Family Engagement

It takes effort and purposeful planning to build effective and meaningful family engagement with the families of our students and within the community. Often, it means new ways of thinking, responding, approaching, and including families, across the daily spectrum of activities, decisions, and information sharing that our school promotes. It can be doing something in a different way, or several methods, or changing a bias, or thinking outside the box. But, it is always worth it! Engaging families in our school system promotes real benefits for students in academics, behavior, transition, and their futures. It also can help staff and faculty gain better results, have a sense of partnership, and enjoy their jobs more, while building a sense of community - both inside and outside the walls of the school.

The FAMILIES TO THE MAX: Pennsylvania Statewide Family Network (F2MAX) is an organization of families and professionals advocating to presume competence and increase opportunities for students with disabilities who have not, historically, received the same grade-level, standards-aligned instruction provided to their same-age peers.

We presume that every child:

• Has unique thoughts, feelings, and ideas to share
• Interprets and communicates language in different ways, and for children whose first language is not English, communication may be even more diverse
• Has the ability to learn challenging academic content and skills
• Belongs and contributes to his class, school, family, and community

• Respected, recognized, and treated with dignity
• Regarded with the presumption of competence
• Listened to and provided with structures and supports, if needed, to be understood
• Taught the grade-level, academic content as same-age peers, with high expectations for learning
• Valued as a person
• Prepared for a life beyond school

• Do you believe that students with diverse needs should be provided the same opportunities as students without disabilities? COME JOIN US!

• Do you presume competence in all children’s abilities, regardless of their diagnoses or learning differences? Would you like to learn more? COME JOIN US!

• Are you interested in meeting and networking with dynamic parents across the state who share your same vision? COME JOIN US!

• Would you like to learn how to lead educational change for your child, as well as other students throughout Pennsylvania? COME JOIN US!

To join the FAMILIES TO THE MAX Network, click here for free membership enrollment.

For more information and to learn more about how you can make a difference, contact the F2MAX Network at f2max@pattan.net. Or you can call 1-800-441-3215, ext. 3262 or one of the Parent Partners listed below

The Parent Partners are a group of federally funded organizations that assist Pennsylvania families in helping their children achieve successful post-school outcomes, with oversight by the BSE (the Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education) – a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The BSE works collaboratively with the Parent Partners, educators, schools, agencies, and other stakeholders across Pennsylvania to ensure students have access to quality and meaningful education supports, services, and opportunities.

This series will provide families, students, and educators with information and insights to enhance youth and family members’ participation in the secondary transition process of the IEP. Interviews with families and students, sharing their experiences with transition planning will be used to guide discussions and learning. Participants will experience how to be active members in transition planning - before the IEP, during the IEP, and after the IEP. Sessions are on January 25, 2022 and April 26, 2022 from 2-3 pm. Register here.