Session 1: The Importance of Meeting the Challenge

This session serves as the foundation for the work ahead. Patricia introduces the intersection of family engagement and communication and the cultural and systemic barriers to school-home communication, and participants will work through examples that lift up these concepts. By the end of the session, educators will be able to better recognize ineffective communication and will possess a strong foundation to create powerful connections with families.

Session 2: The Words We Use

Sometimes the language we use to explain school practices and goals to families is complicated and full of educational jargon and acronyms. This session will show how even small changes in wording can have a big impact when it comes to building relationships with families. By the end of the session, educators will have the tools and the skills to effectively “translate” those specialized words and acronyms into everyday language to immediately improve critical written and spoken school communications.

Session 3: Information Overload

The amount of information that our schools send home, how we send it home, and what we send home can often cause parents to tune us out and disengage. That’s why it’s important to give parents and caregivers the information they want to know and need to know in ways that cut through their busy lives. Just as students require differentiated instruction, families require differentiated approaches to communication. In this session, Patricia helps participants learn how to pare information down into digestible, useful pieces that can help build trust and family engagement.

Session 4: Non-Verbal Communication

Words matter. But how we string words together and how we say words can often matter more. Nonverbal communication makes up 65 to 85 percent of communication. Improving nonverbal communication starts with a better awareness of families—who they are, what their concerns are, and what may be going on in their lives. But it also involves an awareness of what else might be going on in your life and paying attention to things like tone and body language. In this session, participants will learn how to become more aware of nonverbal signals, and the simple tips and techniques they can use to ensure that tone and body language are helping build relationships.

Session 5: Challenging Conversations

Every relationship occasionally requires difficult conversations and communication. The same is true in our relationships with families. The key to turning challenging conversations or communications into satisfying and productive ones is to look at them as opportunities to build even deeper bonds with our families. In this session, participants will work through their fears about having difficult conversations and discover how to set the stage for them. They’ll also learn how to begin and end a challenging conversation, and how to respond to the emotions of families.

Session 6: Creating Lasting Change

In the final learning session, Patricia offers suggestions to help you create buy-in with staff. Participants will receive practical tips to help develop a school-home communication plan tailored to their specific improvement goals. This session also serves as a review, giving participants the opportunity to revisit any questions or specific challenges they face in their daily communication with families.

Optional: Coaching Session #1 – One On One with You/Your Team

In the month following the end of the learning session, Patricia will provide you with an hour-long coaching session to help you plan the “next steps” in their school/home communication work. Together, the two of you will set concrete, measurable goals for your work. Patricia will also spend time talking through any challenges you’re having with implementing the tips and techniques outlined in the sessions and help you brainstorm ways to overcome those challenges.

Optional: Coaching Session #2 – Follow-Up Session

Patricia will provide a second hour-long coaching session. This session will be your chance to lift up any concerns, questions, or issues so you and Patricia can work through them together. To help plan the hour, Patricia will contact you ahead of time and together you will set the agenda. This will ensure that the coaching hour is perfectly tailored to where you are with your work. The goal is for you to have exactly what you need to be successful with your home/school communications.