Join us for our chat with Family Engagement Lab as we discuss the importance of engaging families around student learning with clear calls to action about how educators can be more effective in reaching out to caregivers.
Related Links:
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- Additional reading and references:
- Watch: 5 Ways to Know if Your Child is Using a Quality Early Literacy Curriculum
- 5 Ways to Engage Families Around Student Learning (and why you should!)
- What the Pandemic Taught Us about Families, Curriculum, and Student Learning
- 4 Ways Families Can Join the Instructional Materials Conversation
- 3 Questions Parents Can Ask About Instructional Materials
- Family Engagement Lab
- FASTalk
- Dual Capacity-Building Framework
- NAFSCE
- Multilingual learner toolkit
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Jess Barrow 00:07
Hi, I’m Jess Barrow and this is the ED Voices Podcast. And we’re here today with two folks from the family engagement lab, Elizabeth O’Brien and Meghan Florio, and I’m going to turn it over to them to say a little bit about themselves before we dive into a really fun conversation around family engagement, why it’s so important for teachers and districts to engage families around student learning and how students can really benefit from from that kind of engagement. Elizabeth, you want to tell us a little bit about yourself.
Elisabeth O’Bryon 00:37
Wonderful, thank you so much, Jess. Megan and I are really excited to be here and to have this conversation and share more. I am one of the co founders of family engagement lab, and also our chief impact officer and I, I lead a lot of our research and evaluation work. And I sort of started in education as a bilingual school psychologist. And this work is sort of personally, you know, motivating and, you know, very important to me, too, as a mom of two young kids. So really looking forward to sharing just how important family engagement and learning is, as part of the conversation today.
Megan Lorio 01:08
Thank you so much. And thank you so much, Jess, for having us here. Today, I’m really thrilled to be a part of this conversation. So I am Megan Lorio, I am the managing editor at Family Engagement Lab. So I do a lot of our content and curriculum work and really thinking about working towards our mission to empower families and their child’s learning. And I am based in New Orleans, I’m a mom, myself two to two little girls. I’m also a former teacher, I was a kindergarten teacher for seven years, and then a school administrator for four years. So excited to kind of bring that background into the conversation as well today and talk more about this important topic.
Jess Barrow 01:45
Great. Well, thank you all so much for being here, we’re really excited to hear not only about your experiences and perspectives, but all the expertise you bring around this topic and the work you both are doing. I think it might be a good place to start, we sort of zoom out a little bit and just in general talk about why it’s so important for schools to engage families around student learning?
Elisabeth O’Bryon 02:09
I can start here, I think what’s really important in terms of a place to sort of begin looking is that there’s a lot of data and research about the impact of families supporting learning at home. And that sort of robust and growing literature base highlights, you know, very a wide range of benefits for students, you know, from academics to behavior, social and emotional skills, graduation rates. And I think what’s really interesting today as like school and district leaders are grappling with things like chronic absenteeism, teacher retention, that those are also things that strong family engagement can help support. Another I think really key factor here is that family engagement learning is a solution that really centers equity.
And I love this quote, from a research study that showed that parent involvement in AD home learning has more than twice the effect on student test scores, then parents education level, or socioeconomic status. So just this powerful solution that really is accessible and critical for all families. I think one more thing to note here, too, is, you know, it’s what families are really interested in knowing they want to know about their children’s learning experience. And when we’ve sat down with families consistently, we hear families say like, I want to know for my child’s teacher, like, what is my child learning? Are they on track? And how can I help at home?
And so in addition to it being so impactful to engage families, families are really eager for that information. Yeah, completely agree. And just to sort of build off of that. One research statistic that I think is super interesting is that nine out of 10 families think that their child is on track academically. And we know that the gaps are much larger than that. So it’s really clear that many families are not receiving regular information about student learning, and grade level milestones.
Megan Lorio 04:03
Teachers are the trusted experts, like families consistently need that high impact information, so they can best support their child’s learning. So we really need to make sure that families have high expectations when it comes to learning. So do families really understand what their child should know at any point in the school year? Do they have examples of what that might look like and sound like while bringing some clarity to some of these milestones and sort of expectations is super, super important for families.
Jess Barrow 04:35
Thank you both for sharing a lot of the clear why behind this big topic that I think people might have experienced in bits and pieces, but I think it’s so important to kind of put together I wonder if we if we think about getting a little more granular like what are some of the different ways schools Then educators can effectively engage families, because I’m sure there are a lot of different approaches. And you all have a lot of expertise on sort of what might work. I know it’s different everywhere. But what might work better? What are some best practices?
Megan Lorio 05:13
Great question. So I think that when we talk about sort of family engagement, high impact family engagement, really, we know that the cornerstone of any kind of family engagement strategy is understanding the community deeply and building authentic, trusting relationships with families that are based in two way communication. So asking questions like how can we bring families into processes like goal setting and supporting their child’s learning, and really recognizing that families themselves have varied experiences when it comes to schools.
So that’s why that trust, and that relationship part is so important. We can sort of recognize the funds of knowledge, like families have so much information that they can provide teachers and schools about their child. And so really seeing the assets there and recognizing those funds of knowledge, to sort of ask more questions, right? So tell me about your hopes and dreams for your child? Or what motivates your child? Or do you have what you need from us to support your child’s learning? Those types of questions really helped to build that trusting partnership that we’re looking for.
And it’s just really at the foundation of any kind of family engagement strategy. We also think a lot about how to make sure the that family engagement practices are inclusive. So often, our most underserved communities really aren’t getting the information that they need. So families, speaking a language other than English, get a lot less engagement and information historically. So really reflecting on in any kind of practice that we’re using in schools, is what we’re doing accessible to all families or just to some, including thinking about language and translation needs, is really important, as we sort of design our family engagement strategies in schools.
Jess Barrow 07:05
Yeah and I know, Megan, you had mentioned, you have a lot of, you know, you have first hand experience with this, from your time in the classroom, like really seeing how this impacted students and families when you put some of these things into place. And when you were able to really meet families where they are.
Megan Lorio 07:20
Yeah, absolutely. I was very fortunate that very early on in my teaching career, I received a lot of professional development around family engagement. And in sort of, you know, some of these high impact practices, so, you know, conducting home visits, explaining academic data to families. That was sort of something that I did very early on in my teaching career. And I saw the impact of that in the classroom. Really, when I felt like, you know, I was building not only classroom community, but a broader community that included families and really brought them in. That’s really where I saw students thrive.
Jess Barrow 07:55
Elisabeth, what about you? What are you, from your perspective, in your experience? What are some ways that are really important for being effective in the way families are engaged?
Elisabeth O’Bryon 08:05
Yeah, I think, you know, sort of drawing upon what Megan was sharing around accessibility, something that’s really important too, is making sure you’re sharing like right size information about what students are learning. So I often see these like newsletters or you know, a family worksheet. And it’s just pages upon pages of information. And just thinking about the limited time that so many families have, that is hard to digest, and then also feed it to make it to your point around the translations. It’s often available in English and Spanish, but we know that our communities have, you know, way more linguistic diversity.
And so that becomes an access issue as well. But I think that piece around just right sizing the information so that families can access it and act on it is essential. And, you know, at family engagement lab, we have our tool, fast talk, which stands for families and schools talk and that was what we’re trying to do with fast doc. So basically help teachers send home learning activities via text in each family’s home language that directly relates to what’s happening in the classroom.
So families get that information. They don’t have to just ask like, what did you learn today? Oh, nothing, you know, they have information like, I know that you’re, you know, gearing up for a debate about the American Revolution, or, you know, you’re you’re, you’re practicing fractions, and you know, there’s an opportunity to embed some of that into laundry. So I think we’re trying to create an opportunity for families to get that quick right size information that they can incorporate some of these learning focused conversations and activities really seamlessly into the their day to day life.
Jess Barrow 09:41
That’s great. And I think, yeah, making sure I mean, as a my daughter’s only three, so not too late yet, but I already feel feel overwhelmed by all the moving parts. So I can imagine navigating through so much at the school level, having that sort of bite size but very clear and very actionable information. And their past talk is a great way to do it. And I’m sure there are other ways schools can think about doing it and doing it as well. You know, we, we talked about, in general, why it’s important to engage families, and then sort of some of the ways that that can effectively be done. How do you all think about, you know, if we break these groups down, like families, teachers and students, what are some of the ways that more information about instructional materials and curriculum that’s so connected to student learning? How does that benefit those three groups?
Elisabeth O’Bryon 10:41
I can start by sharing a little bit about how it benefits families. So if families are regularly getting that information about, like, what their children are learning, they can really reinforce that at home, there are opportunities throughout the day to be making those connection points. But if families don’t have that information, you know, they won’t be able to have that opportunity. Also, you know, just, I’ve been reading about how important it is to be making sort of these relevant real world connections and showing kids to that what they’re learning has a lot of importance, like beyond the classroom, and families are just so well situated to help make those connection points.
So, you know, they know what their children are interested in, they they know, you know, what, what’s going to really get them activated and involved. And so when families can layer on that meaningful information, you know, it’s going to help bring it to life for students as well. And I think, you know, you we just don’t want families to be have to, like miss those opportunities.
And so the ability for families to get that information regularly is just so important. And then I think one other sort of another strand around benefits for families to is, we’ve seen that, you know, when families get more information about the curriculum, and you know, what exactly their kids are learning in class, like their views can become more positive about the curriculum and what children are learning because they have more of an understanding, like breaking it down. And so I think that’s been something really important to like, families aren’t in the dark around, you know, what’s happening every day in the classroom. They’re really looped in and seen as real partners, and supporting student learning.
Jess Barrow 12:19
That’s such a great point. I mean, I feel like it is it’s materials in and of themselves can feel very inaccessible, especially if that’s not your background, or you’re not an educator. And so being able to really give that information to families in an accessible way, is really is a great entry point, since their students are going to be engaging with that content every day. Meghan, what about what about teachers? And sort of, from your experience as a teacher, but also what you see, I know, you’re you’re often working with teachers in your current role, too.
Megan Lorio 12:51
Yeah, absolutely. So I think that, you know, Elisabeth kind of just talked about some of the benefits to students, right. And so just inherently in that there’s a big benefit to teachers, right. Like, I think that is type of communication, you know, whenever a student can be making connections inside the classroom and outside the classroom, really, that can enhance learning, especially around sort of knowledge building, and some of the curriculum topics that are being addressed in the classroom. It’s also really true that the more a teacher knows about their students backgrounds, the more relevant that they can make their instruction and the content in the classroom itself.
So really sort of thinking about those connections between a teacher and a family. It only enhances sort of what the teacher is able to do in the classroom to make that curriculum content and more relevant to students. It also, you know, there’s a lot of conversations around teacher time, teacher burnout. So sort of thinking about how can families provide extra support, we know that families can play a really critical role, and moving the needle for students around student success and student learning. So how can we bring families into that so that they can provide that extra support for students? Just another resource to support students in meeting their goals?
Jess Barrow 14:09
Yeah, Megan, I love that you highlight how understanding your students in the community and their families can help teachers make the content more relevant, because that’s something that we’re thinking a lot about it and reports that hasn’t always been a traditional focus in terms of like, the importance of culturally relevant materials for students and for their academic performance, but also their sense of belonging and engagement in school.
So really, pairing all that together. Sometimes materials don’t, you know, they’re they’re designed for a national landscape, right? So they may not have everything that an individual community would need to make that relevant but that is a place where teachers and understanding their the families and students can really add that and make those adjustments. I appreciate that mentioned, Elisabeth, I know you already touched on a lot of benefits to families overlapping with students with Is there anything else you’d want to highlight around the student piece that you think that we haven’t quite touched on yet? Yeah.
Elisabeth O’Bryon 15:16
And I think, you know, as each of these sections, they’re very interconnected the benefits of reason teachers and students. And so, you know, something that I also think we observe and hear from the teachers we work with is that, you know, kids who have had a conversation with their families, maybe the night before that week about a topic that, you know, is going to be discussed in class, the next day, teachers say, like, kids are coming more confident, you know, they’re sharing new ideas, they’ve had that opportunity to sort of practice and you know, get more information from their families. And so I think that’s another piece where it’s like, it affects the child’s learning the dynamics in the classroom.
And, you know, just really, it just emphasizes how valuable families can be in the process. And I also think just another piece around the connection with families and student learning is that families can help increase that motivation. So by making those real world connections, you know, that that’s gonna keep children really engaged in the content. And then, you know, linking to what I had said, initially, just the the research about the academic gains, like we know that family engagement affects student learning. And so just that that ability to make those connection points has really long term positive benefits for kids.
Jess Barrow 16:31
We’ve talked through sort of the big why behind this and the strategies for effectively engaging families why like, what the research says what your experience says about what how this can benefit so many groups who are interconnected, I can imagine that this probably goes on to varying degrees, depending on what your school community is. And if, if there are educators and districts out there who really want to engage families more than they have been, but they might not know exactly where to start, or their race resources. I know, we’ve talked a little bit about some already, we can elaborate more, but are there resources you might recommend to them as they get started?
Megan Lorio 17:16
I can start by talking a little bit about fast talk. So sort of thing and sort of thinking about sort of how that could transfer into a lot of a lot of different types of tools. But something that we do with fast talk is really focused, like Elisabeth was talking about, um, making learning accessible and actionable for families. So really trying to answer the question like, What is one small thing that a family could practice in the car or in the waiting room in the doctor’s office that could reinforce key grade level skills.
So much of the information that families receive about learning isn’t necessarily actionable. So really setting some goals, if you’re a teacher setting some goals to really think about how to weave in activities that build families capacity, and competence to support learning. I also think, you know, kind of getting past the jargon, we were kind of talking a little bit about this. But you know, whenever we’re thinking about making something actionable, accessible, you know, I know as educators, it’s easy to kind of speak the language, but families oftentimes really don’t have a window into what that means.
So really thinking about resources, providing resources that kind of get beyond some of the more academic education sort of jargon, and really focus on information that families are going to be able to digest and understand and lead to a really positive interaction with their child around learning.
Jess Barrow 18:43
I think that’s so important. And I think, you know, we haven’t gotten too deep in the weeds of how this connects to instructional materials. But I think it’s very much implied by this is around the content in the classroom that the students are learning. And so much of that is or is hopefully based around a really strong core core curriculum. Yeah, Elisabeth, are there other other resources, that fast talk? It’s such a great one. And Megan, you gave so many great examples of how that can be used in different ways. Are there other resources that you have encountered that you think could be helpful to schools and districts?
Elisabeth O’Bryon 19:22
Yeah, I think something that Megan and I often share with educators and school leaders, when we’re talking just sort of about the power of family engagement, learning and connecting family engagement to that curricular piece is just helping leaders and educators with like action planning, so you know, really narrowing down on a goal that they would like to accomplish in a certain set of time and, and we sort of walk through this process of thinking about like, you know, what’s going well right now in your school community and why so it’s sort of linking to what we’ve spoken today about how like understanding your community is essential to identifying the right goal and having that right strategy. And then also really thinking about, like, prompting folks to, to recognize like, you can’t do this alone, you know, who do you need to collaborate with?
And, you know, family engagement is inherently, you know, very interdisciplinary. And so just thinking about, like, Are there folks, you know, at the district level teaching and learning and Family and Community Engagement Office of Equity, like, everyone should be around the table, as we’re thinking about how to get, you know, really high impact family engagement strategies and work off the ground? And also, you know, we will talk with folks around, like, just identifying what are the resources that you need, you know, from a language point of view, and they’re like, What are translation interpretation needs? Like, what, you know, what are reading levels that you need to consider as you’re, you’re trying to make that curricular resource really accessible for families?
And then just thinking more about, like, how can you sustain and scale the plan? So it’s not something that happens, like one fall? But yeah, it’s something that always and then, you know, walking through a timeline, I think, is, it’s, it’s just wonderful, I think, to to give folks the space to have some of that thinking. And I think it’s, it’s not something that teachers often have very much time to do. And I think that’s another really important part of this conversation is that, like, recognizing that family engagement takes time, and teachers, you know, don’t have one more minute. So how can we add like a system or school building be thinking about ways that like, family engagement for teachers is a really high priority, and we’re going to make this space and time to let that happen? And for teachers to really engage and connect with their students? Families?
Jess Barrow 21:48
Yeah, no, that’s all such such good information. Is there you know, as we as we wrap up, is there anything that I didn’t specifically ask about today or anything around this topic that you would want to express before we, before we head out,
Megan Lorio 22:07
I think I would just say that family engagement is complex, because it deals in relationships, right? Like the, like you’re saying earlier, so much of this is about relationship building. So really, just recognizing that it’s a journey, not a destination, even just thinking about one small thing you can incorporate, to help families have more access to the learning that’s going on into the classroom is really meaningful for families. So you know, really just taking it one step at a time while setting smaller goals around family engagement can be really helpful. And I’ve just encouraged encouraged teachers to try that out. And, you know,
Jess Barrow 22:49
Well just to note, we will include all these mentioned resources and information in our show notes. So we’ll make sure all of this is accessible. And if you’re watching or listening, you’ll be able to easily access a lot of the all of the resources that Elisabeth and Megan mentioned.
Elisabeth O’Bryon 23:07
One one sort of, I think a final thought that I have, too, is, is just, you know, Megan shared her experience as a teacher and really getting this both like pre service and in service, sort of training and support around family engagement and learning. And that is not common. And I think that that’s another area and like need, we really see in the field. And so, you know, if teachers are entering the schools and the you know, their positions as teachers, having had like, you know, 30 minutes of one class, focus on families, you know, they are going to need, you know, the bit to build that capacity, the knowledge, the skills to be able to really effectively engage families and learning.
And so I think just the more we can think about professional learning opportunities, and and the places and spaces that teachers already are, as they’re talking about the curriculum, how can family engagement be a piece of that and just thinking of like, the lens through which families can also be really actively involved in the curriculum. So I think that’s another area that is super important in this space,
Jess Barrow 24:12
I cannot agree more. Well, thank you both so much for coming on sharing so much of your knowledge and your personal stories. I know we’re going to be working together more in the future as well. So just look forward to more chats and more learning from you and really trying to spread the word around family engagement and how important this is for educators and families. Thanks so much. We’ll see you soon.