1

Becca Wilson
Family Engagement Plan

I. Belief Statement (250-300 words)

The job of educating children involves much more than teaching curriculum,
aligning and integrating state standards, and raising test scores. Educating children
means preparing children for the world and making them into better people and
contributors to society. While content knowledge, strong pedagogy, and effective
teaching strategies are important to possess as a classroom teacher, after researching
and spending time in classrooms I have learned that teaching the “whole student”
means teaching much more than just the student alone.
Families are the foundation from which children build their lives. The strength of
the foundation directly affects the strength of the building that lies on top of it, and as
children begin to build their lives, the foundation has to hold strong and stay connected
as well. Teachers can be the bridge between the foundation and the strength of the
children’s buildings, if effective family engagement practices are utilized and reflected
upon in classrooms. As an educator, I believe that the effective learning environment is
a place where students feel comfortable using new knowledge and skills that challenge,
push, and shape them into successful individuals, so they can later use those skills for
their vocation. If the learning environment isn’t a place of comfort to children, they
won’t achieve this. For this reason, students need to feel they can bring everything into
the classroom: their burdens, trials, joys, passions, and realities. They must cross the
bridge fully from home to school, leaving nothing to drown in the water on the way.
Research has shown the effect that family engagement has on academic success, and
I believe that by using these research-based practices, not only will students build
stronger houses, but their foundations will strengthen as well.

II. Description of one research-based family engagement practice

Research shows us that family engagement is important for student success in all
areas and cases, but this is especially true for those children and families who are
recent immigrants or have limited English language ability. In a study by Lisa St. Clair
and Barbara Jackson (2006), fourteen families with kindergarten ELL students
participated in an intervention program that sought to realize the effects of an adult
education program on parents’ language skills and in turn their children’s language
skills. To do this, the authors offered 25 one-hour programs that parents could choose
to attend. These programs focused on the kindergarten content: sight words, letter of
the week, and phonemic awareness, and often modeled how parents could support
their children’s learning at home. In addition, these programs were linked with adult
education programs offered by the community, and the families chosen were ones that
 2

already participated in these events. Finally, the programs provided learning resources
to use at home, such as leap pads, leap desks, and reading materials.
After completing the study, the authors found that “children in the intervention
group made significant standard score gains in verbal reasoning, letter-word
identification, and on overall broad scores,” and their gains were much larger than
those of children in the control group (St. Clair, 2006, p. 36). In the end, the students
whose parents had attended and participated in the intervention program tended to
score much higher in these areas over the course of their kindergarten and first grade
years.
In terms of implementation for myself as a future educator, what I took most from
this study is that it is extremely important for me to be providing the families of my ELL
students with resources for them to continue learning at home. This research provides
evidence of how much family engagement with language skills can truly make a
difference on the progression and success of students in early elementary grades, so I
want to use this in my classroom. For example, I can send home packets for parents to
use in order to help their children with basic reading skills, or I can even offer adult
education classes on the weekends or in the evenings for parents of my students.

St. Clair, L. & Jackson, B. (2006). Effect of family involvement training on the language
skills of young elementary children from migrant families. School Community
Journal, 16(1), 31-42. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ794803.pdf

Jeynes, W.H. (2007). The relationship between parental involvement and urban
secondary school student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Urban Education,
42(1), 82-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085906293818

III. Communicating with Families

A. Welcome letter
1) Description: The strategy I will use at meet the teacher night will be a
welcome letter. Every student will receive it, and it will contain a brief
description of my educational background, my contact information, a link
to my e-Portfolio, and some fun facts about myself. This will hopefully be
a small window into my life, personality, and background for the parents
of my future students, so that they know a little about me before they
trust their children to me for an entire school year.
2) Template: Appendix 1.1
B. Class webpage
1) Descripton: My second straegy would be a “social media” site where I
post weekly updates in “blog form”. It will have a discussion tab where
parents can ask questions/give feedback, contact info, and pictures (with
media consent). If families do not have access to computer, I can print the
 3

weekly blog post and send it home with the student each week by placing
it in their homework packet (so it is discrete as to not single them out). If
lots of my students are ELLs, I could have separate tabs on web page that
are in Spanish.
2) Template: Appendix 1.2

