• III-B-2: Curriculum Support
    Unsatisfactory
    Needs Improvement
    Proficient
    Exemplary
    Rarely, if ever, communicates with parents on ways to support children at home or at school. Sends home occasional suggestions on how parents can support children at home or at school. Regularly updates parents on curriculum throughout the year and suggests strategies for supporting learning at school and home, including appropriate adaptation for students with disabilities or limited English proficiency. Successfully prompts most families to use one or more of the strategies suggested for supporting learning at school and home and seeks out evidence of their impact. Is able to model this element.
    Why Proficiency in this Element Matters
    • Family engagement that is focused on supporting student learning at home is linked to higher student outcomes. Engagement that is focused around specific knowledge and skills is more impactful than general forms of engagement.
    • Families should be informed about expectations for student learning, the data that supports the learning, and the progress their child is making in a manner that equips them to support their child’s learning at home according to their individual learning needs.
    • Student learning cannot be limited to the classroom, it must be extended into and be reflective of the lives of students, their families and their communities.
    • Teachers can empower families with tools and resources that will allow them to have meaningful impact on their child’s academic success. Therefore, families must be essential partners in our work in and out of the classroom.
    • Data demonstrates that the positive impact of family engagement in student learning holds true for all family income levels and backgrounds. Family engagement takes many forms and therefore, it is essential for teachers to expand their working definition of family engagement to recognize and build upon the ways that families across diverse backgrounds and cultures support student learning.
    Reflection Questions

    These questions may help to assess how effectively common obstacles to consistent/sustained proficiency in this element are addressed.

    For Educators For Evaluators/Coaches
    What routines and protocols do you regularly use to foster family communication and engagement? Are these accessible to all students and families? Do you have a system for documenting communication and ongoing curriculum and learning supports? Does your documentation demonstrate evidence of ongoing two-way communication that includes information on next steps and data-based student impact?

    Does the educator demonstrate a clear system for providing students and families with necessary information about learning standards and expectations? Are strategies for providing curriculum supports made readily available to ALL students and families. Are students and families able to articulate these systems, strategies and protocols?  
    How do you ensure that all families have meaningful access to resources and communication through appropriate translation and interpretation in their preferred language? What evidence of practice demonstrates that the educator ensures all families have meaningful access to resources and communication through appropropriate translation and interpretation in their preferred language? Has this evidence been captured through artifacts of practice?
    What does family engagement and support for student learning look like for you? What does it look like for your each of your individual families? How do you know? How can you use this information to design your curriculum support for students and families? What strategies has the educator used to identify and understand the many ways that students’ families contribute to student learning? How has the educator tried to build on these?
    Do your communications with families regarding the expectations for student learning provide opportunities for continuous and differentiated options in which families are able to apply strategies to their child(ren) learning at home? Are families aware of how their efforts to support student learning are impacting student outcomes? Do you reflect on these efforts with families and collaboratively plan appropriate next steps.  Does the educator have evidence of communicating and modeling effective strategies with parents? Does the available evidence also demonstrate the impact on student learning and planning of communication cycles and next steps to improve student learning?
    Is your approach to communicating with families and providing strategies and supports for at-home-learning based on asset thinking? In other words, how do you intentionally integrate and build upon the linguistic and cultural funds of knowledge of your students, their families, the communities in which they live and their life experience? What evidence demonstrates that the educator approaches interactions with families through an asset vs. deficit lens? Does the educator believe that ALL families have the ability to improve student learning? What evidence demonstrates this mindset?
    Have you continuously provided real-life opportunities for families to access tools and technology at home that support their child in becoming a leader of their own learning? How has the educator shared multiple strategies, and tools, including technology with families that support students becoming leaders of their own learning?
    How have you connected and honored the everyday life, culture and community of your students and families in your curriculum supports and family engagement strategies? Does the educator provide family engagement opportunities, strategies, and resources that are inclusive and effective for all families? What relevant strategies does the educator use to incorporate culture, language, family, and community into their everyday teaching practices? Does educator use culturally-based books that reflect the varying cultures in the classroom? Does educator invite families in the classroom to talk about their culture?
    What instructional practices should be observed? What student impacts should be expected?
    For TEACHERS this may look like...

    1. Teacher does not share information about learning standards with families or teacher fails to document work through artifacts in reaching out to families.

    1. Teacher shares some information about learning standards with families and/or information shared is not accessible or responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of all families.

    1. Teacher shares learning standards and expectations in relevant  content areas, using family-friendly language that is accessible and responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of all families i.e. learning guides links.

    1. Teacher consistently shares learning standards using family-friendly language that is accessible and responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of families.  The teacher successfully prompts and supports families in accessing and understanding learning standards and expectations. The teacher models this element.

    1. Teacher does not share information about strategies to support and extend learning at home.

    1. Teacher sometimes shares strategies and resources for learning-at-home but they are not focused on specific learning standards or task; and/or may not be designed to support and extend student learning; and/or they may not be accessible or responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of all families.

    1. Teacher regularly shares  learning-at-home strategies and resources, aligned with learning standards, classroom instructional goals and practices, and specific learning tasks that are accessible and responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of all families.

    1. Teacher partners with families to, develop, share and monitor the impact of differentiated learning-at-home strategies for students. These strategies are accessible and responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of all families.  Teacher models this element.

    1. Teacher demonstrates a lack of understanding of individual family identities and the role of culture in supporting student learning and building relationships with families.

    1. Teacher may acknowledge and value families’ individual identities but demonstrates surface level or perfunctory efforts to build authentic relationships with families and/or sometimes demonstrates deficit thinking when collaborating with families.

