Step 1. Listening and Accepting
Review the three steps to strengthen staff-parent relationships and support parenting. Find prompts and questions that invite partnership-building conversations with parents.
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Family Engagement
Family engagement is a collaborative and strengths-based process through which early childhood professionals, families, and children build positive and goal-oriented relationships. It is a shared responsibility of families and staff at all levels that requires mutual respect for the roles and strengths each has to offer. Family engagement focuses on culturally and linguistically responsive relationship-building with key family members in a child’s life. These people include pregnant women and expectant families, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other adult caregivers. It requires making a commitment to creating and sustaining an ongoing partnership that supports family well-being. It also honors and supports the parent-child relationships that are central to a child’s healthy development, school readiness, and well-being. The Office of Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework is a guide to learning how family engagement promotes positive, enduring change for children, families, and communities.
Step 2. Learning and Finding Mutual Understanding
Review the three steps to strengthen staff-parent relationships and support parenting. Find prompts and questions that invite partnership-building conversations with parents.
Step 3. Reaching Agreement on Plans and Next Steps
Review the three steps to strengthen staff-parent relationships and support parenting. Find prompts and questions that invite partnership-building conversations with parents.
Strategies to Support and Engage Families Virtually
Explore this resource to learn the benefits of engaging families virtually and five evidence-based strategies for virtual family engagement. Use the tools to plan and develop an action plan for implementation.
Benefits of Engaging Families Virtually
Researchers have identified many benefits of virtual service delivery. The most common benefits are increased access and improved convenience and flexibility.
Five Virtual Family Engagement Strategies
Use any combination of these strategies to meet individual families’ needs and goals related to the outcomes in the Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework.
Strategy 1. Provide Virtual One-to-One Check-ins
One-to-one interactions with parents provide opportunities for building relationships and developing trust between staff and families.
Strategy 2. Maintain Ongoing and Two-way Communication with Families
Consistent and ongoing two-way communication between staff and parents helps keep information at parents’ fingertips and keeps staff informed about changes in families’ lives.
Strategy 3. Use Online Lessons to Engage Parents to Support Learning and Skill Development
Online lessons can help families learn skills and practices to support their child’s development. These lessons also can bolster families’ and their child’s learning.
Strategy 4. Check in Virtually to Integrate Online Learning into Real-life Contexts
Phone or video check-ins, as a follow-up to online learning opportunities, can support family engagement with learning materials, promote program completion, and strengthen learning overall.
