FamilySchool Collaboration:

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Family-School Collaboration

• Training, Planning and Evaluating at the
• School-wide Level

Kathleen Minke Debby Boyer University of
Delaware Center for Disability Studies 2nd
International Conference on Positive Behavior
Support March 11, 2005
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Session Overview

• Overview of PBS training in Delaware
• Family-School Collaboration Training
• Planning and evaluation tools
• Delaware Implementation Self-Assessment (DISA)
• Delaware School-wide Evaluation Tool
• (SET-D)
• School Climate Surveys
• Making adaptations in your state

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PBS Training in Delaware
Intensive Team Wraparound Training
FBA and BSP Training Person-Centered Planning

• Targeted Team Training

School-wide Team Training Family-School
Collaboration Cultural Competency
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School-wide Training Content
School-wide Team Training Family-School
Collaboration Cultural Competency

• 2 days of School-wide Team Training
• 1 day of Family-School Collaboration Training
• 1 day of Cultural Competency Training

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Family-School Collaboration in the Context of
Positive Behavior Support
Intensive
Students with intense behavior problems (1-7)
Strategies below plus Problem-Solving Meetings
Targeted
Students at risk for problem behaviors (5-15)
Systems thinking/ Effective Communication Skills
Proactive Strategies Family-School
Conferences Family participation in planning,
implementing, and evaluating school-wide
discipline plan
School wide
Students without serious behavior problems
(80-90)
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Family-School CollaborationTraining Options

• Summer Institute
• Full day training with 7 hours of follow-up
  reflection activities
• Graduate level courses offered within the School
  of Education
• Spring semester and summer intensive options
• Individual school trainings
• One or more specific topics covered in-depth

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Overview of Skills/StrategiesThe CORE Model of
Collaboration

• Connected
• Optimistic
• Respected
• Empowered

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Overview of Skills/StrategiesThe CORE Model of
Collaboration

• THINKING DIFFERENTLY
• Systems Theory
• TALKING DIFFERENTLY
• 7 Communication Strategies
• BEHAVING DIFFERENTLY
• Proactive outreach strategies
• Conferences and Problem-solving Meetings

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Systems Theory

• Systems are units,
• composed of sets of interrelated parts, that act
  in organized,
• interdependent ways
• to promote the adaptation or survival of the
  whole unit.
• -Pianta

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Try to change any thing and you will find it
connected to every thing else in the
universe.-John Muir
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Thinking Differently

• Systems Theory/Principles
• Wholeness
• Each member affects, and is affected by, every
  other member
• When a member is added, subtracted or changes
  behavior in some way, the entire system must
  reorganize to accommodate the change.
• System as a whole is greater than the sum of its
  parts

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Thinking Differently

• Systems Theory/Principles
• Patterns of Interaction
• Behavior occurs in circular patterns with each
  person contributing
• Circularity Repetitive cycles in which the
  same outcomes occur repeatedly a to b to c
  to a
• Punctuation View of reality reflected by
  arbitrary starting point

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Behavior Problem from a Systemic ViewA to B to C
to D to A
Teacher criticizes child
Child complains about teacher to parent
Child misbehaves in class
Parent criticizes teacher
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Behavioral Patterns of Interaction

• Significance
• Intervention possible at any point in the
  circle
• how not why
• No Blame!!!

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Overview of Skills/StrategiesThe CORE Model of
Collaboration

• Connected
• Optimistic
• Respected
• Empowered

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CORE Element Connect

• Developing Trusting Relationships
• Trust develops when parties feel valued, listened
  to, and understood
• Clear open communication
• Use differences constructively
• Valued, listened to, worthy

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CORE Element Optimism

• Embraces the possibilities of change and assumes
  that each person has the ability to learn and to
  change
• All persons are doing the best they can
• No one person is to blame
• Problems are system problems successes are
  system successes

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CORE Element Respect

• Acknowledges that each person is trustworthy,
  concerned caring with the right to differing
  values
• Each person is both an expert and a learner
• Children are active participants

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CORE Element Empower

• Facilitates feelings of competence by identifying
  each persons particular skills and strengths
• Power, responsibility, decision making and action
  are aspects of a shared partnership
• Advice is avoided

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CORE Model Talking Differently

• 7 Communication Strategies
• Attend to non-verbal communication
• Listen to understand reflecting and summarizing
• Model the collaborative role avoid labeling,
  jargon and advice giving!
• Search for strengths

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CORE Model Talking Differently

• 7 Communication Strategies (cont)
• 5. Reframing
• 6. Delivering/Receiving negative information
• 7. Blocking blame

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Dialogues Example

• Parent Kelly is so impulsive! Will she always
  be like this?
• Non-collaborative Teacher Oh, Im sure shell
  grow out of it. Lots of girls go through these
  stages.