    1. Teacher builds authentic relationships with families by proactively examining cultures and engaging in two way communication that that refrains from making assumptions based on families’ identities.

    1. Teacher demonstrates identity affirming, asset based thinking in all interactions with families by both validating and connecting to families ’linguistic and cultural funds of knowledge.
    As a result, the IMPACT on STUDENTS may be...

    1. Students and families do not receive information on learning standards or ways they can support and extend student learning at home or at school.

    1. Students and families receive some information on standards and/or strategies and resources for supporting and extending student learning at home and/or these supports may not be accessible to all families. 

    1. Students and families receive information and strategies to support and extend student learning at school and at home which may include information on learning standards, instructional goals and practices, and specific learning tasks, as well as information about student progress.  Families are provided with multiple points of access to information and resources and are supported in understanding and using these resources.

    1. Students and families frequently receive and are supported in understanding information on learning standards, instructional goals and practices, and specific learning tasks, as well as information about student progress. Communications are designed to support and extend student learning and are readily accessible to all families, through multiple points of access.

    1. At home, students and families have no access to learning opportunities, tools,and materials.

    1. At home, students and families have limited access to learning opportunities, tools,and materials and/or these may not be accessible to diverse learners and families.

    1. At home and through diverse opportunities and access points, all students and families have access to learning opportunities and tools. Families receive information and materials in their preferred language and are able to support student learning by tapping into resources and technology that are readily available at home.

      .

    1. At home and through diverse opportunities and access points, all students and families consistently have access to tools and strategies that support them in accessing and processing information and communicating solutions. Families receive information and resources in their preferred language and are able to support student learning by tapping into resources and technology that are readily available at home.Students and families are enabled to be active thought partners, through ongoing two-way communication in families' preferred language.

      .
    Examples

     

    Initiating Contact and Resources and Tools from Teaching Tolerance

     

    TED Talk – The Dangers of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

     

    Working with Culturally Diverse Families

    Pacer Center. (2019). Engaging culturally diverse families for student success. Retrieved from Working with culturally diverse families: https://www.pacer.org/cultural-diversity/

     

    IRIS Module-Collaborating with Families

    Vanderbilt University. (2019). Collaborating with families. Retrieved from Iris Center: https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/fam/#content

     

    5-Minute Film Festival: Parent-Teacher Partnerships

    Borovoy, A. E. (2014, September 14). Edutopia. Retrieved from 5-minute film festival: Parent-teacher partnerships: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-parent-teacher-partnerships

     

    Family Engagement Resource Roundup

    George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2016, September 26). Edutopia. Retrieved from Family engagement: Resource roundup: https://www.edutopia.org/home-school-connections-resources

    Examples of Artifacts 

     

    • Clear communications in the form of letters, emails, or calendars to families about class activities and invitations to participate in multiple and diverse ways.

    • Multiple options for parents to support student learning that considers the diversity of available resources and linguistic and cultural funds of knowledge within families.

    • Class-related activities for families at home and at school.

    • Letters/phone calls to families communicating expectations, curriculum, and study strategies and the provision of specific resources that all families can access to support learning at home.

    • Log of two-way communication with families with descriptions of topics discussed and clear planning of next steps.  Communications should convey information about student strengths, areas for growth and specific planning of next steps.

    • Results from family surveys and other strategies implemented in an effort to gain an understanding of family identity, language preferences, communication styles.  Demonstrated use of results to inform the teacher’s practices.

    • Communications with families in multiple languages based on demonstrated understanding of families’ preferred language and communication mode (letters, phone calls, text etc…) and communication style.

    • Analysis of impact of family engagement on student performance and evidence of planning and implementation of next steps based on this analysis.

    • Parent-teacher conference participation demonstrated through attendance record in addition to notetaking related to topics discussed and specific next steps.

    • Feedback from parents/families related to student learning, family engagement and curriculum supports.

    • Shared weekly learning objectives, assignments, and resources for parents that can be used at home with the student (via email updates, newsletter, blog posts, web page or other communication platform that is accessible to all families).

    Resource Description
    new! RAUC Family Communications Protocols Download a sample of the RAUC Family Communications Protocols from the Rindge Avenue Upper Campus in Cambridge, MA
    new! BPS Family Capacity Building and Support The BPS Office of Family and Community Advancement (OFCA) supports schools in assessing their engagement practices to meet district standards and requirements for high-quality engagement and supports building staff capacity to welcome and engage all families.    

    Hara, S. R., & Burke, D. J. (1998, Fall/Winter). Parent involvement: The key to improved student achievement. School Community Journal, 8(2).

    Parent Involvement: The Key to Improved Student Achievement

    OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. (2019). Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports. Retrieved from Family partnership: https://www.pbis.org/family/family-partnership

    Family Partnership

    Poth, R. D. (2015, April). Promoting family engagement: 5 ways to foster meaningful connection. Retrieved from Getting Smart: https://www.gettingsmart.com/2018/04/promoting-family-engagement-5-ways-to-foster-a-more-meaningful-connection/

    Five Ways to Foster a More Meaningful Connection

    Starr, L. (2017, May 30). Activities to Promote Parent Involvement. Retrieved from Education World: https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr200.shtml

    Activities to Promote Parent Involvement

    (2019) Families and communities. Retrieved from Teaching Diverse Learners: https://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/teaching-diverse-learners/families-0

    		 The Education Alliance Brown University
    Do you have a resource that you want to recommend for this element? Email us at eval@bostonpublicschools.org with the subject line "Interactive Rubric Resource Recommendation" in the email