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The School Leader Tool | Domain 4: High-Quality + Equitable Practices

DOMAIN 4 |

HIGH-QUALITY EQUITABLE PRACTICES

All families experience a meaningful partnership based on trust and consistent communication, regardless of their child’s grade or classroom.

THE WHY

REAL Family Engagement happens when families play key roles to accelerate student learning and are equipped to play these roles through quality family engagement experiences. To ensure that all families have access to these kinds of experiences at school, leaders should work to ensure there is a school-wide approach to relationship building, academic partnering, and communicating with all families. Leaders are responsible for investing all members of the school community in a collective commitment to quality practice. Just as leaders support teacher development in curricular knowledge or instructional practice, family engagement is an educator skill that schools can develop through targeted and differentiated professional development opportunities.

Domain 4

REFLECTION PROMPTS + SAMPLE LEADER ACTIONS

  • Develop the school’s approach to family engagement to give families information, resources, and school-based partners.
  • Identify specific strategies teachers will use to build trusting relationships with families at the start of the school year, like home visits and welcome calls. Explicitly connect the importance of relationship-building to other family engagement strategies.
  • When sharing resources and information, make sure they are accessible both in language and word choice (i.e., stay away from education jargon).
  • Ensure families experience meaningful engagement outside of school-based events.
  • Use exit tickets or surveys after conferences or events to assess families’ experiences and measure impact and success.
  • Establish systems for teachers to collect and reflect on family engagement data alongside other data streams and demographic data.
  • Model vulnerability and reflection in your own approach to analyzing data.
  • Ensure all data – especially qualitative data – include a diverse set of voices and perspectives.
  • Ensure all school staff can clearly articulate what quality family engagement looks and sounds like, specifically relationship building, academic partnering, and ongoing communication.
  • Provide staff with clear expectations on what quality looks and sounds like as it relates to your key family engagement practices, like home visits, conferences, or ongoing communication.
  • Observe and provide feedback on family engagement practices, like parent-teacher conferences or family communication.
  • Design professional development for educators based on trends in observed strengths and areas for growth and actively seek out resources as needed.
  • Collect family feedback to assess the quality and impact of family engagement practices.
  • Share what families say in feedback with your staff and supervisors.
  • Allow teachers to differentiate their approach to meet the needs of all families.

Academic Partnering Toolkit for Teachers

In this toolkit, teachers will find practices, tips, and tools to make the most out of academic partnering with families.

Academic Partnering Companion Guide for School Leaders

This guide provides school leaders with a checklist for supporting an effective academic partnership between families and teachers.

Beginning of the Year Relationship Building Toolkit

Designed for educators and school, district, and LEA leaders, this tool gives insight into building intentional, thoughtful relationships at the beginning of the year.

Overview

The School Leader Tool

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DOMAIN 1: EMBEDDED FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

Family engagement is a living and breathing part of the culture, systems, and structures of the school.

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DOMAIN 2: FOSTERING ASSET-BASED BELIEFS ABOUT FAMILIES

The school community recognizes the assets and strengths of all students and families and interrupts bias and deficit beliefs.

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DOMAIN 3: LISTENING TO FAMILIES

School improvements and innovations are informed by a diverse sampling of family input, especially from those who have been historically excluded from decision making.

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