Building Strong Family Connections

By Rita Fuller and Tim Peerenboom, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Why Family Engagement Matters

Schools and Districts often tout attendance rates at parent-teacher conferences, Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) meetings, back to school nights, and special events such as student performances or competitions as evidence of strong family engagement, and rightfully so.  Schools should take pride in such things.  It is no small feat in today’s busy world to get nearly all parents to take time out of their hectic schedules to meet with their child’s teacher.  It is wonderful when the PTO has many willing participants to support the school with their time and energy.  And it makes kids feel great when they have a large crowd cheering them on or supporting them in music, academic or athletic competitions, or when they are showcasing visual or musical talents at school plays, art shows or music recitals.  

When we point to such things as a point of pride in our school communities, we are implicitly acknowledging something that research has been demonstrating for decades.  Family engagement is a vital component of student success because it is evidence-based, inclusive and culturally responsive.  John Hattie’s famous meta-analyses captured in his publications, Visible Learning, suggest an effect size of 0.50 for “Parental Involvement,” compared to an “average” effect size for all interventions of 0.40.  The Council for Exceptional Children’s High Leverage Practices for Inclusive Classrooms  includes collaboration with families as one of its 22 practices identified as “integral to supporting student learning.”  And finally, The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has compiled a summary of research demonstrating the connection between cultural responsiveness, family engagement and achievement.

Given the research evidence as well as the value that schools clearly place on activities intended to promote family engagement, it is worthwhile to ask which families in our school community are not engaged, and why?  A 2015 Pew Research Survey indicated that across demographic groups (gender, race, education level, income level, marital status), a majority of parents wish they could be more involved in their child’s education.  So while it is easy (and all too common) to infer that the parent does not value their child’s education when they do not attend a parent teacher conference, an IEP meeting or a school sponsored event, it is most likely not the real reason the parent may be disengaged.  More likely, it is an issue with the culture and practices and of the school or district.

It is important then, for schools and districts to investigate the reasons parents may be disengaged.  The barriers to strong family engagement may be easy to identify, but difficult to address.  A good first step may be to look at your data to see if there are demographic patterns in how frequently parents engage with the school.  If certain demographic groups are less engaged, or certain activities elicit lower participation, school leadership teams should engage in culturally responsive problem solving strategies to ensure that untrue, unfounded or unalterable attributions are not used to blame parents or families for a lack of engagement.  

A second step to help identify why families and parents may be disengaged is to simply ask them.  Oftentimes, when we refer to parents as “disengaged,” we are actually talking about parents who have been marginalized or oppressed by our systems.  Elena Aguilar provides an example of this in her 2016 Edutopia Article: “Family Engagement: Engaging the Disengaged,” quoting a parent who does not approach her child’s school due to the negative experience she had as a student herself at the very same school.  Other barriers created and perpetuated by our systems include parents’ lack of confidence to assist their children with school work, cultural differences between the school and home environments, or a lack of financial resources resulting in an inability to find childcare or transportation (often prerequisites for traditional opportunities for parent engagement such as back to school night or parent-teacher conferences).  

Once the reasons for the disengagement have been identified, schools and districts can begin to build trust, remove barriers and engage families in authentic engagement that can yield positive results for students, the school and the community.  Thus, the third step toward improving family engagement is to take intentional actions to engage the disengaged.  The remainder of this article will provide practical strategies to increase and improve family engagement.

High Impact Family Engagement Strategies

Engaging Families through Technology

Learning is affected by many variables that can have either positive or negative impacts on students. Family engagement is a variable that crosses over into many other aspects of student learning. Consequently, school districts should focus on and improve family engagement, especially with unreached and disconnected families, to ensure that desired educational goals are achieved. One strategy to improve family engagement is  the use of technology to improve teacher and parent communication as well as improve  parent’s access to information  so they are able to better engage in their child’s learning. Moreover, building the capacity of parents to access information about their child is important since it also avoids disconnection which can lead to a lack of trust between parents and educators.  Thus, high-impact family engagement strategies such as improving communication and linked to learning strategies encourages collaboration and community engagement in student learning. 

Ways School Districts Can Connect with Unreached or Disconnected Families through Technology

Learning is affected by internal and external factors that require proactive action from stakeholders to eliminate identified barriers. Consequently, school districts should embrace collaborative and innovative approaches to reach disadvantaged students and their families. According to Bendici, technology is an important asset that allows teachers and school districts to engage with unreached and disconnected families when used correctly. For example, technology enables school districts to translate materials to overcome language barriers among students and parents. This approach is crucial because the education system accommodates students from different countries, nationalities, languages, and backgrounds. Further, technology improves communication and facilitates connection with disconnected families. Thus, digital platforms can be leveraged to establish contact with parents at times when the parent is best able to support their child and engage with schools. 

