FAMILY ENGAGEMENT NEWSLETTER

With the frigid weather we've been having in Pennsylvania, you're probably glad February is short! But don't let it go by without celebrating all that the month brings. Besides Black History Month, Groundhog Day, the Super Bowl, Presidents' and Valentine's Days, there are fun observances you can do and share with families.

• National Bake for Family Fun Month - make memories, improve children's skills in reading and following instructions using kid-friendly recipes. Show them how science and math are used in everyday life. Ask students to share pictures of their families baking together or, better yet, bring in the finished product! One meal families can bake together is the most important one of the day. Afterall, it is...
• National Hot Breakfast Month, beginning with...
• Ice Cream for Breakfast Day on February 1st (waffles count as a hot breakfast, don't they?)

Our family engagement team is now called "SCHOOLS ENGAGING FAMILIES"

Why the new name? Our efforts and technical assistance around family and community engagement have not changed. The new title better reflects the concept that it is educators facilitating the engagement of families and community members in children's education. While it "takes two to tango," the law clearly states that the responsibility to partner with families is on schools.

Check out all the resources on our PaTTAN webpage under the Collaborative Partnerships tab and learn more about how you can improve family-school engagement.

Five-Dollar/Fifty-Cent Words

Don’t use complicated, long, or fussy language. Speaking or writing, the words you use when communicating with families should be as simple as possible. If you’re using lots of multi-syllable words, especially in one sentence, consider that a huge red flag. If you have a choice between a simple word and a more complex one, always choose the simple one.

Does it Look Readable?
After you finish putting together your newsletter, designing a flier, or crafting a letter, send it to your phone and open it. You may want to print it, too. Spend a bit of time just looking at it. Think to yourself, “Does this look “readable?” If it’s too long or looks too complicated, chances are a busy, tired mom, grandparent, or caregiver might not read it! If you think it looks unreadable, do a rewrite or re-design and use lots of white space.

Patricia's Pointers are weekly emails with short, easy-to-use school-home communication tips.

If you are joining us in Hershey or virtually for the PDE Conference, February 5-7, check out these breakout sessions focusing on partnering with families and your communities:

#6 Meeting Immigrant Families Where They Are: Survivors to Leaders

Wednesday, February 5, 2:50 – 3:50 p.m., Young-chan Han

#13 Leadership Program for Immigrant Parents: What, How, and Why

Wednesday, February 5, 4:10 –5:10 p.m., Young-chan Han

#30 Could Less be More? Results of PA’s Annual Parent Survey for Special Education Accountability, Thursday, February 6, 1:40 – 2:40 p.m., Batya Elbaum, Ph.D.

#43 Woman of Many Hats: Rebecca Fogle Talks with Us about the Roles of Parents in Special Education, Thursday, February 6, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m., Batya Elbaum, Ph.D. and Rebecca Fogle

LET'S MAKE A DIFFERENCE TOGETHER !

Mark your calendars for the new Pennsylvania professional development and networking opportunity!

BRIDGING KNOWLEDGE TO KNOW-HOW:

Empowering Pennsylvania Educators and Partners Conference

📅 Dates: Monday, July 28 - Thursday, 31, 2025

📍 Location: State College, PA

🌟 Dive into sessions focused on:

🔹 Autism
🔹 Sensory Disabilities
🔹 Secondary Transition
🔹 Complex Instructional Needs

🔗For more information, click on the image

or download the flyer.

Join the National PTA’s Center for Family Engagement and the Institute for Educational Leadership for a new season of the webinar series that will dive into deeper topics related to strengthening family-school partnerships through the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships.

This series will highlight systems issues related to family engagement through panel discussions with leading practitioners, researchers, and policymakers who are improving family-school partnerships so that all children can reach their full potential. The first webinar in this series is

Strengthening Family Engagement through Collaborative Partnerships

Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2025, 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Join MAEC for a virtual four-session Community of Practice focused on Asset Mapping—a practical approach to creating effective, culturally inclusive family engagement plans through strategic resource identification and collaboration.

Perfect for educators, administrators, family engagement coordinators, community leaders and organizers, and policymakers and advocates, this series will provide opportunities to connect with peers and learn from experts in the field.

The sessions will be organized as follows:

• January 30, 1-3 pm (ET): What is Asset Mapping?
• February 27, 1-3 pm (ET): Assessment Mapping Tools
• March 27, 1-3 pm (ET): How are you engaging assets? Part I
• April 24, 1-3 pm (ET): How are you engaging assets? Part II

CONNECTIONS: Connections is a unique, free virtual event where practitioners and families come together to strengthen their roles in supporting students’ success at school. The event features practitioner-focused sessions that explore best practices in family engagement, including strategies for fostering partnerships between schools and communities.

The event is guided by Building Leaders: An Educator's Guide to Family Leadership, emphasizing

• Relationships: Building trust and strengthening connections
• Knowledge & Skills: Expanding learning and development
• Confidence & Efficacy: Fostering self-advocacy and leadership
• Advocacy: Supporting families in driving positive change

If you found this family and community engagement newsletter to be helpful, please share it with colleagues and families in your school, district, IU, or agency. Thank you!