Family and Community Engagement

The “Parental Involvement in Their Children's Education's Act” [SC Code of Laws, Sec. 59-28] is a comprehensive act that includes a set of definitions and expectations for various entities around parental involvement. The Act includes a variety of components which have been implemented and some others which have not. The Act is a strong foundation for the work taking place within the agency to meet ESSA requirements, as well as for the Family Engagement Framework development process.

The evolution of parent involvement to parent engagement signifies moving parents from routinely attending school functions as invited participants to a more active role as partners in students’ achievement. The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) recognizes the value of parent engagement and defines family engagement as when, “[f]amilies are actively involved in the learning and development of all students to become college- and career-ready.” Family engagement is of utmost importance in ensuring each student has an opportunity to be college, career, and citizenship ready upon graduation.

The South Carolina Family Engagement K-12 Framework, serves as a resource guide for schools and districts to plan and implement strategies for engaging families.

Family Engagement K-12 Framework Strategies for Success

Stakeholders were engaged across multiple career and expertise sectors, and tasked with identifying core strategies that should serve as a foundational structure for a family engagement framework. Identified foundational strategies include Building Relationships, Communication, Linking Families to Learning Outcomes, Collaborative Practices, and Community Partnerships. The strategies identified are not stand-alone strategies but are interlinked to show relational significance.

Building Relationships

Community Partnership

Communication

Collaborative Practices

Linking
Families to
Learning Outcomes

Click strategy below to checkout promising practices across SC

Building Relationships: Ladson Elementary School
The foundation for building relationships begins with mutual respect, trust, and valuing diversity. Relationships should encompass the ability to communicate with the purpose of listening and learning, as well as apprising all partners and advocates of a student’s social-emotional and academic development.

Communication: Richland County School District One
Effective communication is the ability to convey and receive information from families and advocates thus, establishing a two-way communication system using multiple approaches and methods. Clear and ongoing communication contributes to the efforts of building relationships between schools, families, and communities.

Linking Families to Learning Outcomes: Lexington-Richland Five School District
Families need to be informed of how they play a pivotal role in the success of their students. Connecting families to learning outcomes supports the cultivation of their buy-in for their student’s overall attainment of the Profile. Families are presented with numerous obstacles that may hinder their ability to be involved at their students’ schools; however, according to research, “the strongest and most consistent predictors of parents’ involvement at school and at home are the specific school programs and teachers’ practices that encourage and guide parent involvement. Regardless of parent education, family size, student ability, or school level…parents are more likely to become partners in their children’s education if they perceive that the schools have strong practices to involve parents at school” (Epstein and Dauber,1991, p. 297).

Collaborative Practices: Liberty STEAM Charter School
Initiatives should strive to bring families and staff together so that they can learn from and with each other. Collaborative practices signify that relationships between families and practitioners are reciprocal and build upon the strengths of both parties. Everyone is viewed through an asset-based lens: teachers, families, community members, and the students (Mapp, Carver, and Lander, 2017). Collaborative practices allow for the sharing of information and working together to deliver outcomes that are not easily or effectively achieved by working in silos.

Community Partnerships: Clarendon County School District
Community partnerships are mutual commitments and an ongoing practice in which community organizations and schools engage families in relevant and culturally suitable ways. School community partnerships can take a variety of forms. The most common linkages are partnerships with businesses, which can differ significantly in focus, scope, and content. Other school community linkages involve universities, other educational institutions, government and military agencies, health care organizations, faith-based organizations, national service and volunteer organizations, senior citizen organizations, cultural and recreational institutions, other community-based organizations, and community volunteers who may provide resources and social support to youth and schools. Partnership activities also may have multiple foci; activities may be student, family, school, or community centered (Epstein and Associates, 2009).