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FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

At EVES, we strive to  establish policy that is inclusive of all families to promote effective and meaningful family-school partnerships as an essential component in supporting student success.

Extended Family

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT DEFINITION

Family engagement is defined as:

  • A shared responsibility in which schools and community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage families in meaningful ways and families are committed to actively supporting their children’s learning and development.

  • A continuous process across a child’s life that entails enduring commitment but changing roles as children mature into young adulthood.

  • Reinforced learning in the multiple settings where children learn—at home, in prekindergarten programs, in school, in after school programs and in the community.

RATIONALE

Research indicates that family engagement in education has a positive effect on student learning and development. Family engagement practices are essential to student success and should be woven throughout the fabric of schools’ instructional program and culture.

 

To serve the needs of diverse family structures, EVES PTA supports a comprehensive, strength-based, capacity-building approach to inclusion and family engagement which encompasses National PTA’s six National Standards for Family-School Partnerships:

1. Welcome all families: Schools will create a welcoming, responsive, and inclusive environment, where all families feel welcome, values their diverse needs, abilities, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and inspires families to become active participants in the school community.

2. Communicate effectively: School staff and families will engage in regular, two-way communication that is consistently maintained using multiple mechanisms and tools to support communication easily and directly with one another. Communications will be in a language and readability that families can understand about student learning and development.

3. Support student success: Schools and families shall develop partnerships and collaborate to support learning and healthy development of students through opportunities that are provided by the school to build on assets of families to support learning at home and in the classroom.

4. Speak up for every child: Schools, staff, parents, and families will advocate to ensure that each individual student has equitable access to opportunities for inclusion in learning and non-curricular opportunities and supports to achieve their success.

5. Share power: Partnerships between schools and families positively impact decisions when creating policies, practices, and programs. Schools shall foster a partnership with families in making decisions that affect their children. Schools will actively enlist parents’ participation in the school improvement and innovation process from parents representing diverse student groups.

6. Collaborate with community: While respecting abilities, cultural and linguistic practices and traditions, families and schools will collaborate with the community to enhance opportunities for inclusion, learning, community service, and civic participation.

Family Portrait
Family Picnic

IMPLEMENTATION

EVES PTA will take the following actions:

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1. Form a Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) and conduct an annual meeting(s) to involve caregivers in the joint development and improvement of the family engagement plan.

2. Invite and encourage caregivers of all children to attend all school and PTA events.

3. Create opportunities for caregivers to observe and/or participate in their child’s class/school.

3. Address, on an ongoing basis, communication between the school, caregivers and the PTA through the following means:

      a) PTA meetings;

      b) the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC);

      c) Information distribution via e-newsletters and flyers, paper newsletters and flyers, direct email, and News You Choose email.

4. Conduct an annual family survey to solicit input from all families of participating children as a means of evaluating the content and the effectiveness of the parent involvement policy. The results of the survey will provide information on how EVES PTA and school personnel communicate with and work with parents as equal partners to help educate children and make revisions, if necessary, to improve policies and procedures.

High Fives

THE 4 GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF TRANSFORMATIVE FAMILY ENAGAGEMENT

EVES PTA uses these 4 principles to amplify your reach and ensure every child’s potential becomes a reality:

  • Inclusive family engagement embraces and values diverse perspectives.

  • Individualized family engagement meets the unique needs of every family and child.

  • Integrated family engagement connects and align with the educational system.

  • Impactful family engagement empowers families to support their child’s success.

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