Full Description
Break barriers, build trust, and create lasting change for students
Family engagement has never been more critical to student achievement, yet too many schools remain stuck in outdated models that treat families as occasional visitors rather than essential partners. Authored by three seasoned and celebrated school leaders, this practical book challenges educators to move beyond traditional "meetings and meals" approaches toward authentic family empowerment that drives meaningful change.
Introducing an innovative framework to reimagine family and community engagement, Empowered Families, Thriving Students addresses critical topics including overcoming deficit-based mindsets, establishing trust, building community partnerships, and reimagining traditional practices like parent-teacher conferences. Additional features include
Fourteen implementable strategies, each supported by clear action steps and self-analysis questions
Authentic vignettes drawn from the authors' extensive experiences in PreK-2 schools across diverse communities
Evidence-based approaches that combine nationally recognized research with compelling personal experiences
A focus on equity and cultural responsiveness that specifically address the needs of schools serving low-income and multilingual students
This exceptional guide provides school leaders, teachers, and community advocates with the essential tools to forge meaningful collaboration that focuses relentlessly on student achievement and wellbeing, creating stronger schools and more vibrant communities.
Contents
Foreword by Douglas B. Reeves
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
Chapter 1: From Vision to Action: Crafting Tailored Family Engagement Plans
Strategy 1: Develop a School or District-Specific Engagement Plan
Strategy 2: Establish Collaborative Goal Setting and Family Participation in Decision Making
Action Steps for Developing a Context-Specific Engagement Plan
Strategy 1: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Action Steps for Developing a Goal-Setting Plan to Empower Parent Feedback on School Improvement Plans
Strategy 2: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Chapter Takeaways
Reflection Questions
Chapter 2: Overcoming Deficit-Based Views
Strategy 3: Develop Strategies to Overcome Deficit-Based Mindsets
Strategy 4: Activate Families as Coeducators and Change Leaders
Action Steps for Overcoming Deficit-Based Mindsets
Strategy 3: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Family Storytelling
Action Steps for Activating Families as Coeducators and Change Leaders
Strategy 4: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Chapter Takeaways
Reflection Questions
Chapter 3: Establishing Trust for Lasting Relationships
Strategy 5: Learn About Your Families and Their Unique Assets
Strategy 6: Establish a School Climate for Psychological and Physical Safety
Conduct a Community Scan
Action Steps for Conducting a Community Scan
Cultivate Strong Family-Teacher Relationships
Action Steps for Cultivating Strong Family-Teacher Relationships
Celebrate the Assets Families Bring
Action Steps for Creating Activities Built on Family Assets
Get to Know Families' Cultural Perspectives
Action Steps for Building Culturally Sensitive Family-School Relationships
Strategy 5: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Create a School Environment that Looks Safe
Action Steps for Attending to the Visual Elements of Order and Safety
Create a Climate of Psychological Safety
Take Action to Ensure Psychological and Physical Safety
Strategy 6: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Chapter Takeaways
Reflection Questions
Chapter 4: Building Capacity for Authentic Partnership
The Three Tiers of Involvement
Strategy 7: Go Out into the Community to Empower Families
Action Steps for Progressing from Involvement to Engagement to Empowerment
Strategy 7: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Strategy 8: Offer Leadership Training for Families
Family Leadership Institute
School Advisory Committees
Training Family Liaisons
Action Steps for Fostering a Leadership Environment for Families
Strategy 8: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Chapter Takeaways
Reflective Questions
Chapter 5: Building Lasting Community Partnerships
Strategy 9: Build Partnerships With Community Partners
Strategy 10: Maintain, Enhance, and Strengthen Partnerships With Community Partners
Solicit Feedback and Act on Community Feedback
Take Steps to Meet the Community
Identify Community Resources
Action Steps for Building Partnerships With Community Organizations
Strategy 9: Self-analysis questions to guide your actions
Celebrate Community Cultural Heritage
Take Steps for the Community to Know Your School
Action Steps for Maintaining, Enhancing, and Strengthening Bonds and Partnerships With Community Partners
Strategy 10: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Chapter Takeaways
Reflective Questions
Chapter 6: Strengthening Students' Academic Potential: Empowering Families with Practical Ways to Provide Support
Strategy 11: Build the Capacity of Families to Support Academics
Strategy 12: Align Family and School Support to Boost Students' Academic Achievement
Trust and Human Connection Come First
Action Steps for Building the Capacity of Families to Support Academics
Strategy 11: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Strategic Alignment of Academic Goals Between Home and School
Voluntary Prekindergarten: Knowledge Is Academic Power
Self-Efficacy and Support in Secondary Education
Action Steps for Aligning Family and School Support to Boost Students' Academic Achievement
Strategy 12: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Chapter Takeaway
Reflection Questions
Chapter 7: Reimagining Traditional Practices for Greater Family Empowerment
Additional Tools to Build Family Capacity
The School-Family Calendar: A Communication Tool for Engagement
Prioritize Family Time
Promote Family Volunteering
Strategy 13: Maximize Parent-Teacher Conferences
Reimagining Parent-Teacher Conferences
Action Steps for Innovating With Student-Led Conferences
Strategy 13: Self-analysis to guide your plan of action
Strategy 14: Transform Open House into a Relationship-Building Event
Action Steps for Reimaging Open House as an Interactive Experience
Strategy 14: Self-analysis questions to plan your actions
Chapter Takeaways
Reflection Questions
Conclusion
Embracing Family Empowerment
A Call to Collective Action
References
Index