IV. Description of a Unit

A. Unit Name: Family Ties
B. Grade Level: 1
C. TEKS: 113.12.b.15.A: Students can describe and explain the importance of
various beliefs, customs, language, and traditions of families and
communities
D. Goals: Students will be able to describe their family tree and cultural
backgrounds through various visual forms, such as writing, pictures, and
graphic organizers.
E. Description
1) Timeframe: This unit will span two weeks, during five social studies class
sessions lasting 40 minutes. Realistically, students do not have social
studies instruction every day of the week, but more like 3 days a week.
2) Materials: chart paper, The Relatives Came,
3) Summary: Day 1 begins with reading of The Relatives Came by Cynthia
Rylant, followed by discussion of traveling with family or family visiting
them. This day also includes an introduction to family trees, their
significance, and their format. Surveys will be given this day for students
to take home and work with their families to fill out. The forms include
places to put names of students’ family members, and will be used for the
family tree activity. Day 2 is dedicated to the family tree activity, where
students will have all 40 minutes to complete the family tree and
corresponding illustrations and embellishments. Day 3 will include the
family heirlooms activity, as well as the assignment for students to bring
a family heirloom the next day to social studies class. Day 4 is the family
heirloom “museum” as well as the introduction to and a work day for the
family journal entry. Day 5 is dedicated to the family journal entry, and
students will turn in their family tree project as well as their journal
entries at the end of this day.
F. Activities:
1) Students create their own family tree by completing a survey at home.
Students use their survey information to fill in a family tree, which they
can decorate and draw on as they please. Students need to label each
member of their family all the way to their grandparents, if possible. The
teacher will explain that they are shaped like trees because the roots,
 4

trunk, branches, and leaves are all connected, like a family. The students
are connected to their parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and
cousins. The teacher will then model their own family tree and explain
the significance of family trees (so that our great-great-grandchildren can
remember our names and important things we have done in our lives).
On chart paper, the teacher will also record the definition of a family tree:
a way to record who is in your family and how they are related to each
other. In addition to the family tree template, students will also complete
the blank circles worksheet, where they draw a picture of each member
of their family they have included on their family tree.
2) Students learn about family heirlooms by analyzing photographs of
various family heirlooms. They will discuss with a partner what they
observed from the pictures, as well as what they liked and did not like
about them. The teacher will then introduce that a family heirloom is
another way to record family information, like their family trees. A family
heirloom is something that your family considers special and passes from
one relative to the next. Students will then discuss items that their family
considers important, or maybe items that have already been passed down
to them. The teacher will then ask students to bring in a family heirloom
the next day to display for the class museum. The teacher will send home
a handout describing the nature of the activity that includes a place for
parents to give a short explanation of the heirloom students will be
bringing to class. Parents are invited to write anything they consider
important about the heirloom, so that the teacher has a better idea of the
family history of each student. The “museum” will consist of the class
being divided in half, with one half walking around to view all the
heirlooms and the other half presenting their heirlooms to each student
that comes to their “exhibit”.
3) On the final two days of the unit, students will write a true story about
their family. This will be called a “family journal entry”, and include space
for an illustration at the top. The story will only need to be about a
paragraph in length, but needs to include a main idea and details, as well
as a problem and solution. During the two days, students will be required
to have a writing conference with the teacher so that their journal will be
completed with correct writing conventions. At the end of this project,
families will be invited into the classroom to listen to students read their
stories and present their family trees.
G. Accommodations:
1) Activity 1: Survey needs to be at a 3rd to 4th grade reading level.
2) Activity 2: For parents that are not native English speakers, I will
translate the heirloom form into their native language, and they will not
need to write anything. Instead, when the families come to the school to
 5

see the presentations of the final project, they will be invited to speak
about the family heirloom to either just me or the entire class. For
students who do not have a family heirloom to bring, I will allow them to
research one that may relate to their culture online during class time,
print out a picture of it, and use it for their exhibit in the museum.
3) Activity 3: For parents who do not have transportation to get to school, I
will video their students’ presentation and either email it or give it to
them on DVD, or whatever media works best for them.

V. Family Event

1. What is the grade/age focus for this event?
1st grade

2. What is the event topic or title?
Family Food Night

3. What is your rationale for the event—that is, why is this family education event
important?
This family education event not only ties in the same themes and vocabulary as the
Family Ties unit the students will have previous completed, but it allows each student
to learn more about their classmate’s culture and family history. This event also
encourages students to be proud of their family’s heritage, and gives parents a role in
teaching their child about the food and cooking it. Because food is a universal object, the
parents don’t necessarily have to have proficient English language skills in order to
participate in this event. They just need to be able to cook their dish and be present
with their child as they present the food to the rest of the class.

