Before becoming a trainer, Jaleel was a part of his school’s Family Engagement Leadership Team (FELT) and participated in one of the Flamboyan fellowships for family engagement. Being new to K-12 education, it was really important for him to intentionally learn more about how to incorporate families into student success and how he can better empower families in supporting their student’s success.
Leaning into REAL Family Engagement allowed Jaleel to connect with students and families when addressing attendance concerns after COVID. He had a lot of assumptions about what families could do or understand about supporting their students or collaborating with the school. And through the REAL Family Engagement, he truly understood how to best partner with families to make sure that their student’s needs were being met, refer helpful resources, and see the student’s attendance and grades improve in real-time.
What excites you about your role as a Flamboyan Trainer?
I’m excited about seeing educators take the work many of them are already doing and helping them align their practices to support students and families.
What else is important for folks to know about you?
I believe in family engagement so much because it provides support for everyone to share their stories. Some of my educational background is in screenwriting and playwriting, so hearing the stories of educators, students, and their families is heartwarming. I think all of those stories remind us of the why.