Accelerated academic achievement. Second language learning. Social and emotional skill development. Increased attendance and engagement. Higher graduation rates. A handful of astonishing student-level benefits. We partnered with BetterLesson on a white paper where we explore the research-backed benefits of family engagement, signals that a school system is under-investing in family engagement, and high-impact strategies for student success. Who should be thinking about this?District administrators are grappling with looming budget cuts and a need to streamline technology. Building leaders are grappling with chronic absenteeism and persisting learning loss. Teachers are grappling with feelings of overwhelming to do lists and burnout. Educators are beginning to prepare for the upcoming academic year. Addressing these persisting systemic challenges will require collaborative problem solving to address root causes. Incremental steps to improve family engagementBuilding leaders and classroom educators can take several steps to incrementally adjust their current practices.
Educators are grappling with wide-ranging challenges including absenteeism, persisting learning loss, teacher retention, and looming budget cuts. The schools that are effectively addressing these systemic challenges are making investments in family engagement and, more specifically, implementing high-impact strategies for engaging families in student learning. Elisabeth O’Bryon and Megan Lorio joined the team at EdReports to discuss family engagement as an essential strategy for student learning success. This podcast is a must listen for school leaders planning for the next school year. Move beyond performances and potlucks: the surprising benefits of family communicationDecades of family engagement research demonstrates strong connections between consistent school-home communication that is focused on instructional goals with key outcomes for teachers, families, and students.
How to level-up your family engagement strategyBuilding a comprehensive strategy takes time and planning. Before starting the planning process, it is essential to gather input from families, teachers, and the community to understand the current state of your school. What is working well? What needs additional time or attention? We’d recommend that you read our blog that covers 5 actions that school leaders can take to build strong home-school connections. In this podcast, Elisabeth and Megan share high-impact strategies and tips for maximizing your family engagement efforts to support student learning. Are you planning for next school year? Our expert team has designed a family communication toolkit with practical tips and messages that you can use as you plan for back-to-school
As school leaders, math teachers, and families prepare for the upcoming school year, strategies for supporting students’ success with math will be essential. With estimates that approximately 93% of adult US-Americans experience some level of math anxiety, it is critical to identify strategies that teachers and families can implement to help shape students’ positive growth mindsets and experiences with math. We know that teachers play a powerful role in the development of mathematical mindsets and skills, including, implementing teaching practices that focus on fostering a growth mindset in math and building classroom environments that are supportive of those mindsets. In addition, we’ve shared other strategies that teachers can implement daily to foster classroom environments that support positive math mindsets. Overcoming objections: "I'm not a math person"Reimagining the role of families in reducing math anxietyA recent study highlighted the powerful role that families play, "by fostering discussions about the importance, relevance, and application of math in everyday life." By doing so, "families and communities can create supportive environments for math learning outside of the classroom, which enhances students’ engagement inside the classroom." Furthermore, the results from this study suggest that students do better when:
Families play an essential role in supporting math success. Yet, many teachers are missing an opportunity to activate a powerful resource. Strategies for equipping families to support math successDr. Elisabeth O’Bryon recently delved into the role that families play in helping students develop a growth mindset with math. Consistent teacher-parent communication is the single most important strategy to ensure families are equipped with information and actionable activities to support student success with math. Our expert team has compiled 3 best practices for making the most of your parent communication activities:
We're excited to offer K-8th grade-level math content for teachers and familiesIn addition to our literacy and SEL learning tips and activities, we are excited to offer FASTalk messages that are aligned with key concepts and learning goals for math. This comprehensive math content equips families with essential information about math concepts and prompts for engaging their child in conversations about math outside of the classroom. The messages include conversation starters, routines to try, and reflection opportunities to help strengthen a child’s growth mindset and mathematical skills.
Currently, our K-8 math content aligns to grade levels and units of the high-quality curriculum, Illustrative Mathematics, and soon we will support skills-based, standards-aligned math content in our library. Learn more about our mathematics content and how to bring FASTalk to your school. We’re excited to share the first blog in a 3-part series written alongside our partners at Illustrative Mathematics. Our series will explore the surprising opportunity at the intersection of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) and family engagement practices. Toka Hussein is a K-5 Curriculum Specialist at Illustrative Mathematics (IM) and former elementary school teacher. Toka brings unique insights into the classroom and the crucial role that instructional materials play in shaping students’ educational experiences, including improved student learning outcomes and student engagement. Elisabeth O'Bryon is a co-founder and the chief impact officer at Family Engagement Lab (FEL). Her experience as the parent of elementary school students and her background in school psychology fuels her deep passion for family engagement. Elisabeth recognizes the impact of HQIM on student learning outcomes, which is only further enhanced when families are kept in the loop and invited to partner with teachers to support their child’s learning. Cultivating growth mindsets for mathOur collaboration with Illustrative Mathematics and research with families has revealed an opportunity to boost the impact of both high-quality instructional materials and parent communication by ensuring they are tightly aligned to support student learning. Increasingly, we’re learning that a growth mindset in math is an essential skill that empowers students to take ownership over their learning. With a growth mindset, students believe that their skills and ability grow with their effort. When faced with a challenge, they are more willing to persevere and work harder, believing that their efforts will help them overcome barriers. In this post, we’re exploring the connection between hiqh-quality instructional materials and regular parent communication, highlighting the importance of supporting students’ growth mindsets. Toka shares that “problem-based curriculum, like Illustrative Mathematics, set the foundation for and create the structures that support the development of positive math mindsets.” Elisabeth adds that “families can play an essential role in modeling the power of persistence, perseverance, and resilience.” It is critical that families are equipped with specific information about the skills and concepts that students are learning to effectively support them. Elisabeth highlights the role that consistent teacher-parent communication can play in helping promote students’ positive math mindsets. Recommendations for developing positive math mindsetsTrusted adults in a students’ learning journey - teachers and families - play an essential role in cultivating a positive math mindset. Toka and Elisabeth share detailed recommendations for cultivating students’ growth mindsets related to math.
Looking to keep up with the latest resources?You’ll often hear, “Math isn’t taught the same way anymore” or “I’m not a math person.” And yet, we know that math skills, particularly in middle school, are incredibly important for a students’ long-term success. As we have expanded our support for engaging middle school families in math, we knew we’d have to be thoughtful about our approach. As a learning organization, it was natural for us to reach out to teachers and families to better understand their needs and obstacles for supporting their students’ math success at home. Elisabeth O’Bryon, FEL’s co-founder and chief impact officer, recently shared insights with NAFSCE about our research and co-design process. A focus on the essential learning skills that facilitate math successAfter working alongside families and teachers, we’ve learned that families are uniquely positioned to help students develop the essential learning skills, such as a growth mindset, that will help them succeed with math. FASTalk, our parent communication software, is well-positioned to share insights with families and equip them with prompts to model essential learning skills or connect classroom learning to daily experiences. We shared mindset-focused FASTalk messages and asked for input from families and teachers.
The feedback we heard was tremendous! Instead of feeling stuck, families felt capable and confident. Centering families’ needs and experiences through co-design helps ensure solutions are both accessible and effective in helping families play their critically impactful role in promoting positive learning outcomes for their children. Dive deeper into Family Engagement Lab's research and development process in Elisabeth’s blog with NAFSCE. |
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