Session 5: Communicating with Parents

Sequence of SessionsPRINCIPALS This one-day training is designed for principals leading the adoption of CKLA. The training will be focused on building a deeper understanding of CKLA quality implementation and why this focus (i.e., quality implementation) is critical to supporting student and teacher growth within the program. Time will also be given to communication around CKLA and tools that are available for supporting outreach efforts around CKLA.

TEACHERSThis one-day training is designed for teachers using CKLA. The training will build teachers’ capacity to take a ‘continuous improvement’ approach to implementation of CKLA. The focus is on gathering evidence for formative (rather than evaluative) purposes (teachers own learning and learning about students in ways that shape instruction). Research suggests this mindset, and these protocols, are supportive of schools and classrooms engaging in successful change, such as engaging in a new curricular adoption.

Overarching Objectives of this February 2014 Network Team Institute:PRINCIPALS 1. Support principals in understanding the sources of data present in CKLA and how to complement these data with added types of assessments,

depending on the questions that need to be answered regarding student performance. 2. Support principals in understanding the importance of building collaborative conversations around CKLA to support teachers’ own learning within

the curricular adoption. 3. To expose principals to a specific protocol called Looking at Student, which is designed to structure teachers’ collaborative conversations around

their teaching/CKLA and illustrate this protocol as a means of enhancing the quality of their curricular implementation.4. To support principals in observing curricular implementation and considering quality versus fidelity of implementation within these exemplars.

TEACHERS1. Support teachers in understanding the sources of data present in CKLA and how to complement these data with added types of assessments,

depending on the questions that need to be answered regarding student performance. 2. Support teachers in understanding, using, and sharing the Looking at Student work protocol as a means to enhance students learning within CKLA

and teachers own knowledge and skill in using the CKLA curricula.3. To support teachers in understanding, using, and sharing a process for building rubrics within CKLA.

High-Level Purpose of this Session:PRINCIPALSSession Description: This session will introduce principals to various resources that have been posted with the intent of understanding these resources as means of outreach to parents. The focus will be on examining the key messages about CKLA that are critical to convey to begin garnering support (inside

and outside the school). As such the focus will be on key questions that arise and the tools available to support messaging around these ideas. We will also examine key misconceptions and discuss (and share) strategic ways that principals can, and have, supported learning around these misconceptions.TEACHERSSession Description: This session will introduce participants to various resources that have been posted with the intent of understanding these resources as means of outreach to parents. We will organize these resources around some key questions that administrators and teachers may be encountering from parents. Time will be given in this session to watch parts of key resources to enhance familiarity and to foster discussion on how to facilitate a process for proactively sharing this information. Included in the resources that we will examine are sample report cards aligned to CKLA, webinars that may be useful to parents, and resource we will also consider is the report card. Sample report cards, revised to incorporate a CKLA lens, will be examined and time for participants to consider.

Related Learning Experiences This training assumes general prior knowledge about CKLA. For schools, teachers, or administrators who are interested in knowing more about Core Knowledge, there are prior training modules posted on EngageNY.org that provide this general support (see . http://www.engageny.org/resource/professional-development-turnkey-kit-ela-p-2-overview for modules of training, on-demand webinars, etc.). It is recommended that anyone new to Core Knowledge look over the material on the program prior to attending this training.

Key Points (Not yet written) This session will…

Session Outcomes

What do we want participants to be able to do as a result of this session? How will we know that they are able to do this?

In this session principals and teachers will:1. Become familiar with tools and resources that are available to

support communication with families and parents.

In-session activities

Session Overview Section Time Overview Prepared Resources Facilitator Preparation

Domino Share __

This section will allow participants to share key information they already want to communicate to parents and to consider overlaps and/or gaps in their initial thinking.

Session 5: Communicating with Parents, slides 1 - 2

Handouts:1.

The role of parents in CKLA and the child’s success

__

This section will prepare participants to consider the importance of parent involvement during CKLA implementation.

Session 5: Communicating with Parents, slide 3

One school’s efforts for parental involvement __

This section will provide participants with examples from a large parent event used to engage parents in their children’s learning.