It is not enough just to offer technology to parents that enables them to access information about their child and engage in their child’s learning and expect parents to utilize it.  Capacity building opportunities  must  be offered to parents and family members  outside the classroom to support their engagement in the use of technology. Therefore,  administrators should ensure that schools offer training opportunities to enable parents and family members to build capacity to engage in technology as a tool for family engagement. Bendici holds that training stakeholders on using technology improves connection with disengaged families. For instance, training educators and parents on different aspects of school using videos improves overall parental engagement. Using videos can help foster  two-way communication and  opportunities for engagement  since teachers and parents can interact at their convenience. The approach creates effective partnerships since the needs and perspectives of all interested parties are addressed through improved access. Therefore, while this use of technology is effective, it requires investment in appropriate infrastructure and capacity building of both educators and families to ensure the system functions optimally. 

Trust and honesty are critical ingredients concerning engagements with unreached and disconnected families. School districts should prioritize transparency to encourage contact among stakeholders. Bendici says that  nurturing trust has a positive bearing on unreached and disconnected families. For example, creating a welcoming environment reduces parents' tensions since some suffer from significant traumas and historical challenges within the district. Honesty is also vital since it demonstrates that the system is transparent and strives to improve the education of learners ("The Dual Capacity-Building Framework"). Thus, using technology may be one way to remove potential barriers some families may feel when the only opportunity for engagement with school is through in-person experiences.  School administrators should thus view access to education holistically to enable all partners to participate in the process.

The Difference Between High Impact Family Engagement vs. Low Impact Family Engagement 

The type of family engagement districts focus upon has a correlational effect on student outcomes. Therefore, educators should be aware of the different levels of impact for commonly used family engagement efforts to determine if those efforts are correlated with  meaningful family engagement shown to improve outcomes for students.  According to Dr. Steve Constantino, Engage Every Family, high-impact family engagement is characterized by engaging environments and processes. As an illustration,  high-impact family engagement in schools promotes cultural competency by welcoming parents to participate in the educational process. Furthermore, it facilitates effective communication through stakeholder engagement. Moreover,  high-impact family engagement incorporates parents in the decision-making process to nurture inclusivity and ownership of the actions taken. Examples of high-impact family engagement include, but are not limited to two-way conversations, shared decision-making, family efficacy-based activities, home learning support, interactive homework assignments, and home visits. Finally, engaging external resources within the community is critical to success since community members possess assets and talents beneficial to learning that the school might lack. 

In contrast, low-impact family engagement is not culturally competent since it is  inward-looking. Lack of communication is apparent since transparency is not prioritized. Parent-teacher conferences, or other opportunities for welcoming parents into the educational process, are few and far between, which reduces collaboration. Communication structures are built on what is most efficient for school staff without considering the unique needs of families.  Moreover, the role of the community is not well defined, which undermines opportunities for bringing in diverse perspectives on learning. Examples of low-impact family engagement include, but are not limited to one-way school website or social media messages, volunteering, reading logs, and school events like open houses that are not linked to learning opportunities. It is recommended school districts remove a few low-impact family engagement practices, and replace them with one or two high-impact family engagement practices that are results oriented. 

Why Does High-Impact Family Engagement Matter?

High-impact family engagement that is linked to learning activities yields positive results for students. For example, high-impact family engagement results in positive outcomes, such as improved student performance and decreased disciplinary incidents due to healthy teacher, student, and parent relationships. Parents, when fully resourced, especially on the technological front, improve their participation in their children's life. Family engagement prevents teenagers from engaging in risky behavior due to the two-way communication established between parents and teachers. Moreover, family engagement encourages families  to participate in decision-making, resulting in higher engagement and  commitment. Working collaboratively enables educators to identify students and their families' unique needs, allowing a school  to provide the necessary and relevant resources 

Examples of High-Impact Family Engagement

Highlighting and recognizing school districts that perform well in providing high-impact family engagement opportunities is an effective strategy to improve the performance of less experienced schools. For instance, the Wisconsin Statewide Parent-Educator Initiative (WSPEI) is achieving positive results in supporting the growth of individual schools and districts to move towards high-impact family engagement. WSPEI helps school leadership to  prioritize a district- wide high-impact family engagement strategy. In turn, the district uses the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model to develop and monitor its activities. Home visits are also crucial for school districts to establish the necessary relationships with families . Please see a  video testimonial outlining the benefits of home visiting on a school's family engagement efforts. 

Additionally, Interactive Family Engagement Homework involves a blend of technology and homework with family involvement. The strategy leverages three-way communication between the teacher, parent, and student. It provides families a preview of what their child is learning, builds family efficacy by welcoming families into the learning process, empowers families to participate, and shifts focus from homework to family interactions that support classroom learning. In this high-impact technique, educators welcome and engage families into the planning and learning process, while not requiring them to learn the curriculum to participate, nor fulfill a monitor or compliance responsibility.  This is important, as it affords families the latitude to get inside the classroom and support their child’s learning from the convenience of their own home. 

Summary

The research is clear that parents, family members, and other community members are critical to improving students' learning process.  The evidence is also clear that educators and schools value family engagement.  Additionally, providing opportunities for high-impact family engagement results in positive outcomes, and not just in improved child and student outcomes. Therefore, school districts should develop interactive engagement approaches with families and community members to foster the attainment of school and district educational goals.