Creating Family Friendly Schools: Strategies that Support Family Involvement in Diverse Communities
Welcoming families into their children’s schools is everyone’s responsibility. Understanding diverse cultures and ways to support family involvement are central to this workshop designed for teachers, administrators, and school personnel. Both new and seasoned professionals will acquire information, resources, and strategies that can be used to support family involvement initiatives within their schools and district. Participants will learn the characteristics of family-friendly schools and explore challenges related to implementing these practices within diverse communities. This workshop focuses on practical strategies for enhancing communication between schools and families, developing a welcoming school climate, and building working relationships with community partners.

Outreach to Families from Diverse Communities
The values, cultures, and languages of families from diverse backgrounds should shape the outreach strategies community organizations use . This workshop is designed to support faith-based, community-based, and other organizations in their efforts to support family involvement in education in their communities. The elements of culture, cross-cultural communication, working with speakers of English as a second language, and the needs of immigrant families as they effect family participation in education are all discussed. Workshop participants receive assessment tools and strategies designed to help them develop effective outreach plans for their communities. This workshop also presents concrete strategies for reaching and informing parents with limited-English proficiency about their role in the educational process.

Building Successful Partnerships: Parental Involvement and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
The federal education law, No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), dramatically shifts public education by requiring reforms based on four principles: accountability, flexibility, research-based strategies, and parental involvement. This workshop is designed to help school personnel better understand the parental involvement components of NCLB and strategies for developing successful family, school, and community partnerships. It provides an overview of the major provisions of NCLB as they relate to accountability for students and schools, and expanded options for parents. Utilizing Joyce Epstein’s model for successful partnerships, participants explore key elements for building a strong foundation for their family and community engagement initiatives. Participants learn about required parental involvement elements, such as family involvement policies and home-school compacts. Exemplary materials from around the state and country provide concrete examples of how these policies are put into practices. Through group discussion, participants learn from each other’s successful parental involvement activities aimed at supporting student achievement. Participants will walk away with action planning tips designed to help schools and districts incorporate family involvement activities in their school improvement plans.