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February 19, 2019 – Volume 2, Issue 1
Webinars featuring Minnesota's family engagement bright spots
This month we’re kicking off a series of conversations to highlight the inspiring family and community engagement work happening across Minnesota.
February 28, 9 a.m. – Meeting families and communities where they are – Anishinabe Academy leaders are increasing input and engagement by going out to a welcoming community space and condensing multiple family and community meetings into one.
March – date and webinar link coming soon – Building the bridge – Lucy Laney at Cleveland Park Elementary is committed to ensuring that students and families see their teachers and school leaders in their community and their faces and experiences reflected inside the school and throughout the curriculum.
April – date and webinar link coming soon – Implementing a family engagement committee – John A. Johnson Achievement (JAJ) Plus Elementary in is expanding their family-community liaison’s impact through the JAJ Family Engagement Committee.
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A Parent or Guardian's Guide to School For families new to the country
The Minnesota Department of Education’s new handbook for parents or guardians is now available on the Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success (LEAPS) page of the MDE website. The handbook was a department-wide collaborative effort to describe and explain the public school system in Minnesota and the role families can play in their child’s education.
The handbook is a practical guide to help parents or guardians new to the country understand their student’s rights as well as the opportunities and resources available to the families and students. The handbook covers topics such as the enrollment process, participation in special education and gifted education, adult education, and English language development programs. Many more topics relevant to parents and guardians navigating the school system, often for the first time, are offered in this important resource. Also included are sample letters for parents or guardians to use in various situations concerning their child such as absences or requesting a meeting with a teacher. The electronic handbook is designed to be translated and updated as available. Please contact the LEAPS team if you have any questions or requests.
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Family-Community Engagement Training Opportunities and Resources
Global Family Research Project introduces the Next Generation Family Engagement
Global Family Research Project’s October 2018 report, Joining Together to Create a Bold Vision for Next Generation Family Engagement: Engaging Families to Transform Education acknowledges the challenges that schools and parents have faced in cultivating and aligning family engagement programs and policies, and highlights five “high-leverage” areas for maximizing impact, such as initiatives to help parents navigate educational data.
Jacksonville ISD’s Family Engagement Plan
This district-level Family Engagement Plan prioritizes five strategies for fostering campus-family relationships and providing opportunities for families to participate in their children’s’ education. Parts of this resource may be useful to share with school staff, families, and students during stakeholder feedback and planning meetings.
University of Minnesota Extension – Partnering for School Success
The University of Minnesota Extension’s Parent-School Partnership webpage has curriculum resources, videos, and training opportunities for family engagement professionals to help strengthen the interaction and partnerships between parents and children, and parents and schools. Scroll down to the other partnership resources for helpful guidelines for addressing persistent family engagement barriers, such as Practices that promote schools as welcoming communities.
A tool for educators to share with parents
Produced by NBC News Learn and supported by Pearson, the Parent Toolkit is a one-stop resource developed with parents in mind. It includes information about almost every aspect of a child’s development, because they're all connected. Parent Toolkit advice even covers important topics for young adults navigating life after high school. Share these helpful articles with parents through newsletters, personal emails, and social media posts.
Become a sponsor for the 2019 summer food service program
"We need to tackle inequities head on, and that includes filling the nutrition gap," says Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker. "The Summer Food Service Program brings together entire communities and volunteers to help our students return to school in the fall ready to learn. I would like to thank everyone involved in the summer foods program for their help, and I want to encourage anyone interested to get involved. Nutrition is essential, so pulling together to ensure our students have what they need helps them reach their success. I hope you’ll join us.” Learn more about the summer food service program.
2019 National Family and Community Engagement Conference, July 10-12 – Reno, Nevada
A professional development and networking opportunity, sponsored by the Institute for Educational Leadership. State leaders, school and district leaders, administrators, educators, community-based organizations, researchers and families will come together and focus on solutions that enhance and expand engagement and improve student success through family-school-community partnerships. With pre-conference sessions, site-visits, eight deep dives and over 70 workshops covering six strands, participants will gain new skills and strategies that they can immediately apply to their work. Learn more about and register to attend the 2019 National Family and Community Engagement conference.
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Jackie Blagsvedt | School Improvement Program Specialist
651-582-8805 | jackie.blagsvedt@state.mn.us
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