Increased family engagement has a positive impact on everyone involved in the program.  Because strong family engagement is one of the indicators of high-quality, it is well worth it to pursue these important initiatives.

On the program side, leaders and teachers gain experience organizing and managing family engagement initiatives. Strong communication and relationships with families will help teachers respond to children’s individual needs, set goals, and make effective curriculum plans. All of these benefits ultimately support the success of the children enrolled in the program.

As part of the preparation to support families, program staff will also benefit from making connections with community agencies and experts who will act as partners in the family engagement process. As family engagement strengthens, it is likely that programs will also see a financial benefit in the form of increased enrollment, less family turnover, and longer length-of-stay for families and teachers. Word-of-mouth marketing will spread about the excellence of the program and fewer hours will be spent focused on building enrollment, recruiting, and training new staff members.  This means there will be even more time to focus on additional program-quality initiatives.

For families, the benefits are even more important. Having a trusted partner in the often challenging job of raising a child can be a huge relief for some families.  Not every parent is well-versed in child development and what to expect for children at different stages of development. By working with families to identify children’s strengths and set goals to work toward, program staff can act as a valuable resource for families. Families can learn the skills required to help their child succeed in school and establish healthy lifestyle habits from the information shared as part of family engagement efforts.

Children reap the most important rewards when programs and families are strongly engaged. Their environments become more physically and emotionally safe. They build stronger and more positive relationships with the adults in their lives, who are all working toward the same goals. This will lead to improved school-readiness, confidence, behavioral outcomes, and overall success in life.

For the main article Boosting Family Engagement, CLICK HERE

For the article Types of Family Involvement, CLICK HERE

For the article Grassroots Family Engagement Strategies, CLICK HERE

For the article Director’s Corner:  Creating and Implementing a Family Engagement Plan, CLICK HERE