The Education Alliance for New Hampshire and Partners for Rural Impact sponsored the New Hampshire Statewide Family Engagement Center’s 2nd Annual Family Engagement Summit on July 30th in Manchester, NH. Caregivers, educators, and community partners spent a day connecting, learnIng, and sharing ideas to help New Hampshire’s children and youth.
Session topics included improving school attendance through family partnerships, making decisions with students, expanding post-high school opportunities, supporting educational plans for students with disabilities, and more.
Dr. Harris is a well-known leader in family and community engagement. With over 25 years of experience in education, she has worked with many schools and organizations to create strong connections between schools and families. She shared strategies for building systems grounded in love and trust to reduce absenteeism and make schools welcoming places for families.
Dr. Harris emphasized, “Love is action, and engagement is something that we can all do when we lead with our ears and listen with generosity so that we are working towards building powerful connections that honor the wisdom and the value that families bring.”
In a follow-up interview with NHPR, she stated, “Family engagement is not the goal. The goal is student success. The goal is thriving students.”
In her book, “The Disengaged Teen,” Dr. Winthrop shared new ideas about how kids learn and how adults can connect better with them. Her experience teaching at Georgetown University and her work at the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institutions has allowed her to listen and learn about how families, educators, and communities can support every child’s success—no matter how they learn.
Dr. Winthrop believes it’s important for everyone—parents, teachers, and peers—to work together. She noted, “When parents and peers and teachers all collaborate around kids’ learning, we can really boost student attendance, achievement, love of learning, and mental health.”
The Community Schools Approach
Aimee Kearage, Manchester Proud
Joline Collins, Institution for Education Leadership
The Community School model is an example of how schools can be the hubs of their community. Manchester Proud is successfully using this model.
Call to Action: Review the Community School model to integrate in other family engagement programming.
Expanding Futures
Jennifer Gilbert, Education Alliance of New Hampshire
Liz Arcieri, Apprenticeship NH
Career exploration and exposure to new careers helps students make thoughtful, informed choices for their futures. Some great tools for exploring careers include O*NET and CareerOneStop. There are also resources like Apprenticeship New Hampshire, for paid job opportunities, and BigFuture, for tracking academic information.
Call to Action: Share these resources with the students and teachers in your life.
Present & Engaged: Making School a Place Students Want to Be
Kelli Moore, Partners for Rural Impact
Connections are built through relationships and relationships are built on trust. Focusing on a child’s or family’s strengths helps build that trust. When kids and families know they have a person that cares, they are more likely to be at school.
Call to Action: Make a plan for this school year that includes a bold idea, an idea most likely to happen, and the most impactful idea that you have.
Chill Ways to Break the Ice: Connecting Without the Cringe
Missy Scent, Partners for Rural Impact
No one likes awkward small talk with no purpose. Four fun activities were shared to help create real connections. Low-pressure, positive interactions can make people feel more secure with others. Adding easy movements around the room can also help lower social anxiety. Simple, intentional connection activities can build trust and engagement.
Call to Action: Use the digital booklet with over 50 icebreaker ideas in your work with families.
Strategic Steps to Building Family Friendly Schools
Kate Estefan, Education Alliance of New Hampshire
Brittany Shelton, Partners for Rural Impact
The New Hampshire Statewide Family Engagement Center is committed to supporting New Hampshire schools with family engagement by creating Family Friendly Schools, a research-based process that includes small steps that make a big impact on students and families.
Call to Action: Reach out to SFEC staff for more information about Family Friendly Schools. Think about how you can make small changes in your family engagement for a larger impact.
One Trusted Adult
Beth Corkum, One Trusted Adult
Every child should be able to name one trusted adult in the spaces they occupy. Having a trusted adult is crucial for children, and One Trusted Adult gives adults the tools they need to build strong connections with young people.
Call to Action: Sign up for virtual professional development options available from One Trusted Adult.
Welcome to the Manchester Family Village
Andrea Howarth, Manchester Public Schools
Fatima Senjahi, NH-Statewide Family Engagement Center
Bahera Shukuru, Manchester Public Schools
Jenny Hobson, Partners for Rural Impact
Family Villages are 4-session groups that are facilitated by community leaders. In Manchester, they have been offered in multiple languages and held all over the community. The panel shared their experiences of starting and growing Family Villages. They highlighted stories of families who grew through the program.
Call to Action: Connect with trainers and start your own Family Village in your community.
Building Capacity for Family School Partnerships in Special Education
Jennifer Cunha, Parent Information Center
Kendra Dix, NH Family Voices
The presenters shared information about the Dual Capacity Framework and how to use the framework to connect with families of children in special education. They shared case studies and encouraged attendees to listen to families and speak up for them when needed.
Call to Action: Stay connected to families and be their advocates!
Public Libraries as Community Hubs
Courtney Vashaw, Whitefield Public Library
Libraries are important for connecting families and communities every day. Many programs are free. Libraries are changing often to support the needs of the people who visit them.
Call to Action: Visit your local library! If you have not visited a library recently, you are missing out.
Rooted in Relationships: Reimagining Early Childhood Partnerships Between Families, Providers, and Educators
Kendra Dix, NH Family Voices
Jennifer Cunha, Parent Information Center
The Dual Capacity Framework reminds us that partnership is not one-sided. It is important to explore family and educator perspectives to get to a shared understanding and meaningful partnership.
Call to Action: What will you do this week to water the roots of a partnership—with a family, provider, or educator?
Raising Your Voice
Jenna Meglen, Partners for Rural Impact
Aaron Dupuis, Education Alliance of New Hampshire
Olivia Gardner, Partners for Rural Impact
This session focused on simple ways to connect with lawmakers about important resources needed in the state. Attendees learned how to stay informed and how best to share their stories.
Call to Action: Have open discussions with each other and work together to share stories with legislators.
Supporting Grieving Children, Teens, and Families
Linda Dinndorf, Friends of Aine
Grief is a universal experience but can look different for everyone. It’s important to have open and honest discussions with children when discussing grief and allow time for conversations and emotions.
Call to Action: Reach out to Friends of Aine for support in classrooms and schools.