4. What are your goals (objectives) for the event—that is, what do you hope to
accomplish?
The goal of this event is to educate and inform students and their families
About food from other cultures in their class as well as allow them to celebrate and
share their own. This event also includes vocabulary and objectives from the Family
Ties unit, so students should be able to apply their knowledge of that vocabulary when
walking around and learning about the different types of food.

5. Who will be included and in what capacity? How did you consider the
participants’ characteristics in designing the activity?
Families will be invited to share a recipe with the grade level by preparing it and
bringing it on Family Food Night. Students will be able to walk around and taste
different foods from different cultures, and also share their own personal family recipe
with their peers. Families will bring their food item and students will create a small
 6

information card with a picture of the food, a drawing of the flag of the country the food
originates from, and a written name of the food item that stays at their “booth”. Families
are invited to either stay at their booth or walk around and taste other food, and they
are welcome to participate at the capacity they feel comfortable. As teachers, all
members of the first grade team will also create booths with our own food so that
students get to learn about our culture as well.

6. How will you describe this event to families?
Join us! We are celebrating culture with yummy food! Friday, May 6, 2018 from 6-7pm
in the BCI cafeteria. All are invited to this free event. Bring your favorite family food to
share with your child’s classmates. Help us celebrate diversity, we hope to see you
there!

7. What roles will each group of participants have (i.e., families, teachers,
administrators, community members) and how do these roles align with the
collaborative paradigm of family-professional partnerships (social system)?
Families will be responsible for bringing the food item to represent their child, as well
as the teachers. Teachers will also be responsible for preparing the cafeteria with tables
that can be set up as booths. Students will need to prepare their information card. The
principal will also be at the event.

8. What will the physical and material aspects of the environment look like and
how will you ensure that the environment (ecology) supports your overall goal
for the event?
Each booth will be set up as the family chooses, and the cafeteria tables will be lined up
in two rows so that students can walk up and down the rows and see all the different
food items. The chairs will all be put away with the exception of the ones behind the
tables in case parents want to sit in them as they present their food to the students.

9. What is the agenda for the event?
6:00: Welcome and set up
6:10: Student introductions and presentations of booth
6:30: Walk around and tastings
6:55: Closing remarks and thanks
7:00: Dismissal

10. How will you get the information about the event to families (e.g., e-mail,
word of mouth, other)?
I will make sure the information is sent in a handout with the students at least three
weeks ahead of time (one week before the Family Ties unit begins). I will also email all
the parents one week ahead of time with the details. If there are many ELL students in
 7

my class, I will send a handout translated in Spanish so that the parents know exactly
what to expect.

11.What strategies will you use to insure that families actively participate while
at the event?
By having parents stay in charge of their booth, they will be encouraged to interact with
other students that come to their booth to taste the food. Then, parents are all
encouraged to walk around the booths as well and taste the different foods. This allows
for not just the students to learn about other cultures but the parents as well. In
addition, we will have childcare available for young children. The childcare will take
place in a classroom and two of the first grade teachers will share the responsibility of
childcare, splitting the night in half to ensure they can still participate in the event.
However, if possible, high school PALS students will be in charge of the childcare.

12. How will you help insure that families use the information from the family
education event in their natural environment?
Since this is mostly a fun event that culminates the unit for the students, the families
don’t necessarily need to use the information in their homes. However, hopefully
families will learn about other cultures and want to encourage diversity for their
children in the types of food they cook. To encourage this, we will provide papers to
families at the event to write their favorite recipes from the night in case they want to
recreate them at home for their children.

13. How will you know that your goals for the event have been achieved?
I will use an exit survey for the families where they fill out one important thing they
learned from the night as well as one suggestion for future family events. This way, we
can review them and see if families got anything out of the event, and listen to their
ideas for future events. In addition, attendance is a great indicator of the success of our
event, so if over 80% of families attend, it will be successful, being that it is our first
event of this kind.

14. What are questions you should ask yourself after the event that will help you
reflect on the event in order to plan for future events?
• What went well?
• What percent of families attended? If there were two parents in the family, did
both attend?
• How were the families interacting with other families?
• What were some of the suggestions on the exit surveys from families?
• What are two instances of weakness in this event?
• How can we actively move forward? What, if any, other grade level events will
happen this year?