• Collaborative Teacher She is very energetic and
  spontaneous. In what kinds of situations do you
  find those qualities most challenging?
• Rationale a reframing response - looks for
  positive interpretation avoids cliché avoids
  opinion avoids minimizing seeks additional
  information

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CORE MODELBehaving Differently

• Proactive Outreach Strategies
• Conferences and Problem-solving Meetings

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Insanity

• doing the same thing over and over again

but expecting different results.
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Proactive Strategies for Reaching Out to
Familiesoverview

• The school-wide team
• The physical plant
• Written communications
• (policies and personal)
• Activities at school

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Proactive StrategiesThe School-wide Team

• Family members as participants?
• School climate data from families?
• Input from families in planning, implementing,
  and evaluating the school-wide discipline plan?

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Proactive StrategiesThe Physical Plant

• How welcoming to families does the school appear?
  
• Are visitors a priority?

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Proactive StrategiesWritten Communications

• Forms and policies
• Personal communications

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Written CommunicationsForms and Policies

• What reading level is required to interpret the
  documents?
• Is there jargon that can be removed or better
  explained?
• How do we ensure that families with limited
  written English literacy have access to this
  information?

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Written CommunicationsForms and Policies

• To the extent possible, create documents that
  encourage
• Parental choices and options
• Two-way communication

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Written CommunicationsPersonal

• Good news notes are usually welcome and
  helpful.
• Avoid using notes home or emails to communicate
  about problems.
• Communicate about concerns early and directly.
• Concentrate on your main goals.
• Consult with others when needed.

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Proactive StrategiesActivities at School

• Examine Current Activities for Opportunities for
  Relationship-building
• Needs Assessment/Evaluation
• Build in Options

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Activities at SchoolRelationship-building
Opportunities

• Good resource
• Christenson, S. L., Sheridan, S. M. (2001).
  Schools and families Creating essential
  connections for learning. New York Guilford.

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Behaving DifferentlyRouting Conferences and
Problem-Solving Meetings

• Two types of conferences are discussed
• Routine
• Problem-solving

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Conferences and Meetings

• Outcome goals
• A plan is developed collaboratively for
  supporting the students continued success,
  including plans to remediate identified
  difficulties
• All participants leave feeling hopeful about
  their participation and future success
• Students leave feeling greater ownership of their
  own learning

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Conferences and Meetings

• Process goals
• Each participant has ample time to share thoughts
  in the conference
• Shared expectations for the child are developed
  by the group
• Each participant is both a teacher and a learner

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Conferences and Meetings

• 5 ways family-school conferences are different
• All parties prepare in advance
• Students are active participants
• Educator concentrates on receiving rather than
  giving information.
• Educator acknowledges, expands and underscores
  the strengths of the family.
• The conference is a conversation. At no time
  is the educator the presenter.

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Training Challenges

• One shot trainings tend not to be effective
• Time for multiple trainings on same topic tends
  not to be available

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Evaluation Data

• Does participation in collaboration training have
  a positive effect on teacher
• Beliefs about parent involvement
• Practices (e.g., number and type of contact with
  families)

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Reflections Activities

• Systems Principles
• CORE Elements and Beliefs
• Communication Strategies
• The School-wide Team and Families
• Physical Plant
• Written Communications
• Relationship-building opportunities
• Conferences

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Required Reflection

• Think about the operation of your school-wide
  team. Describe
• the ways in which your practices have changed as
  a result of what you learned in the summer
  family-school collaboration workshop (if any)
• your plans for further development of
  family-school collaboration in your practice (if
  any)
• barriers that must be overcome in order for
  change to occur

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Required Reflection

• Think about your personal interactions with
  families so far in this school year. Describe
• the ways in which your practices have changed as
  a result of what you learned in the summer
  family-school collaboration workshop (if any)
• your plans for further development of
  family-school collaboration in your practice (if
  any)
• barriers that must be overcome in order for
  change to occur.

