Family Engagement in Afterschool

Seeing Family Strengths

Adapted from materials provided by Family Matters, Cornell

University.

Who Is “Family?”

Parents, siblings Uncles, aunts,

cousins Grandparents

Foster familyBlended families

(step parents, step siblings)

Nontraditional families

GuardiansUnrelated

caretakers

Engaging Families

Community School

Afterschool

Home

Family engagement is . . .

Family members involved with child’s daily life at home

Family’s interactions with adults who support child at afterschool, school, and community organizations, etc.

Family members participation in decision-making and leadership in organizations that affect their child

Universal Starting Assumption:

All parents want what is best for their children, and have

the skills to support a child’s learning.

The three important aspects of parent involvement from birth through high school

• Parenting – attitudes, values, interactions and practices of child rearing

• Home-School relationships – formal and informal connections, communications, and partnerships with the child’s school and teachers

• Shared parent-school responsibility for the child’s learning and education

Source: Sam Redding et al (2004). The Effects of Comprehensive Parent Engagement on Student Learning Outcomes. Academic Development Institute. More info: sredding@adi.org

Families matter for a range of social and academic outcomes

Children with involved parents • Have enhanced early and elementary literacy• Show greater school readiness• Earn higher grades and test scores • Enroll in higher-level programs• Are promoted and earn credits• Adapt well to school and attend regularly• Have better social skills and behavior• Graduate and go on to higher education

Families matter throughout childhood and adolescence

From Kreider, H., Caspe, M., Kennedy, S., & Weiss, H. (2007). Family involvement makes a difference: Family involvement in middle and high school student's education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project. Available at www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/research/adolescent.html

Benefits Across the Developmental Stages

• Parent involvement supports early literacy development and school readiness

• Parent involvement contributes to academic achievement and the development of social competence through elementary and middle school

• Parent involvement helps youth prepare for college

• Parent involvement increases the likelihood of competing school and going on to post secondary education

Families matter…for students from all backgrounds

Family factors predict achievement differences (Coleman, et al, 1966; ETS, 2004; Hart & Risley, 1995)

Lower SES and racial/ethnic minority families face greater barriers to involvement (Garcia-Coll and Chatman, 2005; Moles, 1993)

Involvement matters as much or more for lower-SES and racial minority students (Dearing, et al, 2004; Jeynes, 2003)

Which types of involvement matter and through what mechanisms varies by race/ethnicity (Hill, et al)

Key Research Findings: The Benefits of Family Engagement in Afterschool Programs

Increased involvement in education and schooling

Improved implementation of afterschool programs

Improved child outcomes including: reduction in risky behavior; greater academic gains

Potential new entry point for families to link to other components, such as schools

Higher rate of youth participation in OST programs when their families are involved in their schools, and vice versa

Improved family relationships and better parenting

Key Research Findings: The Challenges

• Lack of time—competing demands

• Focus on problems rather than solutions

• Lack of intentional family engagement programming

• Cultural and contextual barriers

• Access—how to I get started?

• Lack of staff training to work with parents

Six Strategies for Engaging Families in After School Programs

Be clear about what you mean by family engagement

Support families and their basic needs

Communicate and build trusting relationships with families

Be intentional about hiring and staff practices

Build linkages across individuals and organizations

Make family engagement a key component of program quality

1. Be clear about what you mean by Family Engagement

Ask staff what they consider to be family engagement

Ask families what they do to engage with their children and the afterschool program

Consider ALL engagement processes—parenting; home-school relationships; responsibility for learning; parent leadership—how can you support them?

Value ANY kind of engagement by ANY family member

2. Support Families and Their Basic Needs

Focus on family assets—what does the family bring to the table?

Solicit input from families about their needs and interests; ask families WHAT, WHEN, and HOW

Address family support needs in some way, even if out of scope of your program’s mission

Provide activities that are meaningful and relevant to supporting learning and development—managing behavior, homework help, etc.

Create incentives for participation—transportation vouchers, meals, child care, etc.

3. Communicate and Build Trusting Relationships with Families

Communicate frequently and in positive, respectful ways; be intentional; whenever possible use the families’ native language to start building relationships

Communicate purposefully and strategically about invitations for families to be engaged

“Be there” for family members that need a good listener

Provide leadership opportunities for parents

Meet parents where they are---both physically and in terms of their other needs

Building relationships takes time

Communication Logs

Criteria: Interactions that last over 5 minutes; In-depth individual conversations (but not brief chats at pick-up); One-on-one meetings with families (but not group flyers or emails); Personal emails and phone calls (but not event reminders); Personal letters or notes (but not calls regarding attendance)

Information: Date of contact; Name of child; Family member contacted; Staff member who made contact; Type of contact; Length of contact; Reason for contact; Nature of contact

Reasons for contact: Providing information about the child’s progress; Asking for family’s opinion/feedback; Discussing family strategies to support child’s learning/development at home; Talking about child’s problems with behavior, academics, emotions, etc.

4. Be Intentional about Hiring and Staff Practices

Designate a staff member who has, as part of his or her duties, responsibility for engaging families in the program

If possible, hire staff with family engagement experience and that buy into the notion of co-construction

Hire staff who share families’ experiences and backgrounds; consider using family members as staff and volunteers

Promote professional development for staff through networking with other afterschool programs

Provide staff with resources on engaging families

5. Build Linkages Across Individuals & Organizations

Collaborate with community organizations to boost family involvement

Connect families to other resources and opportunities for themselves and their children

Act as a liaison between families and schools

Support families to develop skills to advocate for themselves and their children at school

Help families connect to each other

Title 1 Parent-School Compacts

What will the school do?—high-quality curriculum, instruction to support state standards, co-construct effective relationships

What will the parents do?—monitor attendance, homework, etc.; volunteer; participate in decisions about effective use of non-school time

What will the student do?—complete homework, be prepared to learn, read at home, etc.

What will the afterschool program do?—support homework completion, facilitate home-school relationships, be familiar with school curriculum…

6. Make family engagement a key component of program quality

Many program quality assessment tools have a family engagement component

Indicators of engagement include: The program has a plan in place for family engagement The program effectively communicates program

information with ALL families The program offers families the opportunity to meet with

staff The program encourages family participation in events,

celebrations, decision-making, and program planning The program provides information about and connections

to community resources for youth and families The program provides learning opportunities for families

Regular assessment and reflection can improve your family engagement policies and practices

Case Discussion Questions

Who holds responsibility for children’s afterschool care?

What are the challenges that Marla faces in determining afterschool for Cindy? How might the school support Marla in resolving her afterschool challenges?

What kinds of formal afterschool program in the community can you imagine might appeal to both Marla and Cindy?

What would an “ideal” program look like for Cindy, given her age? What are some of the key features of program quality that would particularly salient to Cindy and Marla?

What would Nicki and the school need to do to support Cindy’s participation in an afterschool program? Would the six strategies outlined in the guide be the “right” set to engage Marla? If so, why? If not, what else might you need to do to engage Marla?

Small Group Discussion

(a)Discuss Nikki's final thoughts and actions after she enters the photo-processing store at the end of the case. What should she do? Should she say anything to Marla? If so, what should she say?

(b) Compose Shellie's talking points with Marla. What should Shellie say to convince Marla that participation in an afterschool program might be better than having Marla go home afterschool? What should Shellie say to convince Marla to complete the paperwork for the summer camp?