Engage! Daily

Shaping Expectations

2009-08-26T13:12:00.002-04:00

A friend sent me this link today for Dennis Hopper's rendition of the Rudyard Kipling poem "If."

I have always particularly liked this poem. I can still remember the first time my mother pulled the big red book of literature off the wall of shelves that was filled with books in our Florida room, and turned to this poem. I remember listening as she read it, and the line that jumped out at me was "if you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat these two imposters just the same." I was playing little league baseball at the time, and my coach was not a graceful winner, or a graceful loser. Hearing that line helped me strive to be gracious and even keeled, win or lose. I was no less competitive, and no less passionate - but in that moment, I realized the game is left on the field. In later years, as a lawyer and lobbyist, these words echoed through my head many times, and helped me maintain relationships with teammates and opponents no matter how fierce the battle.

As I listened today, I was reminded again what great opportunities we have to learn with and from our children - and in this case, in a YouTube format that is comfortable for them. What do your children hear in this poem? What message did they get? What does it tell you about who they are, what their dreams are, what they may be struggling with? How does it differ from what you hear? Giving 5 minutes to share something like this with your child can set the kind of expectations we would all like our children to strive for - and as it has done for me - it can pay dividends for a lifetime!

Reaching for the Stars!

2009-08-25T13:46:00.000-04:00

Jose Hernandez, the child of migrant workers, is still reaching for the stars! He is one of seven astronauts blasting off on the space shuttle and headed for the International Space Station. (Click here to follow Jose and the other astronauts on STS-128) Jose’s story is not the story of the typical astronaut. He and his parents were migrant workers, picking fruits and vegetables. His parents, who had only a third grade education, knew the secret to Jose's success was getting the education they never had. They not only listened to his dreams, and encouraged him to pursue the dream, they became a part of the dream, scraping together the money help him go to college and get an engineering degree! (Click here to view Jose’s story on Good Morning America) For eight years, Jose has worked strapping in other astronauts. Now it is his turn to be what he always dreamed; an astronaut!

As our company, The Engage Institute, travels around the country helping educators create more effective partnerships with families, and helping families learn how they can help their children achieve their greatest potential, we have the opportunity to celebrate success with families like Jose’s -families who have learned that one of the keys to creating high performing kids is talking to their children often about their hopes and dreams, and helping them plan and prepare to make those dreams come true.

As the shuttle blasts off with Jose Hernandez on board, we are all celebrating with Jose's family for what they have accomplished! Tell your child about Jose’s dream and his journey. Let his story help your child see that ANYTHING is possible. And then ask your child what his or her dream is – and help your child reach for the stars too! (Click here to follow Jose Hernandez’s journey on Twitter)

The Kiss Heard 'Round the World

2009-06-18T00:03:00.000-04:00

In a time when we most schools are striving to engage families in the educational life of their child, and create stronger bonds in the circle of support for students, one school has apparently decided to discourage student-family-school connections.

Justin Denney, a senior at Bonny Eagle High School in Maine, took a bow and blew a kiss to his family as he walked across stage at graduation ceremonies. Suzanne Lukas, the district superintendent who was presenting diplomas at the ceremony, sent Denney back to his seat - without his diploma!

It's been a long time since I graduated from high school, but things haven't changed that much. It's still the culimination of 13 years of work by families and students a like. It is still a milestone to be celebated. And it still involves teens, eager for a taste of "freedom." At times, the exuberance overflows. I've never been to a graduation ceremony at any level where it didn't happen.

If Denney's celebratory actions had created health or safety risks, we would understand the school stepping in to stop the action and mitigate the risks. But here's a student who, in a moment of joy turns and shows some appreciation to the family members who helped him reach this milestone - and for that breach of decorum he was denied a diploma!

Research has been telling us for more than 20 years that engaging families in the educational life of a child makes it much more likely a child will graduate from high school. Schools who are working to create greater engagment ARE seeing graduations rates rise. In Athens, Tennessee, from 75 percent to nearly 90 percent. In Marietta, Georgia, from 65 percent to more than 78 percent. In Granger, Washington, from less than 50 pecent to more than 90 percent. These high schools are creating engaged learning communities - making families full partners in creating success for students... and they EXPECT them to celebrate together just as they have worked together to reach the goal.

When asked later about the incident involving Denney, Lukas said "If a student doesn't adhere to the expectations, then the consequences are clearly spelled out."

In the end, the problem for Justin Denney and Bonny Eagle High School might be the expectations. Most high schools don't expect families to be very involved. Many high schools like Bonny Eagle only want the parent's checkbook - for athletic boosters, band boosters, yearbooks, and yes, even graduation invitations and cap and gown. Denney's family didn't meet these expectations - they WERE involved in meaningful ways, and were eager to celebrate with him.

