Follow-Up Guiding Questions Document

(REVISED 9/16/13)

Family Engagement Checklist

Follow-up Guiding Questions Document

Focused on Fully Integrated School/Family/Community Partnerships

Engaging family members in the RtI/PBIS process in your school is important for reaching fidelity and sustainability. This Family Engagement Checklist and follow-up questions will assist schools in engaging families and communicating with family members about RtI/PBIS in your school.

Directions for Checklist:

1.  The Family Engagement Checklist should be used each fall and spring. It is an ongoing document to assist teams in determining the work they are doing to engage families in the RtI/PBIS process.

2.  The RtI/PBIS Tier 1/Universal team completes the questionnaire together as a group; put a (√) and answer each question and/or find and attach the supporting documentation.

3.  Answer the open-ended questions on the lines provided and/or attach examples ONLY for the items currently in place. For example, if your school does not survey families annually, skip the item on describing and attaching a survey process.

4.  For each item not in place, or partially in place, determine if the item is a high, medium or low priority.

5.  Use the Family Engagement Planning document to develop an action plan to help guide your implementation.

Glossary of Terms

Action Plan / An action plan helps to guide implementation steps and technical assistance needed at all three tiers of implementation. Some examples of action plans include Multi-tiered Action Plan, self-assessments, and outside evaluations, etc.
Big 5 plus 2 data
For Behavior / Data graphs aggregated by: 1. Average referrals per day, per month, 2. Referrals by problem behavior, 3. Referrals by location, 4. Referrals by student, 5. Referrals by time, +1. Referrals by ethnicity, +2 Referrals by disability.
Community member / An individual who lives within the district’s geographic area. This could include a range of people (ex., business owner, community leader, civil employee, recreation organizer, volunteer, etc.
Community Representative / A community member who is NOT an employee of the district, who
actively participates on a school/district planning team.
Family member / An individual involved in the home life of a child in the district. This
could include a range of people (ex., parents/primary caregivers,
siblings, aunts/uncles, grandparents, etc.)
The family member should not be a member of the staff or faculty of
the school.
Participation / Active involvement in decision-making, including two-way
communication. Participation is mutually exclusive; representatives
can only count as family for one team at a time – example: one
family member cannot serve as the representative for the
elementary school and the high school at the same time.

Family Engagement Guiding Questionnaire

1.  CLIMATE
□ 1a. Describe school plan for welcoming families – families new to the school/district, family and community members entering the school/school buildings □ Copy of plan and welcoming packets attached [FEPA: A2, F8]
______
□ 1b. Describe process for training staff to work collaboratively and respectfully with all families (please address the diverse needs of families) [B1] ______
2.  FAMILY MEMBERS SERVING on RtI PBIS UNIVERSAL TEAM
□ 2a. Universal Team includes one or more family member(s) [F3]
Family members name and email/phone if you have permission to share
Family member name and contact ______
Family member name and contact ______
□ 2b. Family representatives have attended RtI PBIS training. [F3]
Provide names and contact ______
□ 2c. Family representatives have a defined role(s) on the RtI PBIS team [F5]
Please describe the family representative(s)’ role and training provided. Example: sending family member to Serving on Groups that Make Decisions training or providing the training in district, sharing/providing the publication: ______
□ 2d. A family/parent/community sub-committee of the Universal RtI PBIS Team is in place. [F6]
Elaborate on the purpose and membership of the sub-committee. Describe how information is shared and used between the PBIS team and the sub-committee and vice versa:
______
3.  COMMUNICATIONS WITH PARENTS/FAMILIES
□ 3a. Family members are surveyed annually on RtI PBIS implementation. [A1]
□ 3b. Copy of survey attached [A1]
Date of survey (year/month) ______
Elaborate if possible (percent return rate, how survey was conducted, trends, etc.) ______
______
□ 3c. Offer family RtI PBIS Overview annually – dates and materials used [B1-B4] ______
□ 3d. Identify booster needs to increase family partnerships – survey, data collected, trainings offered, etc. [A1, B5]
□ 3e. There is a process and plan for communicating with families in varied ways (i.e. newsletters, workshops, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, emails). [A1, B5]
Describe the process/plan and the varied ways communication takes place:
______
______□ 3f. Elaborate on the activities and methods used to communicate with diverse families regarding all three Tiers of support (attach examples of newsletters, flyers, etc.) [A1, B5, D2] ______
□ 3g. There is a process and plan for Notifying Families of Behavior or Academic Performance Below Expectations. Describe the process/plan and the varied ways communication takes place: [D1, D4, D5]
______
□ 3h. There is a process and plan to make family members aware of the crisis plan for responding to extreme dangerous situations? Describe the process/plan and the varied ways communication takes place: [D3]
______
4.  RESOURCE AND DATA SHARING
□ 4a. School-wide behavior expectations, T-Chart, School behavior matrix and acknowledgement systems are shared with families. Provide dates and methods used. [B1] ______
□ 4b. Target goals are shared with families - Examples – determination of target goals and how to achieve them, data and celebrations. [E1 –E4]
______
5.  PARENT/FAMILY PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING
□ 5a. Describe the process/plan for assessing family members’ opinions regarding participation on decision- making committees (list committees, leadership opportunities, etc.) Attach surveys if used: [A1-A2, F8, G1, G2]
______
□ 5b. Describe/elaborate on methods used to include all families on decision making/leadership committees. Attach plan, methods of communication (flyers, letters, invitations) and outreach activities: [A2, F8]
______
□ 5c. Describe/elaborate on methods to assure that family voice is heard and valued. Attach plan, survey results, parent sign-in sheets for meetings/sessions, how parent suggestions are addressed, etc.: [A2]
______
□ 5d. Describe/elaborate on methods used to share RtI PBIS items developed – behavior t-chart, discussions on classroom managed and office referred behaviors, acknowledgement systems, consequences, code of conduct, etc. Attach examples: [B1, B4, B5, C1-C3]
______
6.  PARENT/FAMILY VOLUNTEERING AND ASSISTING AT SCHOOL
□ 6a. Describe/ elaborate on how family members’ opinions on volunteering or assisting at schools are gathered. Attach survey is used, how survey is used, etc. [A1, F1-F8]
______
□ 6b. Describe/elaborate on various volunteer opportunities. Please include all volunteer opportunities such as chaperoning field trips, preparing materials at home, evening and early morning options. Attach documentation. [F1-F8]
______
□ 6c. Describe/elaborate on how all families are included in volunteer opportunities (flyers, phone calls, invitations, provision of transportation, child care, etc. [F1-F8]
______
7.  PARENT/FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING ACTIVITES AT HOME
□ 7a. Describe/elaborate on how families will be involved in learning activities at home. Attach survey, if used. Document how directions are provided for work to be done at home (paper, on-line, phone call options, examples provided). [B5]
______
□ 7b. Describe/elaborate on activities and the plan used to help families support children’s learning at home. Provide documentation such as RtI PBIS home and school behavior matrix, cool tool/behavior lesson plans for use at home as well as for review with child. [B5]
______
□ 7c. Describe/elaborate on the plan used to include diverse families at all three levels of RtI PBIS. Attach a plan that includes all family members as well as examples of communications, cool tools, matrix, etc. [A2, F8]
______