The Power of Information, Responsiveness to Parental Need, and Ongoing Support for the Enhanced Competence of All Students

National Association of School Psychologists2010 Distinguished Lecture

Sandra L. Christenson, Ph.D.

Response to Intervention A data driven decision making process for

intervention designEvidence-based Interventions and PracticesSchool-Family Partnerships

The mesosystemic influence on students’ learning and developmental outcomes

A mentor works with students and partners with families for a minimum of two years, regularly checking on the educational progress of the student, intervening in a timely manner to re-establish and maintain the student’s connection to school and learning and to enhance the student’s social and academic competence.

Universal80%

Targeted15%

Intensive5%

Treatment-control differences for secondary students with disabilities in longitudinal designs: Improved attendance (absences, tardies, skips) Improved social skills and homework completionEnrolled in school and making progress towards degree

(credits earned)Higher graduation rates for five years

Check & Connect has met the evidence-based standards of the WWC for staying and progressing in school (www.whatworksclearinghouse.gov)

Parent–Child Relationship

Teacher–Student

Relationship

Family–School Relationship

A fourth implication of “forgetting” the power of the family-school relationship piece, described by Pianta and Walsh (1996), relates to how risk is conceptualized. Not status variables (income, ethnicity), but

rather discontinuity Students educated in high risk vs. low risk

situations

Power of the family-school relationshipContinuity in goals, expectations, and

messages about learning – shared languageExtend learning timeAcross time and development

Pay as much attention to the starting line as we do the finish line

Process was not easy. . . “Dr. Greg, you must take time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated, but we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time.”

Stranger Honored guest Become family – and we would do anything

for family

“He taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down, and to make relationships as important as building projects. He taught me I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever teach them.”

Time to build trust, power of co-construction, and role of problem solving

Response to Intervention supports engaging with parents First sign of concern for the student Reason for connection is to improve student

outcomes Naturally allows for “complementary efforts

toward common and shared goals” (Seeley, 1985)

Structured problem solving and joint monitoring of school performance

Universal80%

Targeted15%

Intensive5%

Develop a communication system Ensure parents know and understand school

policies and practices, effective teaching practices and home support for learning, and recognize their role in supporting their children’s learning

Information sharing about course registration for high school students – advancing academic rigor of students’ course selection

To engage with some parents, we must attend to unique needs of family circumstances.Benefit of responding to parents desires and goalsMentors dialogue with parents about personal

constraints and engage in problem solvingWhat resources or information do you desire to assist

your children’s learning?

Distributed learning packets to homes to reinforce classroom reading skills

Parent education and Parent-Teacher conferences

A very individualized focus – one that provides ongoing support paired with information and attention to family need.

Regular, systematic contact: Voicemail, postcards Home or community visits and ongoing consultation News at nine – systematic monitoring of student

performance Mentors have engaged in many problem solving

meetings and ongoing dialogue

Persistence: There is someone who is not going to give up on the parent or allow the parent to be distracted from the importance of his or her child’s learning.

Continuity: There is someone who knows the parent’s needs and desires and is available - preferably across school years.

Consistency: The message is that you are very important for the educational and life success of your child. We can find a way that works.

The reason for the relationship is to promote positive learning experiences and outcomes for the student.

Ensure that parents have the information and resources needed to support their children’s learning.

Perspective-taking is modeled and used in all interactions

Commitment to the relationships - Recognize that trusting relationships build over time.

Maintain a positive, honest orientation to communication.

Develop a two-way communication system.Structured problem solving

Invited, informed and were informed by, and included families

Handle and manage conflict

Centrality of the mesosystemContinuity in messages and effortsEnhance and account for out-of-school learning time

Focus of the family-school relationship is student success at school

Actions to join the two systems Enhance problem solving and conflict resolution Help teachers form relationships with families Support families to be an active partner

Operate at a mesosystemic level and create engaged partnerships in RtI“The central problem in the development of

partnerships is failure to establish collaborative, trusting, empowering relationships between families and educators that support effective service delivery.” (Blue-Banning et al., 2004)

Provide differentiated supports for parentsThe power of information, responsiveness to parental

need, and ongoing support

Engaging with parents is more than a list of 6 ideas to help your teen

It is ongoing problem solving or what John Fantuzzo has referred to as: shared goals + contributions + accountability

For some families it takes more than “Three Cups of Tea”

If the parent chooses not to participate, school personnel can explain they will do their part at school; however, they can make it clear that they believe this is only part of the equation for student success and they know the child would perform better in school if the school and parents partner to enhance children’s learning and behavior. Parents need to be told explicitly that without a shared effort toward a common goal, the probability the child will perform less well on school tasks is increased.

Sandra L. Christenson, Ph.D.Birkmaier Professor of Educational LeadershipUniversity of Minnesota School Psychology Program56 East River Road, 250 ESBMinneapolis, MN 55455612-624-0037 chris002@umn.edu

Thank you!

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