Symposium on Parent Engagement - Session 4 "Best Practices in Parent Engagement Programs"

Symposium on parent engagement:

Best practices in parent engagement programsK-12 parent engagement panel

Guest Panelist: Mary Wegner

• 25+ years in education (K-20, SPED/Gifted/Tech)• Goal: Transform learning and teaching to be

meaningful for today’s students• Grassroots Advocacy in Alaska and for the

International Society for Technology in Education• Research Focus: critical thinking, social learning,

and role of arts/culture in learning

Assistant SuperintendentSitka School DistrictSitka, Alaska

Guest Panelist: Steven Anderson

• Helps guide a technology program for over 53,000 students

• Passionate about use of social media for students and teachers

• Educator, speaker, renowned blogger, and avid tweeter

• In 2009 and 2011 voted by peers as EdublogAwards Most Influential Tweeter

Director of Instructional TechnologyWinston-Salem/Forsyth County SchoolsWinston-Salem, North Carolina

Guest Panelist: Christine Corliss

• Designed and maintains district website• Established district’s social media presence• Coordinates the integration of software and

information systems• Past experience includes programmer-analyst,

corporate public relations manager, and corporate publication editor with AT&T

District Webmaster and Publicity CoordinatorCaldwell-West Caldwell School DistrictWest Caldwell, New Jersey

Attendee Poll

What do you consider to be the biggest obstacle in your parent involvement efforts at your district/schools?

Panel Discussion: Parent Engagement in Academic Achievement

Describe a channel your district uses to engage parents in learning. And, what results have you realized?

Sitka Schools:

Strategic Plan = Iterative Community Feedback

• ~10% response rate between the 2 surveys

• Powerful message that we want to hear from all parents/community

Sitka Schools:

Sitka Schools:

Sitka Schools:

Sitka Schools:

Sitka Schools:

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

Caldwell-West Caldwell:

Caldwell-West Caldwell:

Caldwell-West Caldwell:

Attendee Poll

What tools are your district/schools using to support communication between teachers and parents?

Panel Discussion: Connecting with Parents

Do your schools / district systematically collect parent feedback via forms, surveys, social media, or other tools? If so, how often and what tools are you using?

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

Caldwell-West Caldwell:

Caldwell-West Caldwell:

Sitka Schools:

Sitka Schools:

Attendee Poll

Does your district mandate that all teachers have a webpage where parents can access vital classroom-level information?

Panel Discussion: Digital Learning and Parent Engagement

How are your districts’ teaching and learning goals aligned with parents’ expectations for effective use of technology in the classroom? Share some examples of what your teachers are doing.

Caldwell-West Caldwell:

Recordings of school performances with photo galleries and video clips

Hyperlinks to Smart Board notes, PowerPoint packages, review sheets, and more

Sitka Schools:

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County:

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