Family Engagement: Building Relationships and Partnerships, not Activities
Although the importance of Family Engagement is quickly gaining recognition across schools, it still means a lot of different things to different people- from principals, to teachers & staff, to parents and the community. Everyone agrees that closer collaboration with families impacts student success and achievement, but a shared responsibility and common practice is yet to develop. Yes, traditional school-wide family engagement events are plentiful - from Parent Teacher Conferences, to Open houses, Back-to-school nights and other one-and-done activities. The challenge with most of these events, is they do little to foster meaningful relationships and real connections between parents and the school [...]