The authors discuss the need to have a mutli-facted approach to family engagement. They suggest tailoring family suppports and engagement based upon the family's specific needs.
Bachman, H. F., & Boone, B. J. (2022). A Multi-Tiered Approach to Family Engagement: No two families are alike, so why should schools’ approach to supporting families be cookie cutter? Educational Leadership, 80(1), 58–62.
This activity book was developed for African American families after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The hands-on activities and materials provide parents the resources to help students cope with extraordinary crises. Leaders of national African American organizations as well as health professional helped to identify information and strategies that would be meaningful to families coping with crisis. Contents and activities included: 1. Inspire Hope in Your Child 2. Be Still and Listen to Your Child 3. Support, Comfort, and Love You Child 4. Give you Child information that is Age-Appropriate 5. Help You Child Feel Safe 6. Make a Plan for Your Child for Emergencies 7. Help Your Child Feel Good about Himself 8. Pay Attention to What Your Child Watches on TV 9. Share you Faith with Your Child
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development & National Black Development Institute. 2003.An Activity Book for African American Families: Helping Children Cope with Crisis. Rockville, Maryland: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) https://www.nbcdi.org/sites/default/files/resource-files/Activity%20Book%20for%20African%20American%20Families%20-%20Helping%20Children%20Cope%20with%20Crisis_0.pdf
The report offers case studies of four guiding actions in practice of SEL and family partnerships. The report includes these guiding actions for school staff: (1) Begin with family priorities, (2) Transform power dynamics; (3) Build reciprocity and agency; and (4) Undertake change as collective inquiry.
Skoog-Hoffman, A., Coleman, B., Nwafor, E., Lozada, F., Olivo-Castro, S., & Jagers, R. (2023). Building Authentic School-Family Partnerships through the Lens of Social and Emotional Learning. Social and Emotional Learning Innovations Series. In Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.
The author discusses the need to get past school-centric activities and take steps to create more generative relationships with families.
Dugan, J. (2022). Co-Constructing FAMILY ENGAGEMENT: Educators need to get past school-centric activities and take steps to create more generative relationships with families. Educational Leadership, 80(1), 20–26.
The authors presents a research-based conference strategy designed to cultivate a trusting relationship between families and educators, referred to as Building Equitable Trusting Relationships (BETR). Critical to this three step trust-building process is understanding one's own and the site/district' culture and how that impacts the process.
Lindo, E. J., Kyzar, K. B., & Gershwin, T. (2023). Cultural Considerations for Building Equitable and Trusting Relationships (BETR) With All Families. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599231161799
This article provides a method to bridge home to school through the use of a home to school bi-lingual journal which validates the experiences of Latinx families and learners and integrates it into the curriculum.
Lopez, M., Butvilofsky, S. A., Le, K., & Gumina, D. (2022). Project Recuerdo: Honoring Latinx Families’ Knowledge Within the School. Reading Teacher, 75(4), 429–440. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2062
The article focuses on the process of empathy interviews and how they can tranform the relationships between families and schools. The author suggest a number of factors that affect the empathy interview process.
Jones, C. (2022). The Power of Empathy Interviews in Family Engagement. Educational Leadership, 80(1), 28–33.
