Claire was trained to conduct relationship-building home visits when she became a DCPS Pre-K teacher. She worked alongside an experienced teacher at her school who had partnered with Flamboyan in previous school years. She quickly saw home visits’ positive impact on her ability to partner with students’ families. Her Flamboyan “mentor” was also a trainer, and Claire learned many other best practices for family engagement through her. As a direct result of the trust and open communication, she started building with families through home visits. Her whole perspective on working with parents changed and has greatly impacted her classroom. Several years later, an opportunity to apply to be a trainer arose, and she was eager to share what she learned with other educators.
As a special education teacher in DCPS’ Communication and Education Supports program, Claire primarily works with students newly diagnosed with autism or significant developmental delays. Many parents start the school year off nervous about sending a child to a school that may not be able to communicate their wants and needs, and there are all sorts of emotions to process around the diagnosis itself and the next steps to take. Claire noticed that some families are understandably hesitant to open up with her and found that REAL Family Engagement strategies have helped her break down barriers and create a space for open conversations about family members’ hopes, goals, dreams, and even fears related to their child’s disability. REAL Family Engagement has turned her students’ parents into her partners, and she feels proud of what they can accomplish together — one of Claire’s initially hesitant parents was so impacted by REAL Family Engagement that she joined here as a Flamboyan trainer! Claire will never forget the first parent-teacher conference where this parent let her child “lead” the conversation and demonstrate the skills he was using in the classroom. She was so excited about this work! Now they get to share their story together.
What excites you about your role as a Flamboyan Trainer and Ambassador?
I love hearing other teachers’ stories about how partnering with families has impacted their practice. At the same time, I also think it’s important to support teachers in having collaborative conversations about how to address some of the common challenges that can come up when trying to build relationships with families — when we come together as a group and discuss this, we can leave with new strategies to try.
What else is important for folks to know about you?
I’m a parent AND a teacher! I have two children, including one who recently entered elementary school, so I’m new to navigating parent/teacher relationships from the perspective of a family member. It has definitely given me new things to consider. I am always willing to learn more and try new things, and as my own children encounter the highs and lows of education, I’m taking those lessons back to relationships in my own classroom.