Session 5: Communicating with Parents, slides 4 - 9

Core Knowledge resources for working with parents

__

This section will provide participants with newly posted tools for parent involvement and identify helpful handouts for parent events.

Session 5: Communicating with Parents, slides 10-11

Reflection __

This section will allow participants to share their ideas and past experience with parent orientations relative to the examples provided in this session.

Session 5: Communicating with Parents, slide 12

Handouts:

Additional examples of year-round parent involvement

__

This section will provide participants time to consider additional examples of parent events that can occur throughout the school year.

Session 5: Communicating with Parents, slides 12 - 25

Reflection

Connect, Question, ExtendParticipants can discuss what they have learned, want to try, ask questions about what was missing and reflect on what is important to take away.

Session 5: Communicating with Parents, slide 26

Session Roadmap

Section 1: Domino Share Time: __

[20] In this section, participants will share key information they already want to communicate to parents and consider overlaps and/or gaps in their initial thinking.

Materials used (in slides)

Time Slide #/ Pic of Slide Script/ Activity directions

Slide 1

Slide 2 Key Points:1. Participants share what they think is the most critical/overarching information they feel

parents should know about CKLA.2. Participants share what they have already informed parents about CKLA effectively or

information they have not yet been able to convey.

Section 2: The role of parents in CKLA and the child’s success

[__ minutes] In this section, participants will consider the importance of parent involvement during CKLA implementation.

Slide 3 Key Points:1. Parents are an important support.2. CKLA can be different and it helps everyone when parents can understand and be

on board.3. Teachers play a huge role in making this connection.

Section 3: One school’s efforts for parental involvement

[__ minutes] In this section, you will examine examples from a large parent event used to engage parents in their children’s learning.

Slide 4 Key Points:1. While socioeconomics play a huge role in the challenge of helping students

succeed, having a curriculum to help increase student knowledge is only half the battle.

2. Educating their parents about how to enhance their child’s learning experience in the home is the real challenge.

3. This is one schools effort. In the face of that we knew, the effort was worthwhile.

Slide 5 Key Points:1. This school documented its commitment to strengthen home-school relationships

by working toward goals listed in their Parent Involvement Policy.

Slide 6 Key Points:1. As the literacy coach for K-2nd grade, it was important to me to ensure that

Core Knowledge was represented in this and that Core Knowledge had a voice. My mission was how to interpret these goals and connect them in K-2 for students and their parents around CKLA. I took the lens of understanding that parents needed to learn what their children were learning.

2. My priority was to help parents make the shift from leaving the teaching to the school, where learning ends at 3 0’clock, and empowering them to learn the skills they would need to extend and reinforce the learning in the home. The approach was about training parents, providing them with opportunities for interactive learning. Because Core Knowledge is about the infinite learning on topics that can happen. I wanted to get the parents excited about that. It was a huge challenge but a great mission.

Slide 7 Key Points:1. Holding a Parent Curriculum Conference in September set the tone for a year of

parent communication.2. The conference provided an opportunity for parents to learn about school policy,

curriculum and programs and meet key school personnel.3. The forum of meeting as an Core Knowledge K-2 cohort created a sense of

community for students and parents.

Slide 8 Key Points:1. Meeting in the smaller classroom environment provides parents with an opportunity to receive attention to their specific needs.2. Teachers can make a huge impact on student success when they share their expectations for learning, including attendance and punctuality, with parents.

Slide 9 Key Point:1. In classroom information sessions, teachers can help parents know exactly how

they will be expected to participate in their child’s learning.

Section 4: Core Knowledge resources for working with parents

[__ minutes] In this section, participants will be reminded of newly posted tools for parent involvement and identify helpful handouts for parent events.

Slide 10 Key Point:1. Consider using the Core Knowledge power point “Tools for Working with Parents” as

an effective way to provide parent orientation at the beginning of the year.

Slide 11 Key Point:1. Displaying how their children will learn to read and how they will be taught to write

and where that shows up in the program, can help assuage any fears that parents have about their child missing something.

Section 5: Reflection

[__] In this section, participants will share their ideas and past experience with parent orientations relative to the examples provided in this session.

Slide 12 Key Points:1. Participants can reflect on what they have heard and what they would like to try for

parent orientation.

Section 6: Additional examples of year-round parental involvement

[__] In this section, participants will consider additional examples of parent events that can occur throughout the school year.

Slide 13 Key Points:1. Following up the informational V.I.P. night with an interactive instructional workshop

in November, provides parents with an opportunity to learn about and practice the skills that their students have gained in the first couple of months in school.

2. Here is a combination Skills, Listening and Learning, Library workshop held at the school.

Slide 14 Key Points:1. The family Reading Workshop Agenda included interactive Skills activities to help

parents understand the CKLA rationale of a sounds first approach.2. Parents observed a Listening and Learning Read-Aloud done by a teacher. The

teacher annotated the read-aloud enough to convey how the L & L read-alouds are used on a daily basis to help children build background knowledge, vocabulary and listening and speaking skills.

3. The librarian helped parents understand the importance of reading aloud trade books with their child at home and how that might differ from an L & L read aloud done in the classroom.

Slide 15 Key Points:1. We collected feedback sheets to help gauge the parent’s responses to what was

shared in the workshop.2. Parents were provided with a feedback sheet that included the prompts… I notice…, I

think…, I like…, I learned…, I wonder…, I would like to learn more about…

Slide 16 Key Points:1. Family Game night held in March proved to be popular with families. The games

were taken from templates found in Skills Pausing point Activities and the Assessment and Remediation Guide.

2. A make and take activity table provided parents with actual materials to make and take to use at home to reinforce learning.

Slide 17 Key Points:1. Templates and instructions for how to play for each of these games can be found in

the Skills Teacher’s Guides under the Pausing Points section and in the Assessment and Remediation Guides.

Slide 18 Key Points:1. Templates and instructions for how to play for each of these games can be found

in the Skills Teacher’s Guides under the Pausing Points section and in the Assessment and Remediation Guides.

Slide 19 Key Points:1. Templates and instructions for how to play for each of these games can be found

in the Skills Teacher’s Guides under the Pausing Points section and in the Assessment and Remediation Guides.

Slide 20 Key Point:1. Templates and instructions for how to play for each of these games can be found

in the Skills Teacher’s Guides under the Pausing Points section and in the Assessment and Remediation Guides.

Slide 21 Key Points:1. In April we invited families to enjoy a special “Family Story Night”. Families came

together in the gym in a “campfire like style” fashion.

Slide 22 Key Points:1. Teachers and administrators read and act out revisited stories from the fiction

Listening and Learning domains from Kindergarten and First Grade.2. Teachers present interactive Listening and Learning demonstrations, showing read-

aloud images, demonstrating how questions are asked, how we ask students to respond in full sentences, how we focus on vocabulary as we read in context.

3. Students turn and talk to their parents about the read aloud heard. Families practice the classroom student expectations of taking turns speaking, listening and expressing themselves in full sentences.

4. Parents then practice reading aloud domain related trade books to their children.

Slide 23 Key Points:1. To bring parents into the school throughout the year, parents are invited to domain

related monthly assemblies.

Slide 24 Key Points:1. Throughout the year we made an effort to help parents understand exactly what their

child was learning through written communication.2. We helped to keep communication strong by supplementing official report cards

distributed in November, March and June with progress reports in October, January and May.

3. The report cards and progress reports were grade specific and included CKLA learning objectives and goals.

Slide 25 Key Points:1. Be creative about drawing parents into the school community to keep the focus on

helping children hone their reading skills.2. So often parents take on the role of speaker and reader. This Listening Nook in Newark,

New Jersey’s Quitman Elementary School helps reverse that role by having adults take on the role of listener.

Slide 26 Key Points:1. Debrief: Connect, Question, Extend. What ideas seem most relevant now. How did this

case study on parent outreach compare to the ideas you originally brainstormed? Do you feel all the major topics were covered? What was missing?

Use the following icons in the script to indicate different learning modes.

Video Reflect on a prompt Active learning Turn and talk

Turnkey Materials Provided

Additional Suggested Resources