Odds-Beating Schools Overcome Barriers to Family Engagement

by Aaron Leo, NYKids Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate

Family engagement is linked with numerous positive academic outcomes, yet many schools struggle to establishing authentic partnerships with students’ families. The seven odds-beating schools explored in NYKids’ most recent study, however, demonstrate high levels of family engagement. These educators provide insight into how to break down barriers and create partnerships with families from diverse backgrounds. Six themes to family engagement emerged from our research on odds-beating schools:

Odds-beating Educators…

1.Attend to High-priority Needs

If their basic needs aren’t being met, which is fairly common when you talk poverty, mental health, and drug issues … [then] we’re never going to meet their academic needs. – Principal, Sherburne-Earlville

School staff at odds-beating schools sought to understand the context in which their students lived and attended to the urgent economic and social needs of families that may inhibit full involvement in their children’s schooling. In response to these needs, odds-beating school educators drew on district and community resources to provide relief for families in need.

2. Mix In Frequent, Varied, and Personalized Approaches to Engage Parents

There’s no reason why they [parents of English language learners] should feel intimidated because of a language barrier. – Support staff, Port Chester.

Widely varying forms of communication were used to engage parents in both informal and formal contexts. Educators and staff members established positive and trusting relationships with families by frequently reaching out to them, not only out of concern for their children, but also to give positive feedback. Moreover, educators at odds-beating schools utilized culturally-sensitive modes of communication such as in Freeport and Port Chester High Schools where Spanish-speaking families were accommodated by numerous bilingual and fluent staff members.

3. Take an “All Hands on Deck” Approach to Engage Parents

Everybody communicates with families. – School leader, Sherburne-Earlville

At odds-beating schools parental engagement was seen as a responsibility shared by all staff members. Educators and staff members took a team-based approach to family engagement and extended the notion of collaboration to relationships with families. Several odds-beating school leaders hired additional staff whose specific responsibility was to engage families and build relationships with them.

4. Make Links Between School and Community

You’re not the enemy— you’re the neighbor and the friend. – Teacher, Maple Grove

An intimate relationship with the surrounding community was continually described by educators as an important factor in engaging families. Many staff members had close ties with the surrounding community and either grew up or currently resided there. The close proximity allowed educators to forge positive relationships with families and create informal opportunities to interact with families. Community membership also provided educators with an insider’s view to families’ needs and added a layer of comfort to family-school interactions.

5. Widen Definitions of Parental Engagement

There are some parents who are more vocal than others, or some parents are more involved than the others. That doesn’t mean that the parents that we don’t see every day don’t care for their kids… whenever you ask them to do anything, they are there. They are involved. – District leader, Freeport

Educators at odds-beating secondary schools refuted narrow definitions of involvement in order to engage families in as many different ways as possible. Acknowledging that not all families participate in their children’s education in the same ways, staff members maintained the belief that families cared deeply about their children’s education and wanted to be involved in it regardless of their presence in formal school settings. They furthermore understood that past negative experiences with schools could present obstacles to full engagement and worked to avoid deficit language when describing their relationships with families.

6. Establish Trust and Build Relationships

It’s less school and more we want you here. “We want to see you.  We are so glad you’re here.”  That’s it.  To get people to feel like this is their school too.  – District leader, Alfred Almond

Educators and staff sought to build relationships based off of previous positive interactions with families. Creating a casual and informal climate was seen as a way to facilitate comfortable interactions with family members and share the school space more equitably.

Main Take-Away: Odds-beating school educators break down barriers to family engagement by responding to high-priority needs of families and acknowledging the multiple ways which families participate in their children’s education. To promote engagement, educators at odds-beating schools link school and community, and frequently communicate with parents in varied and culturally-appropriate ways to build trusting relationships. These findings from odds-beating schools provide a useful blueprint for schools seeking to engage with families and establish partnerships between schools and households. See more in the case studies.