Schools Engaging Families
WINTER EDITION 2025-26
PDE Conference - SAVE THE DATES!
Join us for the 2026 Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education's premiere event,
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Educational Practices That Work!
Don't miss out, make plans now to participate in this event, bringing together school leaders, teachers, related service providers, IU staff, psychologists, guidance counselors, families, community organizations, and experts in various areas of general and special education.
LEARN * NETWORK * VISIT VENDORS AND POSTER SESSIONS * HAVE FUN
More details and registration information coming soon! Check the PaTTAN website frequently.
PaTTAN's Technology Adventure was a Statewide Success!
This Fall, PaTTAN hosted its second annual Technology Adventure for Students with Hearing and Vision Needs in three locations across the Commonwealth, highlighting information and products for students with blindness, low vision, deafness, hearing impairment, and deaf-blindness. Exploration of materials and assistive technology products from over 30 vendors in the Exhibit Hall were enjoyed by over 270 teachers, students, community partners, families, and related service providers. Presentations from the PA Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BBVS), the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH), and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) informed participants of the continuum of services available to students across the lifespan, focusing on secondary transition to adulthood.
Reach out to PaTTAN's Low-Incidence Disability Team to support students with sensory impairments. Share this information with families, colleagues, and students.
- Deaf-Blind
- Deaf/Hard of Hearing
- Blind/Visual Impairment, and
- Subscribe to the PaTTAN Family Resource Group for resources and information on all three disability areas.
Engaging Every Family: A Practical Guide to Building School Culture & Student Success
Engaging Every Family: Free Action Playbook for Educators, a free resource from Drs. Steve and Peggie Constantino, is a short, practical guide that outlines five specific things you can do to move family engagement from theory to practice — without adding more to your plate.
✅ Build a culture that invites families in✅ Communicate more effectively (and proactively)
✅ Help families feel confident supporting learning
✅ Involve families in decision-making
✅ Leverage the wider community
Download your copy here, compliments of The Constantino Group.
Ignite Engagement: Communications Best Practices Guide
CAFACE, the California Family and Community Engagement Initiative, published "IGNITE ENGAGEMENT! Communications Best Practices for Building Family Engagement Awareness" in June 2025. This comprehensive guide is designed for all communications teams, educational leaders, and family engagement champions and provides a universal starting point for a shared vision, practical steps, and key insights needed to elevate family voices and harness community strengths. Though developed by the CA FACE, the content is pertinent to all states, including our Commonwealth. Here are some examples of areas in which this resource can help you:
- Planning A Family Engagement Campaign & Sample Timeline
- Sharing Communication Channels & Best Practices
- Crafting Engaging Content
- Tracking Key Metrics to Measure and Report Impact
- Providing Resources and Frameworks
(Shared with permission from CAFACE)
The Importance of Family Engagement
The EdTrust article, "The Importance of Family Engagement," states that authentic family and community engagement is a key strategy for improving students’ social-emotional and academic outcomes. EdTrust has three reports on family engagement that cover a diverse range of topics and provide guidance on improving communication with families and communities:
- “Engaging First: Supporting Young Learners Through Family Engagement” - A survey of parents’ perceptions of how schools engage with them post-pandemic.
- “How Student, Family, and Community Engagement Impacts Students’ Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD)” - Changes policymakers at all levels can make to improve family and community engagement.
- “Making Assessment Reports More Meaningful for Students & Families” - Improvements in how results of federally required annual assessments are shared with families.
(Shared with permission from EdTrust)
Adapted from Patricia Weinzapfel's, Patricia's Pointers
"But it's the Law!"
In education, sometimes we have to follow the law when we are communicating with families.
Our Pennsylvania Department of Education may require us to send home a certain letter or form. We may have to send home correspondence from a judge or the courts. We may have to share legal correspondence from a community partner.
Many times, these documents are…well…less than family friendly.
Even if state law or policy requires us to send home certain letters or forms, there is no reason we can't “translate” or “repackage” the information for families.
We can include a cover letter to the cover letter, or a summary page that’s a bit more understandable and readable.
Follow the 10/10 Rule
No one likes to wait. Think about when you walk into a restaurant. If you’re not greeted right away, it just doesn’t feel good, does it?
In customer service, there’s a guideline called the “ten-ten" rule. It encourages employees to greet customers who enter within 10 seconds of being within 10 feet of them. Essentially, it means that employees should greet people when they are getting in close proximity.
Following this rule in a school, whether it’s in the front office, school pick-up line, or hallway can help create an environment where families feel welcomed.
(Resources shared with permission from Patricia Weinzapfel)
