rmed and can help support teachers and their child.
Feedback and Focus Groups
A December 2017 feedback survey of teachers on HEARD showed that 100 percent of teachers surveyed said they would recommend HEARD to a fellow educator and 83% said HEARD met their needs “very well” or “extremely well.” Teachers agreed HEARD enables parent engagement (89%), is an effective tool in communicating with parents (83%), and supports home-school connections (78%).
A focus group with Spanish-speaking families showed that families like seeing what’s happening in class via HEARD and want more communication about learning concepts and how to support children at home. Another family focus group revealed that getting updates from the class and shared articles from other parents was the most useful aspect of HEARD and the level of detail teachers used when posting about class learning was the most liked aspect of HEARD.
Engaging More Families
For schools wanting to engage families, this can take various forms -- from creating better communication with families, creating a more welcoming school culture, hosting community events, inviting parents into policy decisions.
Some family engagement strategies often involve providing lists of items and activities for teachers to use to reach out to families and for families to do with their children. While this information dissemination strategy gives staff and families skills and tools, teachers and parents also need the opportunity to practice what they learn and receive feedback and coaching from each other, peers, and facilitators.
Some schools and teachers get the help of family engagement organizations -- like Families in Schools. These organizations provide teacher training, support teachers in facilitating in-person home visits, and in-person parent education. They also help to further the research and belief that a student’s learning should be a partnership between schools and families.
The U.S. Department of Education and Dr. Karen Mapp’s dual-capacity building framework for family-school partnerships has become one of central tools for conceptualizing the work of the family engagement movement.
Other Recommended Resources:
Microdemocracy in Schools: 5 Ways to Engage 21st Century Families by Judy Alexander
Dr. Joyce Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement