5 Steps to Better School/Community Collaboration
Simple ideas for creating a stronger network
By Brendan O'Keefe

Research shows that children are more likely to succeed academically and are less likely to engage in violent behavior if their families are involved in their education. Many parents say, however, that they feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in their children's schools. Teachers often feel under attack by parents who are highly involved. Learn how to bridge the gap. Included: A dozen activities to promote parental involvement and ten tips for involved parents.

This list of age-appropriate skills will help prepare your child for each stage of life as they develop from preschool until the day leaves the nest.

Starting off the year strong by building relationships and trust with parents through an early welcome. This video was created by Jessica Wall and Pam Sawatzky for the 2021-22 Sun West iLearn sessions.A strategy guide for educators is also included. 

Nicholas Carlisle, Executive Director of No Bully, works with parents of Alvarado Elementary School in San Francisco, California, to share information about bullying and to devise and practice strategies for bully-proofing their children.Mr. Carlisle begins by defining the repetitive nature of bullying and looks specifically at four different kinds of bullying: physical, verbal, social/relational, and cyberbullying. Identifies best practices and preventative measures to help prevent bullying.Mr. Broecker, principal, tells parents about a group at the school focused on addressing the subject of bullying at school. He urges parents to join teachers and staff at Alvarado Elementary working with a group called PEACE (Practicing Empathy and Caring with Everyone).Addressing the larger question of how parents might bully-proof their children is the focus of much of the discussion. Mr. Carlisle asks parents to become a solution-coach, balancing both the use of empathy and setting limits and establishing consequences so that students are better prepared to deal with bullying in their lives.In small groups, parents practice what they have heard by discussing bullying scenarios and how they would help their child in specific bullying situations. This is followed by group discussion where parents share ideas for certain scenarios.

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These challenges are designed for staff to help build solid character and culture in their schools and classrooms. What a great resource to use to start your school year off on the best foot!

You will also find 100+ Student character dares!

...and Family character dares!

Spend sometime exploring the basic foundations of parent engagment and then learn about a variety of classroom strategies you can use to engage parents in student learning.

This article is directed towards parents and discusses how they can support their child through career exploration.

Designed to help teachers build positive relationships with families, this Module highlights the diversity of families and addresses the factors that school personnel should understand about working with the families of children with disabilities (est. completion time: 1 hour).

*Digital citizenship (balanced usage)
*EdTech rating & reviews
*Expert advice
*Family engagement resources
*Free monthly webinars

*Digital Passport & Digital Compass games for students
*Videos, toolkits, lesson plans, posters, and more!

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This amazing video will clearly explain the PeBL philosophy at Sun West School Division. The who, what, when, where, why and how of PeBL are addressed and articluated clearly for the parent and community audience. Topics include the continuum of learning, transfer of responsibility, personalized learning, the three pillars of PeBL. This resource will clearly explain everything you need to know to get started embracing PeBL at home!

230 conversation starters to get the conversation rolling!

The starters are for various ages and maturity levels. As the parent, you know your child best and we will leave it to you to select appropriate starters.

-getting to know your child
-your relationship with your child
-family
-blended and adopted families
-values and character
-school and learning
-emotions
-friendships and peers
-bullying
-drugs and alcohol
-consent, love, marriage and sexual preference
-body image and gender roles
-spirituality

Students take their ideas from the classroom page to the community pavement when they participate in a service-learning project based on their multimedia presentations.

The AI Family Challenge is a free, hands-on AI education program that brings families, schools, communities, and technology know-it-alls together to give everyone the chance to learn, play and create with AI.

Seesaw is a valuable learning and communication tool to bring the classroom experience into the homes of your students and engage parents as partners in their child’s education. Documentation of learning, through Seesaw, will have an incredible impact on engagement as it showcases evidence and growth of learning in a timely and family-friendly manner. The continuum guide is intended to provide educators with concrete formative assessment examples of the types, and depth, of information that educators can track and share with families. Adapted and developed with permission from Prairie Valley School Division No. 208 and Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division No.119

History has many faces in this lesson in which students read Jane Addams Award-winning books to learn about peace, social justice, world community, and equality.

The following is a collection of resources and strategies to help teachers connect with families positively and engage them in their child's learning. Use this resource to help ensure you have a family friendly school with parents involved in the school and their child's education.
Community connections are also explored.
Together the parents, teacher, student and community can work together to forge a positive and successful experience for all stakeholders involved.

This is a collection of tools to assess the effectiveness of family engagement in a school's learning community.

This resource, produced by the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (co-authored by HFRP’s Christine Patton and M. Elena Lopez), discusses the importance of families’ support for their children’s learning and development as children transition to new environments. The resource positions the transition to kindergarten as a pivotal point for establishing the kinds of practices that can help sustain gains children have made in their early learning settings, and offers examples of successful program practices that Head Start and Early Head Start staff can use to help children and families with this transition.