An analysis of the issues facing educators and districts concerning family engagement, and the need to evolve our structures accordingly

1. Catalyst for Change:
Family Engagement for the Post-Covid World
Contact: Joseph M. Fratoni 610-909-5708 jfratoni@onegreenapple.com
150 N. Radnor Chester Road, Suite F-200, Radnor, PA 19087

2. Our Mission
“To Strengthen the Parents’ Voice into the
Education of Their Children
and Measure the Resulting Students’
Achievement and Improvement.”

3. Some parents have low levels of
school-related skills or they can’t
communicate in English (US DOE &
US Dept of HHS, 2000)
They may have bad
memories of their own
school experiences
(Funkhouser & Gonzales, 1997)
They may be overwhelmed by
other realities of their families’ lives
or lack transportation (Sanders & Sheldon,
2009)
Immigrant families may avoid all school
contact for fear of being questioned,
detained, or deported as illegal
immigrants- even if they have legal
status (Wherry, 2010)
They may feel that school culture is
foreign to them (Boethal, 2003)
Barriers to Family Engagement
Over 30% of US families are led by a single parent; the majority of these are at risk: 11,000,000 kids

4. Covid-19: Lessons from the past year
• Plans can be dashed quickly
• Everyone is overwhelmed: families,
teachers, administrators
• Disparities and the achievement gap
cannot be ignored
• We are never going back to “normal”
The role of families in education is increasing
Parent Coordinators can have greater impact

5. Maximizing Resources (~ Time)
• How do we make the most of our time?
• Parent Coordinators are responsible for all families
• Spending resources (time) to those who need it most
can hurt our performance evaluation
• How do we maximize our performance?
• Equality vs. Equity

6. Illustrating Equality vs Equity

7. Challenges to Family, School &
Community Engagement (FSCE)
• Current climate of school reform disregards importance of FSCE.
• Professionals are isolated; relegated to low status.
• Few education organizations give FSCE priority.
• Educators are unprepared to engage families.

8. • Research confirms the need for greater teacher preparation
around family engagement.
• Just 33% of teachers surveyed reported having a satisfactory
relationship with families. (MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, 2008)
• Millennial teachers fear that their lack of preparation to
engage families will lead to failure and burnout. (Public Agenda Poll,
2011)
Challenges to Family, School &
Community Engagement (FSCE)

9. • A strong body of research shows that family engagement matters
• Strategies that research shows to be effective are not what most
schools currently invest in
Conventional methods to take too much time, energy, and cost
Independent Research

10. Beyond the Research
Strengthening the Parent Teacher Partnership
• The Parent Engagement Curve™
• Elevating the Role of the Parent as Partners
• Building Trust in Communications
• Measuring and Correlating Engagement to
Achievement

11. Parent Teacher Relationship
Informed
Questioning
Understanding
Designing
Strategy
The Parent Engagement Curve
Student
Success
Partnership
0 One-Way Bi-Directional True Dialogue Collaboration
Executing,
Assessing,
& Adapting

12.  How is my child doing?
 How is she doing according to her ability, my expectations?
 How is my child doing in relation to the other students? And how is the
class doing?
 How are my expectations being met in relation to other parents?
An Engaged Parents’ Questions

13. • Insight from parents and families
• Teacher receiving timely information
affecting student’s ability
• Streamlining parent/teacher
communication
• A tool for teachers to timely assess
their performance
Teacher Issues

14. Administrative Issues
• A tool for teachers/admin to timely
assess progress in “group” performance
• A way to measure parent satisfaction
• A way to measure parent involvement
as it relates to student performance

15. “We cannot solve our problems
with the same thinking we used
when we created them.”
- Albert Einstein
We need to view Family Engagement from a different
perspective….

16. Who/What Parents Hold Responsible when a Student
Makes Progress in School:
43
35
13
5
2
39
41
14
4
2
53
29
10 5 4
46
31
10
9 4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Parents/Families Students
themselves
Teachers The School The School District
Percent
National White African American Hispanic

17. Who/What Parents Hold Responsible when a Student
Does Not Make Progress in School:
39
37
14
7 3
36
44
13
6
2
47
27
11
9
7
42
28
15
10 4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Parents/Families Students
themselves
Teachers The School The School District
Percent
National White African American Hispanic

18. Family Engagement Support Structure
TEACHERS
The Family
Most Platforms

19. Family Engagement Support Structure
TEACHERS
The Family

20. Family Engagement Support Structure
PARENT
COORDINATOR
TEACHERS
COMMUNITY
BASED
ORGANIZATIONS
The Family
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY

21. Family Engagement Support Structure
Principal
Coaches
District
Administrators
Advisors
PARENT
COORDINATOR
TEACHERS
COMMUNITY
BASED
ORGANIZATIONS
IT Support
Housing Assistance
Health Care
Professional
Development
The Family
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY

22. Key Administrative Metrics
• Percentage of Family Engagement (FE)
• Comparison of Student Achievement and Attendance
with FE vs. without FE
• Percent of Homework Completed with FE vs. without FE
• Demographic and Quartile Splits of Above
• Auditable Transcripts of Parent-Teacher dialogue
• Comparison of FE to Target
• Metrics by Classroom, Grade, Teacher, etc.

23. Why are Metrics/Analytics
Important?
•Finds hidden
issues
•Quantifies our
successes
•Gives us direction
•Basis for more:
•Resources
•Professional
development
•Respect!

24. Lead: Contact One Green Apple to initiate a pilot
Advocate: Change the dialogue to include all parents, not just those already involved
Sponsor: Make family engagement a priority
Contact Information: Joe Fratoni, President
610-909-5708 (cell)
jfratoni@onegreenapple.com
Call to Action: Next Steps