Contact: Joseph M. Fratoni 610-909-5708 jfratoni@onegreenapple.com 1060 First Avenue Suite 400, King of Prussia, PA 19406

Catalyst for Change: Transforming Family Engagement

in Education

• A strong body of research shows that family engagement is critical for student success … yet family engagement strategies that research shows to be effective are not what most schools currently invest in

• Simply put, conventional methods to implement these strategies take too much time, energy, and cost to accomplish and manage successful family engagement

One Green Apple’s cost-effective, technology-based solution incorporates current research and addresses the most critical needs for successful school-family engagement.

Independent Research

The Harvard Family Research Project & the Southeast Education Development Laboratory are nonprofit education research, development, and dissemination organizations. The Flamboyan Foundation is a private, family foundation focused on improving educational outcomes for children in Pre-K-12 public schools.

The School - Family Connection

Family Engagement takes on various forms

depending who is defining it,

but which has the most impact on

student achievement?

Family engagement has the most impact when it is directly linked to learning

(Westmoreland, Rosenberg, Lopez, & Weiss, 2009)

Learning is enhanced when parents stimulate their children’s intellectual achievement (Walberg & Paik, 2004)

- How was your day?- Homework?

A statistically significant relationship holds across “families of all economic, racial/ethnic, and educational backgrounds, and all ages” (Henderson & Mapp, 2002)

Some forms of involvement, such as volunteering and attendance at school events, had little effect (Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996)

Greatest Impact on Achievement: Family Engagement

* All points identified by clinical study or source

Some parents have low levels of school-related skills or they can’t communicate in English (US DOE & US Dept of HHS, 2000)

They may have bad memories of their own school experiences (Funkhouser & Gonzales, 1997)

They may be overwhelmed by other realities of their families’ lives or lack transportation (Sanders & Sheldon, 2009)

Immigrant families may avoid all school contact for fear of being questioned, detained, or deported as illegal immigrants- even if they have legal status (Wherry, 2010)They may feel that school culture is

foreign to them (Boethal, 2003)

Barriers to Parental Involvement

* All points identified by clinical study or source

Need to focus on “valuing, not changing parents” (McCollum, 1996)

Students made ”greater and more consistent gains when teachers were ‘especially active’ in outreach to parents” (Henderson and Mapp, 2002)

When teachers “involved low-achieving students’ parents early on, students were able to resolve their learning difficulties before they multiplied” (Westat & Policy Studies Association, 2001)

Maintain “a consistent message of what is expected of parents, and reaching parents directly, personally, and with a trusting approach” (Perlman & Redding, 2009)

Encouraging Parental Involvement

* All points identified by clinical study or source

All parents have dreams for their children and want the best for them

All parents have the capacity to support their children’s learning. This depends on:

How parents develop their job description as a parent

How confident parents feel about their ability to help their children

Whether parents feel invited – both by their children and by the school

Core Beliefs for Engaging Families

From “Beyond the Bake Sale – Essential Guide to Parent-School Partnerships”By Anne T. Henderson, Annenberg Institute for School Reform

Parents and school staff should be equal partners

The responsibility for building partnerships between school and home rests primarily with school staff, especially school leaders

Core Beliefs for Engaging Families

From “Beyond the Bake Sale – Essential Guide to Parent-School Partnerships”By Anne T. Henderson, Annenberg Institute for School Reform

“Schools that welcome, value, and incorporate families and communities, …… function most successfully.”

Carmen Farina, Chancellor, NYC Department of Education

Family Engagement in the United States: a non-performing asset!

• Although family engagement has been studied in many clinical environments, a definitive “ROE”- return on education- has never been presented

• If it’s non-quantifiable, it’s non-fundable…

“One can’t manage what one can’t measure”

The result…

$8,118

$1,925$1,076 $472 $433 $379 $5.28*

Instruction,Student Support,& Staff Services

Administration, Operations,

& Maintenance

CapitalProjects

Transportation Food Services Debt Service FamilyEngagement

$12,408

Average School Funding per Student*

* From the National Center for Education Statistics* From survey of school districts & Title 1

Successful Family Engagement includes:

• Parents holding high expectations

• Setting goals

• Monitoring progress and holding the student accountable

• Supporting learning at home

The Flamboyan Foundation is a private, family foundation focused on improving educational outcomes for children in Pre-K-12 public schools.

Effective Schooling: Improving Student Performance Through Family Engagement, by Victoria Dixon-Mokeba

Successful Teacher activities include:

• Initial home visits

• Inviting parents as partners in their child’s education

• Understanding parent expectations

• Preparing meaningful communication

• Monitoring and analyzing family engagement levels

Successful District strategies include:

How Districts Can Lay the Groundwork for Lasting Family Engagement, by Lacy Wood, MLIS; Laura Shankland, MA; Catherine Jordan, MA; and Joyce Pollard, EdD

• Focus on school improvement instead of procedural compliance.

• Make student and school data accessible and meaningful to families.

• Provide training and supports for both educators and families.

• Integrate family engagement standards and measures into educator evaluation systems.

• Create staff positions dedicated to family engagement.

$8,118

$1,925$1,076 $472 $433 $379

$1,197

Instruction,Student Support,& Staff Services

Administration, Operations,

& Maintenance

CapitalProjects

Transportation Food Services Debt Service FamilyEngagement

$12,408

Required School Funding per Student*

*Including Family Engagement Best Practices

$13,600

• Greatly improves efficiency and effectiveness for parents, teacher, & administrators by providing intuitive data-driven decision-making and collaboration tools

• Initial Focus:

We provide unique data analytics through simple user-friendly visual metaphors for education.

- incorporates current research and addresses the most critical needs for successful school-family engagement.

Teacher View

See your ClassesStudents are shown in class rank order; colored for achievement, with drilldown to student background

Filtering Capabilities;Sort by School & Parent provided information

One-on-One Messaging:A date & timed stamped audit trail with Dynamic Translation

Send AlertsTeacher can send notes to parents quickly and easily

Grades or Expectation:See how parent expectations are being met:

Drilldown Records:A 3600 view of the student including family background and expectations provided by the parent

* For a full understanding of the many views, contact us for a demo.

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• Documented increase in communication between home and school – both number of families & volume of interaction

• Documented increase in transfer of actionable information - true personal dialogue

• Teacher/Administrator ease of use and transparency

• Actionable, easy-to-understand, informative metrics - family engagement

- student, teacher, administrator, and school performance

Key Benefits

• Overlays on top of existing systems

• Does not replace existing district applications

• Requires minimal support

OPUSTM fully complies with FERPA regulations, and has received strong support from parent organizations in relation to privacy and the use of student data

Ease of Implementation

• Has been well-received, with interest and accolades from:

• all levels of education

• stakeholders from the classroom to the state capital

• major research facilities.

Due to its collaborative nature, both teacher unions and parent organizations are supporting its implementation.

$8,118

$1,925$1,076 $472 $433 $379 $48

Instruction,Student Support,& Staff Services

Administration, Operations,

& Maintenance

CapitalProjects

Transportation Food Services Debt Service FamilyEngagement

$12,408

Revised School Funding per Student*

$12,451$13,600

*Including Family Engagement Best Practices with