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Participant Satisfaction withSummer Institute
Training
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Participants Comments

• Most helpful aspects
• Communication strategies
• Specific examples of skills
• Review of collaboration basics
• Suggestions for improvement
• More role plays and interactive practice
• More video examples of skills

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Planning and Evaluation Tools

• Delaware PBS Implementation Self-Assessment
  (DISA)
• Delaware School-wide Evaluation Tool (DSET)
• School Climate Survey (students, staff and
  families)

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DISA

• Similar in purpose to the EBS Survey
• Uses the EBS response format, but 75 of the
  items are new and 25 of the items were modified
  from the EBS
• Evaluates school-wide, targeted, and intensive
  levels
• Completed by entire school staff annually

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DISA Sample Family-Student Collaboration Items

• Developing Positive Behavior and Self-Discipline
• - A small number (e.g., 3-5) of positively
  clearly stated expectations or rules are defined
  and communicated to all students and their
  families.

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DISA Sample Family-Student Collaboration Items

• Support Systems for School-wide Prevention and
  Correction of Behavior Problems
• - Families are actively involved in the
  development and evaluation of the school-wide
  plan for preventing behavior problems and
  promoting positive behavior and self-discipline
  (e.g. through parent representation on the team
  through periodic surveys of families).

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DISA Sample Family-Student Collaboration Items

• Preventing Behavior Problems with School-wide
  Policies, Practices, and Procedures
• - The Physical environment of the school is
  welcoming to parents and other visitors (e.g. it
  is easy to find the office, mission statement is
  posted in languages represented in the school,
  visitors are greeted promptly and warmly).

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DISA Sample Family-Student Collaboration Items

• Preventing Behavior Problems with Effective
  Classroom Management
• - Teachers establish and maintain close
  bi-directional communication with families and
  use multiple methods to garner their support
  (e.g., parents are informed frequently about
  their childrens positive behavior and
  achievements parents are asked for their views
  about their childrens learning family-school
  conferences are used routinely).

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Delaware School DISA Summary Charts
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Summary Charts Contd
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Summary Charts Contd
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Item 5 tally from 1st section of the DISA
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Delaware SET

• Revised version of the SET
• Some items added to highlight important elements
  of PBS in Delaware
• Aligned with the DISA

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SET and DSET Comparison Scores
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New DSET Items Related to Family-School
Collaboration

• D. On-going System for Rewarding Behavioral
  Expectations
• Do 90 of staff asked indicate that they have
  contacted a parent about positive student
  behavior in past 2 months?
• F. Monitoring, Evaluating, Decision-Making
• - Does the administrator report that program
  evaluation includes teacher, parent, and student
  surveys of school climate?
• - Is there a documented system for involving
  families in the development and evaluation of the
  school discipline plan?

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Yet another cool new DSET item

• G. Management
• - A system is in place to coordinate the work
  of School-wide team with other behavior support
  teams in school.

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School Climate Surveys

• Survey of students, staff and families
• Used in grades 3-12
• 29-31 items
• Administered in April
• Piloting scan forms this April

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Applications to Your Projects

• Adaptation is important
• Consider needs assessment data
• Start small, based on one to three school
  improvement goals.

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For further reading

• Minke, K.M., Anderson, K.A. (2003).
  Restructuring routine parent-teacher conferences
  The family-school conference model. Elementary
  School Journal, 104(1), 49-69.
• Vickers, H. S., Minke, K. M., Anderson, K. A.
  (2002). Best practices in facilitating
  collaborative family-school routine conferences.
  In A. Thomas J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices
  in school psychology IV (pp. 431-449). Bethesda,
  MD National Association of School Psychologists.

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For further reading

• Minke, K. M. (2000). Preventing school problems
  and promoting school success through
  family-school-community collaboration. In K. M.
  Minke G. G. Bear (Eds.). Preventing school
  problems promoting school success Strategies
  and programs that work (pp. 337-420). Bethesda,
  MD National Association of School Psychologists.

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Contact

• Kathleen Minke minke_at_udel.edu
• Debby Boyer dboyer_at_udel.edu
• Website www.Delawarepbs.org