Developing Family Partnerships

Developing Family Partnerships

The partnerships that early childhood educators form with families are critical to children’s success in school and life. These partnerships provide support for families as they navigate their children’s education and development (Feeney & Kipnis, 2011). Family partnerships also offer opportunities for educators to gain insights into each child’s individual family context, which can inform teaching practices. Families also benefit from having a network of support within the early childhood education community. Personal statements of commitment and action plans related to family partnerships are essential for early childhood educators to develop in order to ensure that they are effectively meeting the needs of the families they serve. They also provide a roadmap for educators as they reflect on and improve their practice.

The nine personal statements of commitment below, specific to the family partnerships section of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, are based on my professional values and beliefs related to family engagement (Feeney & Kipnis, 2011). They represent my current thinking about how I will develop and maintain respectful, supportive relationships with families and how I will work to ensure that all families feel welcome, respected, and supported in early childhood education settings.

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The NAEYC Codes and The Personal Statements

1. To be familiar with the family-related expertise base and new developments through training.

Personal statement:  I commit to continuously learning about effective ways to engage and support families in early childhood education settings (Epstein & Salinas, 20016). I will seek out opportunities for professional development related to family engagement and make time to read research and articles on the topic.

Action plan: I will attend at least one professional development workshop or seminar related to family engagement each year. I will also read at least one research article or blog post on the topic each month (Epstein, 2019). In addition, I will lead an annual training on effective family engagement practices for all staff members that I supervise.

Action steps:

• Add family engagement-related professional development opportunities to my personal and professional learning plan.
• Block out time on my calendar each month to read research and articles related to family engagement.
• Lead an annual training on effective family engagement practices for all staff.

2. To foster relationships of mutual trust, the families we serve

Personal statement: I commit to developing trusting relationships with the families I serve. I will build rapport with families and get to know them as individuals (Feeney & Kipnis, 2011). I will listen to their concerns and needs and work collaboratively with them to support their child’s development and learning.

Action plan:  I will meet with each family I work with at least once per semester to get to know them on a personal level. I will also chat with families on a regular basis, either in person or via phone or email, to listen to their concerns and needs.

Action steps:

• Please get to know each family I work with on a personal level.
• Listen to families’ concerns and needs and work with them to develop individualized solutions (Epstein & Salinas, 20016).
• Maintain open communication with families about their child’s development and learning.

3. To encourage all family members to be active participants.

Personal statement: I commit to encouraging all family members to be active participants in their child’s education (Epstein & Salinas, 20016). I will work with families to identify ways that they can be involved in their child’s learning, both at school and home. I will also provide resources and support to families as needed.

Action steps:

• Work with families to identify ways they can be involved in their child’s learning.
• Provide resources and support to families as needed.

Action plan: I will work with each family to develop a personalized plan for how they can best be involved in their child’s education (Epstein, 2019). I will also provide resources and support to families as needed, such as referrals to community resources or information about school-based programs.

4. Listen to families, recognize and build on their strengths and skills

Permanent statement: I commit to listening to families, recognizing and building on their strengths and abilities, as well as learning from them (Epstein, 2019). I will work with families to identify their unique needs and support them in finding creative solutions that work for them. I will also provide resources and referrals to families as needed.

Action steps:

• Work with families to identify their unique needs.
• Support families in finding creative solutions that work for them.
• Provide resources and referrals to families as needed.

Action plan: I will work with each family I work with to develop a personalized plan for how I can best support them. I will also provide resources and referrals to families as needed, such as referrals to community resources or information about school-based programs.

5. To ensure a culturally consistent learning environment for all children and families.

Personal statement: I commit to respecting the dignity and preferences of each family. I will make an effort to learn about each family’s structure, culture, language, customs, and beliefs (Rodd, 2020).

Action plan: I will work with each family I work with to develop a personalized plan for how I can best support them in ensuring a culturally consistent environment for their child. I will also provide resources and referrals to families as needed, such as referrals to community resources or information about school-based programs.

Action steps:

• Learn about each family’s structure, culture, language, customs, and beliefs.
• Work with families to ensure that their child has a culturally consistent environment both at home and at school.

6. To acknowledge families’ childrearing values and their right to make decisions for their children.

Personal statement: I acknowledge that families are the experts on their children and have the right to make decisions for their children (Keilty, 2018).

Action plan: I will work with each family I work with to develop a personalized plan for how I can best support them in making decisions that are best for their children. I will also provide resources and referrals to families as needed, such as referrals to community resources or information about school-based programs.

