New and Improved - Revisit Five Simple Principles and Engage With Every Family

Why haven’t we been more successful in engaging every family in the educational lives of their children? Why do we still struggle with the notion of engaging every family as a conduit to improved student learning?

This book outlines a pathway and process to engage every family, including those families that have been traditionally disengaged or disenfranchised. Updates to this second edition include updated research to ensure a firmer foundation for each of its five simple principles as well as:

   - Reflections about implicit bias, equitable learning outcomes, and the role family engagement plays
   - A deeper dive into the idea of family efficacy, or empowering families to work alongside teachers for improved learning
   - A nuanced switch from building to developing relationships, and how trust is at the core of that subtle difference

Join Dr. Steve Constantino as he shares what he has learned and how he has improved the Five Simple Principles for family engagement and its powerful effects upon student achievement.

 

 

 

Foreword
Preface
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1: Would Every Family Choose You?
Customers Make Paydays Possible
Every Opportunity Is a Marketing Opportunity
Some Ideas to Get Started
Reality, Perceptions, and Beliefs
Finally, the Secret to Success!
The Importance of Caring
The Importance of Process
The Need for Leadership
Chapter 2: A Quick Note About Motivating Teachers
Three Kinds of Teachers: A Slightly Humorous Look
Can I Get a Copy of That?
My Dumb Idea
Chapter 3: Equity, Bias, and Family Disengagement
Isn’t Forever Long Enough?
What Is Equity?
Culturally Responsive Family Engagement
Implicit Bias
Why Do Families Disengage?
The Cycle of Disengagement
Why Some Families Stay Away From Schools
The Very Few
Case Study: Ernest B.
Chapter 4: Engaging Every Family in Middle and High School
Why Do Families Disengage From Secondary Schools?
Academic Socialization and Home-Based Engagement
Designing Family Engagement at the Secondary School Level
Chapter 5: An Introduction to the Five Simple Principles
Where to Start
Introducing the Five Simple Principles
The Logic Model
The Five Simple Principles Further Defined
Chapter 6: Principle #1: A Culture that Engages Every Family
Culture Drives Everything
Cultures and Subcultures
Cultural Challenges
Breaking the Cycle
School Culture Defined
School District Inconsistency with Families
Start With Policy
Culture Case Study: The Science Project
Creating a Culture to Engage Every Family
Chapter 7: Principle #2: Communicate Effectively and Develop Relationships
It’s the Little Things
Case Study: I Know What They Think of Me
Understanding the Importance of Relationships
With Families
Working With the “Hard to Reach”
Home Visits
Working With Families With Limited English Proficiency
Engaging With Families of Children With Special Needs
Case Study: Jonathan and the Self-Contained English Class
The Role of Fear and Trust in Relationships With Families
Case Studies: What Could Have Been Done Differently?
Ideas to Promote Trusting Relationships Between Schools and Every Family
The Welcoming Environment of Schools
Customer Service
Welcoming Every Family
Issues and Solutions in Communicating With Families
Connecting Communication and Relationships With Technology
Communicate Effectively and Build Relationships
Chapter 8: Principle #3: Build Family Efficacy
What Is Efficacy?
The Weekly Folder
Creating the Transparent School
Case Study: Class Isn’t the Same Without You
Family–Student–Teacher Conferences
Do We Need to Interact With Every Family?
What Motivates Families?
Interactive Homework Design: Invisible Engagement
Sharing Data With Families
Case Study: Trying to Talk to the Math Teacher
Case Study: Teaching Responsibility?
A Critical Component of Inviting Family Participation
Building Successful Relationships That Promote Family Efficacy
Chapter 9: Principle #4: Engage Every Family In Decision Making
Problems and Solutions
Where We Are Today
Let Every Family Have a Say
A Working Definition
How to Select Families
Getting Back to the Tip of the Spear
Case Study: The Uniform Policy
Chapter 10: Principle #5: Engage The Greater Community
The Power of Community
Social Capital and Modern School–Community Partnerships
Community Schools and Asset Mapping
The Advantages of Community Schools
The Start of an Asset Map
The Idea of Collective Impact
How Community Connections Can Help
The Necessary Ingredients for Successful Community Engagement
The Benefits of Engaging the Community
Additional Benefits of School–Community Partnerships
Designing Community Engagement
Chapter 11: Taking Action And Measuring Success
Start with Data
Goal Statements
Now It’s Your Turn
Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles
Epilogue: Exceeding Expectations
Two Huge Questions
References
Index