to be supported by everyone from teachers to superintendents in order to be effective.  There must also be resources devoted to the program and it should be embedded in all aspects of education. 

#3 – Policy and Program Goals. There are “4 C” areas that Dr. Mapp feels must be met in the policy and program areas- Capabilities, Connections, Confidence, and Cognition.  

Capabilities include skills and knowledge. Schools need to understand the community they are working in and they need cultural competencies to be able to work with the families at their school. Parents need to have a better understanding of the educational system and strategies they can use at home to support learning.  

Connections are the important relationships and networks built on mutual trust and respect that need to be formed between parents and teachers, parents and parents, and the school and community.  

Both families and educators need confidence in working together. They need to have time to develop self-efficacy as they navigate this work and educators and parents of diverse backgrounds need to be encouraged to participate and be included in positions of leadership.  

Finally, cognition refers to families needing to see themselves as key partners in their child’s educational success. Schools need to be committed to working with all parents and see the value of including families in all aspects of the educational experience. 

#4 – Capacity Outcomes.  If we build up the capacity in our parents and educators then the real work of coming together to make improvements for our schools and our students can begin. Parents become supporters, advocates and co-creators at the school and educators create welcoming school cultures where families are encouraged to be co-creators and acknowledged for the skills and talents they bring to the campus. 

Our role as PTA leaders is to understand that schools and families need to work together.  We can use the Dual Capacity-Building Framework in our work with families and we can offer parent education to help parents understand how to navigate the education system or see how they can support their child at home. PTA programs can help to shift parents’ perspectives about school from negative to positive as we help them create positive interactions with teachers, administrators, and school staff at our events. 

To learn more about National PTA’s Transformative Family Engagement work, visit the Center for Family Engagement. 

Dr. Mapp, in collaboration with the Institute for Educational Leadership, has videos, graphics and lots of resources for anyone who is wanting to dive deeper into this. They can be accessed here:  https://www.dualcapacity.org/ .