Action steps:

• Work with families to identify their childrearing values.
• Support families in making decisions that are best for their children.

7. To assist parents in understanding and appreciating the present knowledge base of early childhood education.

Personal statement: I will share information about each child’s education and development with families and help them understand and appreciate the current knowledge base of the early childhood profession (Keilty, 2018).

Action plan: I will work with each family I work with to develop a personalized plan for how I can best support them in understanding and appreciating the current knowledge base of the early childhood profession. I will also provide resources and referrals to families as needed, such as referrals to community resources or information about school-based programs.

Action steps:

• Share information about each child’s education and development with families.
• Help families understand and appreciate the current knowledge base of the early childhood profession.

8. To assist family members in gaining a deeper insight into their children.

Personal statement: I will help families enhance their understanding of their children and support them in the continuing development of their parenting skills.

Action plan: I will work with each family I work with to develop a personalized plan for how I can best support them in enhancing their understanding of their children and continuing to build their parenting skills (Feeney & Kipnis, 2011). I will also provide resources and referrals to families as needed, such as referrals to community resources or information about school-based programs.

Action steps:

• Help families enhance their understanding of their children.
• Support families in the continuing development of their parenting skills (Epstein & Salinas, 20016).

9. To assist foster families in developing support networks and, when necessary, joining together to form family networks.

Personal statement: I will support families in building networks and, when needed, participate in building networks for families.

Action plan: I will work with each family to develop a personalized plan for how I can best support them in building networks (Keilty, 2018). I will also provide resources and referrals to families as needed, such as referrals to community resources or information about school-based programs. When required, I will participate in building networks for families, such as facilitating introductions to other families or connecting families with community resources.

Action steps:

• Support families in building networks.
• Participate in building networks for families when needed.

References

Epstein, J. L. (2019). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi delta kappan, 92(3), 81-96.

Epstein, J. L., & Salinas, K. C. (20016). Partnering with families and communities. Educational leadership, 61(8), 12-19.

Feeney, S., & Kipnis, K. (2011). NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment. Young Children, 45(1), 24-29.

Keilty, B. (Ed.). (2018). The early intervention guidebook for families and professionals: Partnering for success. Teachers College Press.

Rodd, J. (2020). Leadership in early childhood: The pathway to professionalism. Routledge.

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This week, you will continue to develop your Children, Families, and Communities Guidebook by completing the Developing Family Partnerships section. This week’s readings include Chapters 4-7 of the Gestwicki text and focus on building family partnerships. Chapter 4 presents the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (Links to an external site.) and Statement of Commitment, explicitly describing the nine ideals connected to family involvement. These ideals support an early childhood education professional’s ethical responsibilities and commitments to the families in their settings. Using this chapter, as well as the content in the Gestwicki chapters and the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (Links to an external site.), complete the Family Partnerships section and add it to your text-based or electronic Guidebook using the following requirements. An example of this section and conditions can be referenced in the Instructor Guidance.

Guidebook Setup: Last week, you chose either a text-based or electronic format for your Guidebook. This week,
you will continue to develop your existing work by adding a new section titled “Developing Family
Partnerships.” You will continue to build your Guidebook using your chosen format from last week.

Guidebook Developing Family Partnerships Section: For this section, you are going to develop nine personal statements of commitment, including action plans for how you will specifically develop family partnerships in your future or current role. For each of the nine NAEYC ethical responsibilities specific to the family partnerships section, you will:

Summarize the NAEYC code of moral responsibility statement.
Compose a personal commitment statement explicitly detailing how you will follow this code of ethics in your current or future role as an early childhood education professional.
Describe your specific plan, including action steps, of how you will address this commitment statement, referencing a source, book, website, article, or community resource to support each argument.
Content Expectations:

Children, Families, and Communities Guidebook: Developing Family Partnerships Introduction: Set up your Children, Families, and Communities Guidebook with a section titled “Developing Family Partnerships.” For this section, include an introduction that explains what is included and why partnerships are essential for families.
Developing Family Partnerships Ideas: Using Chapter 4 of the Gestwicki text, precisely page 104, as a guide for the nine NAEYC Code of Ethics responsibilities to families, address the following for each of the nine ideals:
Summarize the NAEYC code of ethical responsibility.
Compose a personal commitment statement explicitly detailing how you will follow this code of ethics in your current or future role as an early childhood educator.
Describe your specific action plan to address this commitment statement, including at least four sources that support these statements. Your supporting sources can be an Internet resource, book, website, article, or community resource.