Family Engagement Community of Practice

2021-22 Cohort

Introduction

2021-22 Family Engagement Community of Practice

The Family Engagement Community of Practice is a collaborative effort between MDE, PACER, and UM-Extension. It is designed to be an informal, unstructured time and space for family professionals to meet together virtually to:

• Learn from each other
• Network and share experiences
• Share ideas, strategies, resources, etc.
• Provide collegial support and guidance
• Develop personally/professionally, and advance the practice of family engagement

The FE Community of Practice is an informal group comprised of those interested in the practice of family engagement. The focus is on making connections between educators, advancing our knowledge and practice, and building and advancing family engagement work. We rely on participants to determine topics with the goal of having resources and/or specialists/experts available to help us dive deeper into the work.

Click Here for FE CoP flyer

Meeting Dates & Times

Meeting Dates & Times

Dates and Times

There are five days scheduled for the 2020-21 school year. In order to build community and momentum, it is ideal if practitioners are able to participate in all five, but please know that this is not required.

1. Friday, October 29, from 1:00 to 2:30
2. Friday, December 10, from 1:00 to 2:30
3. Friday, January 21, from 1:00 to 2:30
4. Friday, March 4, from 1:00 to 2:30
5. Friday, May 6, from 1:00 to 2:30

The same Zoom link is used for each session: Click Here

Connect via Zoom

Connect via Zoom

Link to join: https://z.umn.edu/FamilyEngagementCOP

Participants

Participants

Those who work with families in an educational setting or provide education (formal or informal) to parents/families. Participants may hold a variety of titles, like parenting educator, family life educator, family service worker, family support specialist, family liaison, and so on. Participants may come from a variety of organizations and programs, like school districts (early childhood programs and K-12), Head Start, child care, community-based organizations, etc.

Agendas, Presentations & Discussions

Agendas

October 29, 2021
Click Here

December 10, 2021
Click Here

January 21, 2022
Click Here

March 4, 2022
Click Here

Presentations

October 29, 2021
Click here

December 10, 2021
Click here

January 21, 2022
Click here

March 4, 2022
Click here

Discussions

Family engagement professional learning modules
Go to Family Engagement page
Click here for list of modules

Surveys & Results

Surveys & Results

Session 1, October 29, 2021
Click here for survey

Session 2, December 10, 2021
Click here for survey

Session 3, January 21, 2022
Click here for survey

Session 4, March 4, 2022
Click here for survey

Session 5, May 6, 2022
Click here for survey

Connected Educators

Connected Educators

In their book, What Connected Educators Do Differently, Whitaker, Zoul, and Casas (2015) state that connected educators develop a mindset characterized by some of these examples (p. xxiii):

• Educators become connected “educators” by first becoming connected and constant “learners,” ones who reach out to learn, share, and collaborate with a network of fellow learners interested in education.
• Educators can and should establish networks to share practices, access experts, and solve problems.
• Educators must live not just as readers or viewers, but as active participants in ongoing discussions, planning, and problem solving.
• Educators can have access to a large collective brain trust consisting of diverse ideas and perspectives.

Family Engagement Community of Practice - Resources

Family Engagement Resources

Family Engagement Resources

Minnesota Head Start COVID-19 Response Fact Sheet
Click Here

Supporting Children and Ourselves: Coping during COVID-19
Click Here, Kevin Plummer, Ph.D.

The Perry Preschoolers and Late Midlife: A Study in Design-Specific Inference
Click Here

Time Well Spent: Home Learning Activities and Gains in Children’s Academic Skills in the Prekindergarten Year
Click Here

Building Relationships with Families

Building Relationships with Families

8 Strategies for Building Relationships with ELLs in Any Learning Environment
Click Here, Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs).

Building Partnerships with Families Series Essential resource
Click Here, Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC)

Build Relationships with Families
Click Here, Video from Resources for Early Learning

Building Strong Relationships from a Distance
Click Here, Eastern Connecticut State University

Family-School Relationships Survey
Click Here, Panorama Education

Reframing Family Engagement: 6 Shifts: Where Is Your School or Organization?
Click Here, Search Institute

Supportive Family-Staff Relationships
Click Here, Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC)

Community Engaged Parenting Education (CEPE)

Community Engaged Parenting Education

Braver Angels
Click Here

Community Engaged Parent Education: Strengthening Civic Engagement Among Parents and Parent Educators
Click Here, William Doherty, Jenet Jacob, and Beth Cutting, Family Relations, 58 (July 2009): 303–315.

One Small Step
Click Here, StoryCorps

Ecological Model

Ecological Model

Psycho-Ecological Systems Model: A Systems Approach to Planning and Gauging the Community Impact of Community-Engaged Scholarship
Click Here, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 24 (1), Fall 2017.