Most schools expect that certain students will not succeed. Perhaps Denney was one of those students who was written off years ago... and his reaching graduation didn't meet the expectations for him.

And who would have expected a teenager to celebrate the accomplishment by demonstrating affection for his family? How very grateful of him! How very un-teen-like of him! That certainly doesn't meet the expectations regarding teenage behavior.

You earned the diploma Justin Denney. You don't need the piece of paper in the fancy cardboard cover to be a graduate. Use Suzanne Lukas as motivation, and go write your success story with the help of your family.

Family Matters

2008-07-31T09:41:00.000-04:00

This morning a mother (we'll call her Liz) related a situation in which she was trying to be an engaged parent, but was encountering resistance from her daughter's school. The school put out a brochure about a program offered for advanced students. In the very first paragraph of the brochure was as statement about materials and texts for the program being provided at no charge to the student. The statewide program is part of an initiative to close the achievement gap between students of families in poverty, and those who are not, and offered challenging and unique opportunities.

When this student enrolled in the program a notice was sent home from the local school asking for payment for textbooks! For disengaged parents, the story probably would have ended there, with the student not participating in the advanced program. If the family were able to afford the text, most parents would have simply written a check at that point. Liz, however, was engaged in helping her daughter pursue learning opportunities.

Liz called the school to to talk to the program coordinator. The coordinator said it didn't matter what the brochure said "they had always done it this way" (charging students for texts and materials). After much discussion, and no change, Liz asked to speak to the principal, believing that surely this an oversight or a mistake. The principal's response was "I don't know what to tell you - we have always charged students for their texts for this program." Liz again pointed to both the brochure and the website, but the principal referred her on to the district administator. Most parents would have given up by now, but Liz persisted.

The district administrator looked at the brochure and website, and told Liz that in spite of what the materials said, and the fact that the program was funded directly by the state, this district had always charged for these textbooks. She told Liz her daughter's participation was optional. Liz, understanding that school budgets are probably as tight as her budget at home, asked the district administrator how other districts provided the texts. The district administrator not only did not have an answer, but her only offer of help was to "ask that question when they had the statewide program meeting next year."

More positive family engagement.... Liz then went to the internet, and searched for the state Department of Education office that was responsible for this program, and called the state to find out if there had been a program change. FINALLY she got a response. She was told that in fact students should not be charged for materials. The woman on the phone offered to call the local district and school get the resources that students need, regardless of their financial means. The following afternoon, Liz got a call from the local school coordinator (who now was irritated that Liz had gone over her head) stating that materials and text would be provided at no expense for program participants.

This is a great example of a positive parent engagement, but how many students in our schools today have parents that would have persisted to this degree? How many students have been excluded because they could not afford the materials? What about parents or caregivers that don't speak English? There is no way they could have navigated that maze.

As educators, we all started out wanting the best for all children. But institutional culture and habits can get in the way of our real mission. When we begin to default to "we've always done it this way" and begin to see parents as a "pushy nuisance" as this school coordinator now views Liz, our culture is no longer supporting the maximum potential for ALL students. If we really want to close the achievement gap, and see all students reach their full potential, we must become vigilant about potential barriers, and do everything we can to remove them. And we must not only be grateful for engaged parents like Liz that help us to spot the barriers, but we must find ways to engage other parents to help remove obstacles as well.

What examples have you found in your own school that are barriers to family engagement and student achievement? What does your school or district do to address and change those things? What other great examples of outstanding family engagement can you think of where families have helped us liberate greatness in all students?

Algebra is Optional

2008-07-29T15:46:00.000-04:00

In the last decade, there have been more than 20 studies of engagement undertaken by organizations like Gallup, Towers Perrin, Blessing White, and others. There seems to be fairly universal agreement that our society is not engaged. Gallup, for example, in its survey of 3 million American workers, found that only 28% were engaged, 54% were putting in time for a paycheck, and 18% were completely disengaged, spreading their unhappiness in the workplace, actively looking for other employment, or in the worst cases, actually working against the interests of the organization.

The education division of The Engage Institute has polled more than a quarter of a million families of school aged children across the United States. The results aren't much different. The overall level of family engagement in the educational life of children looks a lot like the profile of American workers. And yet twenty years of research has shown that family engagement is the most reliable predictor of student success. Legislative initiatives like No Child Left Behind will never have their intended effect by pushing test scores as "performance indicators" unless we first find ways to re-engage families as partners in helping students succeed.

Families don't have to volunteer in a classroom, tutor Algebra, speak English, or even know how to spell chemistry to be engaged in their child's education. Research shows that if families and caregivers will do three things, they can help their child do better in school and make enormous strides toward reaching their maximum potential. Families need to (1) set high (but not unreasonable) expectations, (2) help children take responsibility for their education and take advantage of all opportunities to learn (and model this behavior in their own lives), and (3) talk to their children often about their goals and help them plan for the future.