School and district leaders report how they’ve successfully implemented tools and technology to measurably improve their parent engagement and community outreach initiatives. Speakers: Mary Wegner, Assistant Superintendent Sitka Schools Steven Anderson, Director of Instructional Technology Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Christine Corliss, District Webmaster/Publicity Coordinator Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools

1. Symposium on parent engagement:
Best practices in parent
engagement programs
K-12 parent engagement panel

2. Guest Panelist: Mary Wegner
• 25+ years in education (K-20, SPED/Gifted/Tech)
• Goal: Transform learning and teaching to be
meaningful for today’s students
• Grassroots Advocacy in Alaska and for the
International Society for Technology in Education
• Research Focus: critical thinking, social learning,
and role of arts/culture in learning
Assistant Superintendent
Sitka School District
Sitka, Alaska

3. Guest Panelist: Steven Anderson
• Helps guide a technology program for over
53,000 students
• Passionate about use of social media for
students and teachers
• Educator, speaker, renowned blogger, and avid
tweeter
• In 2009 and 2011 voted by peers as Edublog
Awards Most Influential Tweeter
Director of Instructional Technology
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

4. Guest Panelist: Christine Corliss
• Designed and maintains district website
• Established district’s social media presence
• Coordinates the integration of software and
information systems
• Past experience includes programmer-analyst,
corporate public relations manager, and corporate
publication editor with AT&T
District Webmaster and Publicity Coordinator
Caldwell-West Caldwell School District
West Caldwell, New Jersey

5. Attendee Poll
What do you consider to be the biggest
obstacle in your parent involvement
efforts at your district/schools?

6. Panel Discussion:
Parent Engagement in Academic Achievement
Describe a channel your district uses to
engage parents in learning.
And, what results have you realized?

7. Sitka Schools:
Strategic Plan = Iterative Community Feedback
• ~10% response rate
between the 2 surveys
• Powerful message that
we want to hear from
all parents/community

8. Sitka Schools:

9. Sitka Schools:

10. Sitka Schools:

11. Sitka Schools:

12. Sitka Schools:

13. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

14. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

15. Caldwell-West Caldwell:

16. Caldwell-West Caldwell:

17. Caldwell-West Caldwell:

18. Attendee Poll
What tools are your district/schools
using to support communication
between teachers and parents?

19. Panel Discussion:
Connecting with Parents
Do your schools / district systematically
collect parent feedback via forms, surveys,
social media, or other tools?
If so, how often and what tools are you using?

20. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

21. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

22. Caldwell-West Caldwell:

23. Caldwell-West Caldwell:

24. Sitka Schools:

25. Sitka Schools:

26. Attendee Poll
Does your district mandate that all
teachers have a webpage where
parents can access vital classroom-level
information?

27. Panel Discussion:
Digital Learning and Parent Engagement
How are your districts’ teaching and learning
goals aligned with parents’ expectations for
effective use of technology in the classroom?
Share some examples of what your teachers
are doing.

28. Caldwell-West Caldwell:
Recordings of school
performances with photo
galleries and video clips
Hyperlinks to Smart Board
notes, PowerPoint
packages, review sheets,
and more

29. Sitka Schools:

30. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

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