Life and Meaningfulness

Links

Greater Good Magazine
Click Here, The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley

Links

Links

Head Start - Family Engagement

Click Here, Lillian Mallinson's page

PACER - Family Engagement

Click Here, or go to https://www.pacer.org/learning-center/family-engagement/

UM Extension

Courses and Events
Click Here or go to https://z.umn.edu/5yu3

COVID-19 Resources
Click Here, or go to http://z.umn.edu/ExtCovid19

Family News
Click Here, or go to https://z.umn.edu/Familynews

Overindulgence (partnership with Jean Illsley Clarke)
Click Here, or go to http://z.umn.edu/overindulgence

Parenting during COVID-19: It’s a marathon, not a sprint
Click Here, or go to https://extension.umn.edu/news/parenting-during-covid-19

Parenting teens during COVID-19
Click Here, or go to https://extension.umn.edu/family-news/parenting-teens-during-covid-19

Real Life, Good Food: Recipes, cooking tips, and physical activity ideas for a healthier life
Click Here, or go to https://reallifegoodfood.umn.edu/

U Got This (text messages for parents and caregivers in English & Spanish)
Click Here, or go to https://z.umn.edu/ugotthis

Other Links

Hunger Solutions Minnesota
Click Here or go to https://www.hungersolutions.org

Professional Development Opportunities

Professional Development Opportunities

Helping Your Children Manage COVID-19 Realities: Beyond the Facts and Into the Effects on our Lives
Click Here, Free Webinar, Anne Gearity, Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health

The Holistic Approach to Engaging Fathers - October 29, 2020
Click Here, Minnesota Fathers & Families Network

MDE and TNTP Training Series Designed to Support all Minnesota Districts in Strengthening their Student Engagement Approach
Click Here for Flyer

Providing Distance Family Support: What do I say? How can I help? A Conversation with NCPMI Faculty
Click Here, National Center on Pyramid Model Innovations

Radical Family Engagement
A Journey Like No Other, ACF’s Office of Early Childhood Development (ECD) is hosting a series of conversations with key cross-sector partners and targeted engagements to bring new insights for how RADICAL family engagement could change the landscape of education and early childhood systems.

• What do Parents Need and What Can They Do?, October 26, 12:30 PM
• What do Schools Need and What Can They Do?, October 27, 12:30 PM
• What Does Government Need and What Can They Do?, October 28, 11 PM
• What Do Organizations Need and What Can They Do?, October 29, 12:30 PM
• What Actions Can We Take Together?, October 30, 12:30 PM

Professional Learning Modules

Professional Learning Modules

Go to Family Engagement page

Relationships

Professional Learning Modules

Braver Angels
Click Here

Social Connectedness and Health
Click Here, Wilder Research

Social Connectedness: Evaluating the Healthy People 2020 Framework: The Minnesota Project
Click Here, Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)

StoryCorps
Click Here

Resources

Resources

A Parent's Bill of Rights
Click Here, TNTP (The New Teacher Project)

Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide
Click Here, US Dept of Education, Office of Educational Technology

Self-Care

Self-Care

An Invitation to Act on the Value of Self-Care: Being a Whole Person in All That You Do
Click Here, Fiebig, J.H., Gould, E.R., Ming, S. et al., Behavior Analysis Practice 13, 559–567 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00442-x

Employer Toolkit: Work Design for Health
Click Here, The Work and Well-Being Initiative, Harvard and MIT

Healing in Nature: How Forests Heal People
Click Here, YouTube

Important Goals, Meanings, and Relationships in Flourishing and Languishing States: Towards Patterns of Well-being
Click Here, Applied Research in Quality of Life, 16, 573–609 (2021).

School Leaders Take Note: Teacher Care Is a Lot More Than Self-Care
Click Here, EdSurge

Supporting Your Employees During Hard Times: A Manager's Guide
Click Here, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

William James College Faculty Discuss Mental Health in the Time of Coronavirus
Click Here, William James College

Social Emotional

Social Emotional

Conscious Discipline
https://consciousdiscipline.com/

2020-21 Cohort

Introduction

2020-21 Family Engagement Community of Practice

The Family Engagement Community of Practice is a collaborative effort between MDE, PACER, and UM-Extension. It is designed to be an informal, unstructured time and space for family professionals to meet together virtually to:

• Learn from each other
• Network and share experiences
• Share ideas, strategies, resources, etc.
• Provide collegial support and guidance
• Develop personally/professionally, and advance the practice of family engagement

The FE Community of Practice is an informal group comprised of those interested in the practice of family engagement. The focus is on making connections between educators, advancing our knowledge and practice, and building and advancing family engagement work. We rely on participants to determine topics with the goal of having resources and/or specialists/experts available to help us dive deeper into the work.

Click Here for FE CoP flyer

Meeting Dates & Times

Meeting Dates & Times

Dates and Times

There are five days scheduled for the 2020-21 school year. In order to build community and momentum, it is ideal if practitioners are able to participate in all five, but please know that this is not required.

