How to Build a Family Engagement Dream Team
There are pros and cons to working in a group. It’s challenging to take on big projects or initiatives all on your own, but at the same time it sometimes seems easier to carry something out without bringing in a chorus of people and their opinions.
It’s so common in schools that one person is the only one championing family engagement efforts — whether it’s a principal, PTA president, or someone else.
Sometimes that lone ranger “knows how it should be done” and charges ahead without input from others. Other times they don’t want to go it alone, but it’s hard to get others involved in family engagement initiatives.
Either way, it’s difficult for one person to carry an entire family engagement program and it’s easier for initiatives to fail without a TEAM.
What it takes to build your Family Engagement Dream Team
It takes a team of committed adults to really make a lasting, integrated, community-level impact in your school.
It takes people feeling that their ideas are heard and valued. It takes people participating and actually engaging in the process of creating an environment for themselves and the children.
Consider these points when building your team:
Naming Your Family Engagement Team
You can call your team anything you like.
We like ‘P-TAG’ (Parent-Teacher A to G).
Alief ISD likes its ‘FAME’ (Alief Family and Community Engagement).
Joyce Epstein is into ‘Family-School Partnership’.
The name is not the issue as much as what is involved in the process of creating what is wanted at the school as well as who is involved in making those decisions and carrying them out.
Who Should Join Your Family Engagement Team?
Building a team is a lot more work than going it alone. A football team can't function with only a quarterback or a baseball team with only a pitcher. Sure, they are pivotal players, but without the rest of the team, there's no game. There's no reason to even be there and there are certainly no fans eating hot dogs and enjoying the day.
Building a team means including everyone—the math teacher, the bus driver, the tech guru and the mom from across the street. It's the principal and the pottery designer. And as you can tell just from the descriptions of the players, there will be big differences in the way things are seen and done. That's not a bad thing, but it can feel uncomfortable if these are not things you've done before.
Your principal and several teachers can certainly decide what to do and probably get it done well, but they've been doing it that way for a long time and in most cases the parents don't feel and really aren't involved. Parents will either give in or get resentful and create problems. Giving in often means there's no differences of opinion, but it also means there's little to no engagement. Making problems speaks for itself and is the thing we were trying to avoid!
Want more tips?
For Teachers: Build Your Family Engagement Dream Team
In this short PDF, we cover:
The 8 people & perspectives you NEED on your team
Scheduling timelines and tips to maintain momentum
Email templates so invitees say YES
After You Start: Getting the Support You Need
Getting the principal and pottery designer (and the bus driver and teacher) in the same room is only the first step.
If you find yourself wanting support in helping bring the valuable perspectives from each of your team members out to appreciate their full value, we’re here.
Our EdCoaches don’t tell you what to do, but we do help build communication, trust, and relationships so the gems in your family engagement dream team naturally emerge. The results are then yours to enjoy.
Family Friendly Schools has been doing this work for over 20 years. Helping facilitate team building and providing accountability is a big part of what we do. We know how this can feel. We also know why you may not want to do this kind of team building, and our experience tells us this is what works.
Committed to your success,
Dr. Joni Samples
