Quality Family Engagement is foundational to student success.

As an educator, I know that families are at the heart of student success. When families feel valued and included in the conversation, good things happen for kids. Family engagement is a necessity for student achievement. Our shared value of Collective Greatness is about inclusion and collaboration – both of which define quality family engagement. What outcomes do we see when families are engaged? Students:

• earn higher grades and test scores;
• enroll in higher-level academic programs;
• are promoted on time and earn more credits;
• adapt better to school and attend more regularly;
• have better social skills and behaviors; and
• graduate and go on to post-secondary opportunities.

Dr. Karen Mapp, Ed.D., a senior lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, recently joined us for two powerful learning opportunities; a public learning session and a special workshop for SBISD staff. Both events focused on family engagement as a catalyst for improving the learning experience for Every Child.

In SBISD, we actively embed family engagement into our decisions and strategies. Recently, Landrum Middle School hosted its annual community walk. I was thrilled to see other leaders in our district joining the effort. Campuses in the feeder pattern laced up their tennis shoes and hit the streets to spark conversation and open doors to opportunities for families - literally.

This grassroots leadership - where schools are creating new avenues to connect with and support families and one another - is at the heart of what makes our school district special. Talk about Collective Greatness in action! Take a look inside the walk here. I hope it inspires you as much as it did me.

We are supporting this work with Family Education, Engagement and Empowerment Framework (Family E3). We created Family E3 to deepen the school to family relationship – as Dr. Mapp says, directly linking our families to learning. It's not something we're going to leave to chance or if we have time for it…after everything else. Why?

Without engaged and empowered families, our students will not and cannot achieve their highest potentials. Much of the work starts with building relationships and trust. “Engagement” means building connected relationships where families understand learning with a level of clarity and ownership. This fosters a partnership between home and school that drives results for kids. 

Engagement looks different for every school and family. Maybe it includes parent education nights, a community walk or something entirely different. No matter what it is, it's all shaped by powerful connections between parents and schools in the service of children and guided by the Family E3 Framework. These connections start with understanding and finding answers to questions like: What do schools expect from families? How do families know what is expected of them? What do families expect from our schools? 

How does your school community answer questions like these? I challenge you to do more. If your school excels in all areas, how will you lead and mentor other school leaders and parents in SBISD? If you see challenges in your school, what will you do to address these challenges and improve engagement?

Read more about Family E3 here. Included below are links from these events, as well as, a challenge from Dr. Mapp for us all. I invite you to take the time to listen and think about your school and family relationship.

View Dr. Mapp's Presentation
View a special message from Dr. Mapp