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Family Engagement April 2023
February 2023
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Families and schools working together, because our students are worth it!
April is National Autism Awareness Month!
Celebrate individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), their families, and educators. Autism is a complex brain disorder that often inhibits a person’s ability to communicate, respond to surroundings, and form relationships with others. Learn more...
2023 Pennsylvania Department of Education Conference Highlights
Family Engagement:
Several sessions at the 2023 PDE Conference, Making a Difference, Educational Practices That Work! focused on effective family, school, and community engagement. Nationally and internationally recognized researchers, authors, and motivational speakers, such as Dr. Ross Greene, Dr. Steve Constantino, Dr. Tracy Gershwin, and Dr. Batya Elbaum, presented to enthusiastic audiences on topics of
- collaborative and proactive solutions
- the art of nurturing the family-professional partnership
- engaging every family
- promoting equitable practices with families of students with disabilities
- leadership for authentic family engagement and
- schools' support for parents of students with disabilities, including a panel of school and family team members
Families have a great deal to contribute to the overall development and capacity building of Pennsylvania's statewide education system. Several parents and family members attended as speakers, conference scholarship recipients, representatives of local task forces (LTFs), advocates, and school team members to learn, alongside their children's educators, about varied topics of the conference. Some examples of families' contributions to the event include serving as panelists on the Enhancing Family Engagement school teams' presentation, presenters at the P2G (Path to Graduation) Recognition Ceremony and the Pennsylvania Fellowship Program session, as well as providing family education and advocacy at vendor tables, such as the PEAL Center, HUNE, and the FAMILIES TO THE MAX Statewide Family Network.
Pennsylvania's Attract-Prepare-Retrain (APR)
APR is a priority of Pennsylvania's Bureau of Special Education (BSE), with a primary focus to attract skilled, compassionate, and diverse individuals to varied careers within the field of special education; prepare special education personnel by building capacity through targeted professional development, technical assistance, and supports; and retain special education personnel long term through the collective efforts of federal, state, and local entities.
Conference sessions on APR and an informational table in the vendor expo provided school, district, and institutions of higher education attendees opportunities to learn about this important effort and gain resources. To learn more, check out the APR Resource Repository.
Relaxation and Fun!
Conference attendees recharged in the Relaxation Room (new this year!), enjoyed game night (with competitive rounds of cornhole), and a fun, exciting performance and closing keynote address, Deaf and Loud, by Sean Forbes, hip-hop artist who happens to be deaf.
Sean Forbes, deaf hip-hop artist, co-founder of D-PAN (Deaf Professional Arts Network), and Superbowl LVI halftime show entertainer
Several members of the FAMILIES TO THE MAX Network representing statewide family empowerment organizations
BSE Directors, Drs. Carole Clancy and Amy Pastorak at the Attract-Prepare-Retain (APR) information area
Enhancing Family Engagement Team Training Series
In 2021, PaTTAN invited school teams to apply to participate in an 18-month, grant-funded training series, "Enhancing Family Engagement." The training promotes effective family engagement practices that will enhance trusting, collaborative, and productive relationships among school staff, families and community members to yield positive results for all students. This series is designed to assist a team of school leaders, specific staffs, and at least one family member in the assessment of their current family engagement practices and implement research- and evidence-based strategies to support family engagement. Teams participate in a series of five full-day learning and networking events, coupled with direct support from PaTTAN Family Engagement consultants.
All four teams shared a snapshot of their efforts, to date, at the Poster Session at the 2023 PDE Conference in Hershey.
Look for opportunities to be part of a future cohort of teams strengthening their school's, district's, and IU's family engagement teamwork.
Enhancing Family Engagement (EFE) Team Highlights!
We congratulate and highlight two of the EFE teams who are doing great things to build family-school partnerships!
HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy in Philadelphia implemented the family engagement assessment to school staff and families of students currently enrolled. Its goal was to determine families' needs that limited their engagement in their children's education at HMS, as well as address the needs of families of medically complex students with multiple disabilities enrolled in an out-of-district specialized school. The results were 'eye opening,' illuminating needs HMS thought they were satisfying. The school really listened to what families were saying, and the recognition of parent voice has led to more authentic, positive, and spirited family engagement.
