Engaging Families
A United Way sponsored scan of 100 after-school programs across the nation found just 27 mentioned to have a family engagement component.
Engaging Families for After-School Practitioners
Open houses, PTA meetings and classroom volunteer opportunities are tried and true ways that schools involve parents in their children’s learning. Research shows this participation helps students succeed. But the latest research in child development is also suggesting that learning is enhanced when families are similarly involved in their children’s after-school experiences.
As part of United Way of Massachusetts Bay’s (UWMB) Engaging Families Initiative (www.uwmb.org/efi), UWMB partnered with Harvard Family Research Project and Build the Out-of-School Time Network (BOSTnet) to identify family engagement best practices of after-school programs.
With support from the Wallace Foundation, this partnership produced Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School, a new national guide for after-school providers that details best practices for engaging families in a meaningful and realistic way, taking into consideration both the challenges and, more importantly, the strengths of today’s working family.
The benefits? Family involvement in after-school programs yields benefits for young people, from greater involvement in school events and increased sense of accomplishment to family assistance with homework and better relations between child and parent. It gives encouragement to youth and steers them away from activities that may be considered dangerous to their well being and to the community.
For a copy of the guide or more information about UWMB’s Engaging Families Initiative, please go to www.uwmb.org/efi.
1Massachusetts After-School Research Study (MARS), 2005.