Lessons from the Field Webinar - Strategies for Engaging Families to Support Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success

Attention: State and District Leaders, School Administrators, Educators, Student Support Personnel, Parents, and Education Stakeholders  

The U.S. Department of Education is hosting a webinar series to address topics that are on the top of educators’ minds. After sharing federal updates, the series features lessons learned and best practices from faculty, staff, schools, districts, institutions of higher education, and other places of educational instruction. It also shares a variety of useful resources.  

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) invites you to join our next webinar, Strategies for Engaging Families to Support Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success.  

Wednesday, September 20, 2023 
3:00 – 4:30 pm ET 

Building mutually trusting and respectful relationships between educators and families plays a critical role in building safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments for all students. This session is the third in the Miniseries on Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success, with a focus on strategies for schools to enhance relationships with families. The session began with an overview of the importance of building meaningful relationships with families and strategies to support family engagement in schools. Then, we heard from a family member and advocate about the experiences of families in their community and what schools can do to best support families and students. Finally, via a panel discussion, speakers from school districts and organizations that support family engagement efforts shared practical strategies for engaging and supporting families, as well as lessons learned and future directions.  

Speaker  

• Marion Baldwin, Senior Technical Assistance Consultant, American Institutes for Research 

Panelists 

• Erin Bartlett Lipsker, Restorative Practices and Mediation Program Manager, Department of Family and Community Engagement, Spokane Public Schools, WA 
• Sarah Butcher, Co-Founder and Director, Roots of Inclusion, WA 
• Kimberly David, CEO, Project Success of Vermilion County, Inc., Danville, IL 
• Maria Ethetton, Family Engagement Coordinator, Richardson Independent School District, Dallas, TX 
• Celia Luviano Vargas, Family member and advocate, TX 

Moderator 

• Greta Colombi, Director, National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) 

Webinar Materials

• Speaker bios
• Slides
• Transcript

Related Resources 

• Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates - English Version, Versión en Español, U.S. Department of Education
• Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success: Strategies for Schools to Enhance Relationships with Families – English Version, Versión en Español, U.S. Department of Education 
• U.S. Department of Education Families Webpage
• The Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, Karen Mapp, Marissa Alberty, and Eyal Bergman  
• Strategies and Resources to Support Effective Family Engagement, Carnegie Corporation of New York
• Community Conversation Toolkit, Roots of Inclusion

Please contact NCSSLE if you have any questions. We look forward to sharing this information with you and hearing about the important work you are doing in your schools, communities, and states to meet the needs of students and staff. 

More on the Lessons from the Field Webinar Series

To access archived materials from previous webinars and to find out what is coming next, go here.