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Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 1
Virtual Language-Focused Family Engagement Tools for Connecting
with Multilingual Learners and their Families
May 12, 2021KSU/ESOL Conference
Dawn Scott, Family School PartnershipDavid Tucker, Title III, Part A Program
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 2
What Cultures and Languages are in your School?
• Please put your answers in the Chat!
• Thanks!
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 3
Out of 92 Language Groups, 80% ELs identified Spanish as their Primary Language.
2640
1424 1349 1312 1292 1136 1130 1128 1029 1020
Top 10 Language Groups in GA Schools after Spanish and English
21
16
7
8
20
8
10
0 5 10 15 20 25
LANGUAGE GROUPS W/ < 10 ELS
LANGUAGE GROUPS W/ 10-20 ELS
LANGUAGE GROUPS W/ 30-50 ELS
LANGUAGE GROUPS W/ 60-90 ELS
LANGUAGE GROUPS W/ 100-500 ELS
LANGUAGE GROUPS W/ 500-900 ELS
LANGUAGE GROUPS W/ 1000-3000 ELS
Number of Languages
90 Language Groups excluding English & Spanish
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 4
Today’s Goals:
Title III, Part A Program• Recognize the ESSA mandates for
engaging families of English learners
• Decide which of the seven key components for a successful parent/family engagement program are already in your school.
• Decide which ones aren’t and you want to work on those!
Family School Partnership Program
• Become familiar with various virtual tools for engaging families in today’s world.
• Decide which virtual tools will work in your school.
• Find out how to become an expert in those tools and set a goal to use some in the next parent/family engagement activity in your school.
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 5
Title III, Part A Statute SEC. 3111. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATESESEA Title III § 3115(c) REQUIRED SUBGRANTEE ACTIVITIES - An eligible entity receiving funds under section 3114(a) shall use the funds — (3) to provide and implement other effective activities and strategies that enhance or supplement language instruction educational programs for English learners which – (A) shall include parent, family, and community engagement activities; and (B) may include strategies that serve to coordinate and align related programs.
ESEA Title III § 3115(d) AUTHORIZED SUBGRANTEE ACTIVITIES – (6) Providing community participation programs, family literacy services and parent and family outreach and training activities to English learners and their families – (A) to improve the English language skills of English learners; and (B) to assist parents and families in helping their children to improve their academic achievement and becoming active participants in the education of their children.
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 6
Don’t just “Talk the Talk” of School-Family Partnerships
Elementary Teachers’ Initiatives in Engaging Families of English Learners | NCELA (ed.gov)
Toolkit of Resources for Engaging Families and the Community as Partners in Education: Part 1: Building an understanding of family and community engagement
• Build an understanding of family and community engagement with the staff.
• Establish a common language for providing high impact engagement practices.
• Prioritize family engagement as an educational strategy
• Build cultural bridges by tapping into the strengths of the families.
• Make engagement activities interactive
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 7
Parent Involvement vs. Parent Engagement
• Ferlazzo and Hammond (2009):• Parent “involvement” begins with the
school• Parent “engagement” begins with the
parent; parent energy drives the efforts of the school resulting in trusting relationships.
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 8
Components of a SuccessfulFamily Engagement Program
• Signs and Posters in languages and format families understand
• Signs that say “hello” in various languages
• Sitting/work area for parents needing access to technology
• Tell parents they are welcome.
• Flags from other countries in the lobby or flying out front
• World map with representative countries clearly marked
• Slide show playing in the lobby with students saying hello in their native language
• Collaborate with local organizations to provide assistance to CLD families.
1. Provide a warm welcoming environment.
English Learner Tool Kit (OELA) (ed.gov)Chapter 5 Tools and Resources for Creating an Inclusive Environment for and Avoiding the Unnecessary Segregation of English Learners (ed.gov)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 9
2. Taylor the Parent Engagement program to meet the cultural needs of the families.
Components of a SuccessfulFamily Engagement Program
Why is this so important?
• What countries do your EL families represent?
• What languages are spoken?• How are their cultures different from
ours?• How can we help ELs and their families
better understand U.S. mainstream culture?
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 10
3. Communicate with parents in a language they understand and a format they prefer.
Components of a SuccessfulFamily Engagement Program
• Ask parents which communication method they prefer (phone, email, text message, letters etc.)
• Have translation and interpreting services readily available
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 11
4. Make engagement reciprocating and ongoing.
Components of a SuccessfulFamily Engagement Program
English Learner Tool Kit (OELA) (ed.gov)
• Invite parents to participate in setting goals for their child.
• Seek opportunities to meet parents “on their turf”.
• Explain the evaluation process.
• Include parents in the trajectory of their child’s education.
• Differentiate engagement based on the needs of the families
• Help parents set goals for themselves.
REL Southwest Ask A REL Response (ed.gov)
What are successful strategies for family engagement in rural schools? (ed.gov)
White House Task Force for New Americans Webinar Series
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 12
5. Initiate engagement activities which are meaningful and relevant.
Components of a SuccessfulFamily Engagement Program
Joining Together to Create a Bold Vision for Next-Generation Family Engagement: Engaging Families to Transform Education | NCELA
Reinforcing Deficit, Journeying Toward Equity: Cultural Brokering in Family Engagement Initiatives - Ann M. Ishimaru, Kathryn E. Torres, Jessica E. Salvador, Joe Lott, Dawn M. Cameron Williams, Christine Tran, 2016 (sagepub.com)
From Family Engagement to Equitable Collaboration | NCELA (ed.gov)
Toolkit of Resources for Engaging Families and the Community as Partners in Education: Part 1: Building an understanding of family and community engagement
Resource Guide: Supporting Undocumented Youth
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 13
• Demonstrate a home environment which supports learning.• Provide literacy training to CLD families in order to empower and equip them with
interactive literacy activities they can use at home.• Encourage parents to:
o Provide a place for children to worko Check student work o Ask children what they are learning
• Train parents how to evaluate their child’s progress. o Student reportso Digital software reportso Classwork o Assessment results
Components of a SuccessfulFamily Engagement Program
6. Building Parent Capacity
Dual Capacity Building Framework
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future 14
Components of a SuccessfulFamily Engagement Program
7. Provide Professional Learning
English Learner Tool Kit for State and Local Education Agencies (SEAs and LEAs) (gadoe.org)Search | NCELA (ed.gov)
• Train staff members in engaging diverse families and communities.
• Provide cultural training for staff members
• Provide ongoing training
SLIDESMAN
IA
PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
Constructing Powerful “Virtual” Partnerships!Dawn Scott, Family Engagement Specialist, Family-School Partnership
SLIDESMAN
IA
Offering a holistic education to each and every child in our state.
Q&A –Thank You!
Brief Survey:https://tinyurl.com/ra62h9
Or scan the QR Code
www.gadoe.org@georgiadeptofed
youtube.com/georgiadeptofed
Offering a holistic education toeach and every childin our state.