1. Friday, Oct. 2, from 1:00 to 2:30
2. Friday, November 13, from 1:00 to 2:30
3. Friday, January 8, from 1:00 to 2:30
4. Friday, February 26, from 1:00 to 2:30
5. Friday, April 23, from 1:00 to 2:30

The same Zoom link is used for each session: Click Here

Connect via Zoom

Connect via Zoom

Link to join: https://z.umn.edu/FamilyEngagementCOP

Participants

Participants

Those who work with families in an educational setting or provide education (formal or informal) to parents/families. Participants may hold a variety of titles, like parenting educator, family life educator, family service worker, family support specialist, family liaison, and so on. Participants may come from a variety of organizations and programs, like school districts (early childhood programs and K-12), Head Start, child care, community-based organizations, etc.

Agendas, Presentations & Discussions

Agendas

April 23, 2021
Click Here

February 26, 2021
Click Here

January 8, 2021
Click here

November 13, 2020
Click Here

Presentations

April 23, 2021
Click here

January 8, 2021 Language Access and Family Engagement. Lee Her, MDE Community Engagement Specialist
Click here

October 2, 2020
Click here

Discussions

April 23, 2021
Feelings of Pandemic Apathy may be Defined as "Languishing" – CBS News
Health experts are using the term "languishing" to define feelings of emptiness and stagnation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In our February session, we watched the video, Mental Health: Yours, Mine and Ours, by Cari Michaels at the University of Minnesota. In this video, one of the things discussed was the distinction between mental health and mental illness.
The "languishing" video is included in this session not only because it relates to the pandemic, but also because the expert being interviewed describes it as the space between mental health and mental illness.

Family engagement professional learning modules
Go to Family Engagement page
Click here for list of modules

The Practice of Family Engagement
Small groups. Three rounds of 10-minute discussions. Sample questions below.
Round #1: Strategies

• How do you develop strategies for working with families?
• What has been effective for you? For families?
• What is important when considering strategies?

Round #2: Professional Development

• What are your professional development needs?
• What are professional development needs of the field?
• What sources of professional development are helpful, effective, trustworthy, etc.?

Round #3: Systemic

• What role does/should family engagement play in your organization?
• How do we build comprehensive, system family engagement?
• What are the goals? How do we evaluate?

What is Our Role in Family Engagement?

• What is our role in family engagement work?
• What is the role of others, of our organization?
• What is the role of parents and families? The community?
• What is our curriculum? Or, what do we want parents to know, learn, do? How is it determined? Evaluated?
• What are professional boundaries in our work?
• Is there a distinction between support and advocacy?

Resources to help with this discussion
Reconceptualizing the Domain and Boundaries of Family Life Education, Family Relations journal
Video: A guide to allyship: How to become an ally (clip featuring Dr. Rosemarie Allen)

February 26, 2021
Small groups. Three rounds of 15 minutes. Questions to consider.
Round #1:

• Introduce yourself with one word that describes you in this pandemic season of our lives.
• After watching the video, how has your perception changed about mental health?
• Generally, how has COVID impacted the mental well-being of your community?

Round #2

• What have you noticed about the families that you work with considering the spectrum of mental health and COVID?
• How comfortable are you in engaging in a conversation with families about mental health?
• What are the barriers/challenges to reducing the stigma associated with mental illness?

Round #3

• Do you, as a professional, feel some pressure to show up in optimal health when working with families? What is the role of your own vulnerability in supporting families?
• When families have more control over their lives, mental health improves. Considering COVID as a public health issue, how are you navigating conversations, including about the vaccine?
• The pandemic has put a spotlight on the inequities that have always been with us. What strategies have been successful in working with families with overwhelming needs this year?

November 13, 2020

Discussion #1: How do we learn about needs of ALL families in our communities?

• How does your family engagement work address the needs and wants of families in your community?
• How explicit is family engagement in your organization? (Strategic plans, roles, funding, policies, data. actions, evaluations, etc.)
• What does family engagement look like in your program/organization?

Discussion #2: How do we build and sustain relationships with families?

• In your family engagement work, what is the role of building and sustaining relationships?
• With regard to relationships and families, what have you found to be effective?
• To advance our work/practice, what do we need to do better (with regard to relationships)?

Surveys & Results

Surveys & Results

Session 1, October 2, 2020
Click here for survey
Click here for Survey Results

Session 2, November 13, 2020
Click here for survey
Click here for Survey Results

Session 3, January 8, 2021
Click here for survey
Click here for Survey Results

Session 4, February 26, 2021
Click here for survey

Session 5, April 23, 2021
Click here for survey

Connected Educators

Connected Educators

In their book, What Connected Educators Do Differently, Whitaker, Zoul, and Casas (2015) state that connected educators develop a mindset characterized by some of these examples (p. xxiii):

• Educators become connected “educators” by first becoming connected and constant “learners,” ones who reach out to learn, share, and collaborate with a network of fellow learners interested in education.
• Educators can and should establish networks to share practices, access experts, and solve problems.
• Educators must live not just as readers or viewers, but as active participants in ongoing discussions, planning, and problem solving.
• Educators can have access to a large collective brain trust consisting of diverse ideas and perspectives.