Supporting strong family partnerships is a powerful way to support student success and benefits the whole school community. The start of a new school year serves as an ideal opportunity to set foundations for family engagement that will last all year. By fostering early connections, administrators can create a culture of collaboration and clear communication, strengthening the school-family relationship.
The importance of family engagement in education
Following quality teachers, family engagement in schools is a key factor contributing to student achievement. After all, student success stems from a shared commitment among families and schools to collaborate and support students. When families are engaged, students are more likely to thrive. From increased student achievement, improved classroom behavior, to boosted teacher morale, there are many benefits from a strong family-school partnership.
Strategies to increase family engagement
While it’s clear that parents and guardians of all backgrounds are interested in their children’s academic success, fewer families may know what they can do to help their children succeed. So how can you help foster family engagement and positive relationships, allowing families to get involved with their child’s academics? Read on to discover our strategies to nurture strong family relationships.
Build family partnerships at the start of the year
Research shows that the earlier family engagement strategies and partnerships are established, the more effective they are in supporting student success. Back-to-school season is an excellent time to implement new strategies and build foundations for the school year to come. Explore some ideas to implement at your school.
Encourage welcome messages and provide templates for staff to introduce themselves and their teaching philosophy.
Reframe open-house events by guiding teachers to use these events as opportunities to build relationships, not just share information.
Promote clear goal setting and set a framework for sharing student learning goals.
Highlight early family contributions and celebrate early wins to create a positive environment.
Invite parents to partner with the school
Many parents may not know which steps they should take to get involved with their child’s education, and schools might not know how to initiate collaboration with parents. As educators, we can’t expect families to get involved without showing them how. Create a plan with your teachers and team to work with parents as partners.
For best results, make efforts to listen and support families, offer parents training on learning resources, provide ways to monitor their child’s progress, and share your common goals.
Create opportunities for family involvement
Invite parents and other family members to get involved with daily activities. Family members can visit their child’s classroom, partake in classroom or field trip volunteering, and attend teacher-parent meetings. Initiating dialogues with parents provides another powerful opportunity for families to support their child’s education and serve as a rich resource for schools.
Launch public forums, surveys, and Q&As to give parents feedback opportunities.
Offer volunteer opportunities that match parent availability.
Ensure translation or interpretation services are available for multilingual families.
Align on student success goals
Teachers and parents have a shared objective of helping children succeed in and out of the classroom. Parents always like to know how their child is doing, and also seek to prioritize their child's needs and experiences. Create a communication plan to share goals with families, and ask them to share theirs. Together, teachers and parents can ensure students are meeting objectives and getting their needs met.
Consider time constraints
One of the biggest roadblocks to parental involvement is lack of time, from both parents and teachers. To prioritize family engagement in your school and foster partnerships, make sure teachers have dedicated time in their day. Make it clear all faculty are expected to participate in the school’s efforts, and give them the time to do so. An effective engagement plan should also include ways for families to support their students on their own schedule.
Encourage student learning at home
Parents can support their student’s school readiness at home, reinforcing the family-school partnership and helping their children reach goals. When parents have discussions and ask questions about what their child is learning, it can deepen their conceptual understanding. Families can also familiarize themselves with the resources their child is using and help their child reach their learning objectives at home.
Support family engagement year-round
Although back-to-school season is a great time to build family-school relationships, family engagement should last throughout the school year. Admins can create a year-round plan for ongoing collaboration, celebrate accomplishments, and leverage holidays and school breaks to maintain connections.
Maintain consistency by planning regular time for engagement throughout the year, and use consistent communication methods.
Use holidays and breaks as touchpoints through seasonal updates and family recognition.
Reconnect after school breaks by sending surveys or welcome back messages to refresh communication channels.
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