HMS displayed some of its activities, strategies, and results from the survey at the PDE Conference Poster Session. The team also shared the story of its journey, to date, participating on a panel in Dr. Elbaum's family engagement session, Schools' Support for Parents of Students with Disabilities (pictured below.) Awesome job, HMS!
Panelists from HMS share with attendees in Dr. Elbaum's family engagement session.
Team members from HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy proudly pose with their family engagement poster at the PDE Conference.
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McKean Elementary School, a member of the General McLane School District in McKean, PA, has embraced the team training and surveyed its families, assessing its family engagement practices and efficacy. McKean's primary goal was to learn strategies to effectively change its approach to building vibrant partnerships with families and the community after the onslaught of the pandemic. Advertising the survey broadly, using a variety of methods, McKean received an incredible 70% response rate!
One discovery from the survey results was the desire of families to be empowered with knowledge, resulting in trainings on such topics as internet safety and literacy, with sessions accessible in person or virtually, to enable all families to attend. Families also wanted to rebuild their feeling of community, so the school returned to some in-person events, such as its Breakfast with Buddies--an event so popular, staff had to direct traffic for the throngs of participants.
McKean Elementary also provided a poster at the PDE Conference in Hershey, sharing some of the school's successes in family-school partnership efforts.
Way to go, McKean!
McKean Elementary School's Enhancing Family Engagement Team Poster displayed at the 2023 PDE Conference.
New PaTTAN family engagement training for paraprofessionals is available!
Students achieve great results when they are supported by families' and educators' taking an active role in their education. Paraprofessionals have a unique role in students' lives, as they provide many opportunities to help students throughout the day. In this session, participants will learn best practices, the importance of family engagement to students' success, and how paraprofessionals can do their part each day in the classroom to promote family and community engagement.
This training course, Paraprofessionals' Role in Family Engagement: A Key to Student Success, is the newest addition to PaTTAN's Special Education Paraprofessional Training Series, available on the Framewelder platform. For information on online courses for paraprofessionals and how to access them, visit PaTTAN's paraprofessional webpage.
Family Engagement Event Opportunities
Coffee Break at CAFE
Family Leaders and Family Engagement Professionals of Pennsylvania,
The CAFE (Collaborative Action for Family Engagement) team invites you to attend one of their two 30-minute info sessions for Maryland and Pennsylvania family leaders on April 12 at 10am and April 13 at 3:30. The sessions are open to all family leaders based in Maryland and Pennsylvania and will familiarize participants with the resources and hear about leadership at your very own statewide family engagement center. Please tune in and bring a friend!
Registration is required and is available here.
National PTA Standards Webinar Series
Join the Center for Family Engagement and the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) in learning about the updated National Standards for Family-School Partnerships from the National PTA Association. There is one session remaining in the webinar series:
Standard 6: Collaborate with Community
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 2:00 - 3:15 p.m.
Presenters include Whitney Fields, Director, Family Leadership, the National Center for Families Learning; Marco Harris, Principal, Highland High School, Albuquerque Public Schools; José Muñoz, Senior Director, Coalition for Community Schools & Institute for Educational Leadership; Moderator Kristi Swett, President, National School Boards Assocation; and other panelists.
Also, check out the 2023 National PTA Virtual Convention, June 15-24, by downloading the National PTA events mobile app.
2023 National Family Engagement Summit
Join PaTTAN and hundreds of educators, administrators, community organization members, and family-facing practitioners at this year's National Family Engagement Summit, hosted by NAFSCE (National Association of Family, School, and Community Engagement) and Successful Innovations, Inc.® Participate virtually or attend in person in Kansas City, MO. Collaborate on goals for equitable family engagement, best practices, and ideas for school transformation and students' success.
Just for registering, you may receive a complimentary membership to NAFSCE!
For more information and to register, click here.
The mission of the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) is to support the efforts and initiatives of the Bureau of Special Education, and to build the capacity of local educational agencies to serve students who receive special education services.