Reframing the Conversation: How to Talk About Family and Community Engagement So People Will Listen
Join us for this interactive training institute where you will learn new strategies to gain support for your family engagement programs and policies, and ultimately shift the conversation from family and community engagement being “nice to have” to being a “must have.”
Who:
The intended audience for this institute is district leaders, family engagement coordinators, state education agency officials, and educators in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
When:
Session 1: Tuesday, December 1, 2020, 3:00 – 4:30 pm ET
Session 2: Wednesday, December 9, 2020, 3:00 – 4:30 pm ET
Session 3: Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 3:00 – 4:30 pm ET
Registrants must commit to attending all three sessions.
More Information:
New research shows that many people believe that family engagement depends on how much the adults in a child’s life – especially parents and teachers – “care.” This leads to a common myth/misconception that lower-income families do not engage because they do not value education.
Rooted in bias, these misunderstandings create big problems for advocates who are trying to gain support for well-structured family engagement programs and strategic policies that have the potential to advance equity in our education system, and ultimately close the achievement gap.
What stands between current public thinking and widespread adoption of family and community engagement as a core educational strategy is better communication.
Training Outcomes:
As a result of this training, attendees will be able to:
- Identify the significant differences between how experts explain family engagement and how the public, practitioners, and policymakers feel about it.
- Discuss why these differences are getting in the way of family and community engagement programs and policies getting the support and buy-in they need to succeed.
- Explain new framing strategies that shift family engagement from being “nice to have” to a “must have.”
- Apply those strategies when communicating with parents, caregivers, administrators, practitioners, and others.
Special Request
Registrants are invited and encouraged to send their own communications (newsletters, emails, photos, graphics, flyers, etc.) to our team for review prior to the sessions. Your communications may be used as part of our training! Please email your contributions to admin@nafsce.org.
Visit famengage.org to learn more about the research and recommendations.