 8

VI. Annotated Resources

A. Edutopia: Parent Resources
• https://www.edutopia.org/blog/19-questions-for-parents-terry-heick
• This webiste includes 19 questions you should ask your child’s teacher
during a conference, or at the beginning of the school year. These
questions will give you a better idea of how to help your child learn at
home.
B. Global Family Research Project
• https://globalfrp.org/Articles/Welcome-to-the-Global-Family-Research-
Project
• The Global Family Research Project is a non-profit group that supports
both families and schools in helping children find success both in and out
of school. This website has many articles that can help you if you are
struggling to help your child with school work at home, and you can
subscribe to them to receive more information as well.
C. CLI Engage
• https://cliengage.org/public/tools/materials/cac-family/
• CLI:Engage is a partner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA), and
provides tools and activities for you to use to monitor your child during
their early childhood years. The website includes free activities, videos,
and guides to follow to make sure your child is developing well at home.
D. Every Student Succeeds Act
• https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=rn
• This website explains the rights your child has in the United States
education system. ESSA, or Every Student Succeeds Act, is the updated
version of No Child Left Behind, and it makes sure schools are giving your
child the best chance to succeed.
E. Family and Community Engagement – US Department of Education
• https://www.ed.gov/parent-and-family-engagement
• This page of the US Department of Education website tells you the name
of the Family Ambassdor for the Department, Frances Frost. You can also
contact her through this page and learn more about the ways the US
Department of Education is taking steps to improve family engagement in
schools.


VII. Family Engagement Policy

Keller ISD: Keller Independent School District seeks to be the organizing agent that can
combine Title I family involvement strategies with those of other district educational
programs. The purpose of this coordination shall be to improve the academic quality of
 9

the school served, including the identification of barriers to greater participation by

parents in activities authorized by law, particularly by parents who:
• Experience economic disadvantage
• Have disabilities that require accommodation
• Have not reached mastery of the English language
• Have not reached literacy levels desired
• Belong to any racial or ethnic minority group
• Are migratory due to their profession/trade
A. Assist parents of children served by the Title I campuses in understanding
the following:
• State’s academic content & student achievement standards
• State and local academic & alternative assessments
• Title I, Part A requirements and mandates
• How to monitor their child’s overall progress
• How to effectively partner with their child’s educators
Use the following activities and resources to keep parents informed and aware of
the above-mentioned topics:
• Parent Teacher Conferences and Organizations (PTA)
• Campus Education Improvement Committees (CEIC)
• KISD and Texas Education Agency (TEA) Web Sites
• Family Orientation/Campus Activities and Newsletters
• Title I Family Involvement Specialist (FIS)
• Title I District Parent Advisory Council (D-PAC)
Provide materials and educational opportunities to families in order to assist in
their ability to effectively help their children improve academic performance.
This will be achieved by utilizing the following resources and activities:
• KISD , TEA , and Education Service Center (ESC), Region XI web sites
• Title I Family Involvement Specialist
• Title I Parent Center (books, games, CD’s, etc.)
• Ongoing Campus Educational Opportunities
• Sharing information for posting at local libraries and community centers
B. https://www.kellerisd.net/cms/lib/TX02215599/Centricity/Domain/111/T
itleI/Docs/TitleI_ParentInvolvementPolicy.pdf
C. Reflection (250 words)
This policy aligns with my personal beliefs for family engagement in a
number of ways. First, Keller ISD’s policy focuses on Title I schools and the
family engagement plans in place for those schools. I think this is a very good
initiative, because often these are the schools with the lowest levels of family
engagement. In my own plan for family engagement I included research based
practices to improve the engagement of parents of ELL students, and in Keller
ISD’s policy, they specifically state that parents that “have not reached mastery
of the English language” should be especially considered when identifying
 10

possible barriers to family engagement. In addition, the handbook as well as the

brochure linked above emphasize practical ways for families to get involved
with their child’s school, through volunteering, keeping in consistent contact
with teachers, and attending PTA meetings. Although their policy does not
directly state it, through reading their handbook I found that Keller ISD
encourages parent-teacher conferences, effective communication for teachers
through report cards and progress reports, and phone calls.
Keller ISD also states the importance of parents helping with homework,
encouraging good attendance, and being actively involved in their students’
academics. I think this is crucial, because the link between school and home
must be achieved by the parents, since they are the “teachers” at home. Keller
ISD’s policy also aligns with my belief that family engagement yields greater
academic success for students, which shows me that this district will work very
hard to achieve the family engagement levels necessary to allow the students to
reach maximum potential.


VIII. References

Grant, K.B. & Ray, J.A. (2016). Home, school, and community collaboration. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.





















 11

Appendix

1.1

 12

1.2