Families : The Playlist

October is all about Families and we’ll be exploring what it means to celebrate and support families as the first teacher. One resource we’ve been especially inspired by is Beyond The Bakesale, written by Dr. Anne T. Henderson, Dr. Karen Mapp, Dr. Vivian R. Johnson, and Dr. Don Davies. We recommend digging into the excerpts below. And if you’d like the full copy, you can request one by clicking the button below and we’ll send it your way in hardcopy or ebook.

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1. reflect on family engagement practices at your school.

This simple checklist serves as a diagnostic for family partnership at your school. Use it to take stock of your school’s current strengths and opportunities to deepen family partnership in the months and years to come.

Explore the checklist

2. Dig deeper on topics you’re most interested in

Share power

Beyond The Bakesale asks us to unpack the ways schools can and should distribute authority and decision-making to families whenever possible. Use this set of questions to consider how well you and your team currently share power and practice democratic ways of operating.

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Link to student learning

Family partnership is a powerful lever for supporting students’ learning. It requires robust communication, the use of good academic data and two-way learning and collaboration. Use these questions to consider how closely your school’s parent involvement links to student learning.

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Support parents as advocates

Reflect on the extent to which you’re supporting families for their children at school and beyond. Use these simple questions to consider how you help families better understand their students’ academic needs and plan and navigate their children’s future.

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Build district support

Effective family partnership requires supportive policies and systems. Use these questions to consider how district leadership, accountability structures, and system-wide policies can help schools and families to work together.

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Bridge race, class & culture divides

Partnering with families has the power to unleash equity and liberation in our schools. Yet doing so will require all of us to act as learners as we bridge divisions along race, class and culture. Use these questions to reflect on your schools strengths and areas for growth on these dimensions.

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