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This may involve:

Implementing co-teaching models in inclusive classrooms.

Involving a student in both autistic support and general education class, monitoring his progress with fellow teacher.

Adapting instruction to meet diverse student needs through differentiated teaching strategies.

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Two colleagues overcome initial feelings of dislike, bond over their passion for their students to become a great team, creating a culture of working together

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Teacher Collaboration: Spreading Best Practices School-Wide

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How co-teaching came about in the Special Education field, and how success has been achieved between two or more educators working as a unit

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Co-Teaching  An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education

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Successful collaboration amongst educators, specialists, and support staff is key for improving student outcomes

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This article states that the essential component of effective collaboration is shared expertise

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Google Classroom is a free online application where teachers can share resources and ideas in real time. Also it can help staff work on lesson plans, and stay organized, with a feedback option for staff to share

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Slack is a powerful tool that can help improve the workflow and efficiency of teachers. It is also a very secure and safe choice when it comes to protecting data

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Learn how Slack can help your whole campus stay connected and engaged when everyone’s remote.

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Padlet is a visual blessing for me when it comes to doing projects. This visual space is a place where teachers can work together to form strategies and communicate with each other about any student topics. It is a digital bulletin board that allows real time collaboration

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This may involve:

Working closely to monitor the progress os the student with his parents/guardians

Come together with a plan of attack that is outlined by all staff and families of student

Listening to concerns of family and proceeding with those in mind

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This may involve:

Making sure everyone has a voice at the meetings

Schedule and communicate the time and place of meetings well in advance so that everyone is on the same page

Build relationship with families based on trust and honesty

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Hattie's Barometer of Influence can help educators to determine the effectiveness of their teachings. This video also introduces 7 key principles that should be used to establish effective partnership with families.

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This video talks abut the success that can ben had by collaboration among teachers, support staff, and families.

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This video highlights the positive effect of families and educators working closely together while being respectful to one another. The child picks up on this and is inspired by it.

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Build Relationships with Families

Before watching this video, read the text below. When instructed, watch the video from the beginning to end.

A child's social, emotional, cognitive, and academic development is strengthened when educators and families work together. When a child sees a positive relationship developing between educators and family, the child recognizes that the important people in his or her life are working together and trust each other, and he or she will do the same. This collaboration also provides a strong foundation for communication about children's learning. To foster family involvement, interactions between educators and families should be positive, purposeful, reciprocal, and consistent.

Communicate with families often.When there is good communication between educators and families, learning is collaborative, accomplishments are acknowledged, problems are recognized, and solutions are provided.

Communicate the positive and the negative. Families will have a better sense of their child's behaviors and accomplishments if all behaviors are reported (not only those that are negative or challenging).

Foster two-way communication. It is as important for the educator to hear from the parent or caregiver what the child is doing at home as it is for the parent or caregiver to hear what the child is doing in the early learning program. Share what children are learning and how parents and caregivers can offer support. Ask for feedback from families about the child's academic and social development outside of the program.

Use multiple modes communication. Create a constant flow of communication. Engage with families in person at drop-off and pick-up, keep a journal for each child that families can read and contribute to, set up a Parent Information Board, write regular newsletters or blog posts, and send emails or text messages.

Understand each family's expectations and views about their involvement.What parents and caregivers view as family engagement may differ from family to family. For example, in some cultures families believe that the most respectful way to treat an educator is not to question, suggest, or share information. Be explicit about the kind of involvement that you expect and welcome from families, but also honor the limits families may want to maintain.

Approach the relationship with respect. Treat the educator and family relationship the way you would treat any important relationship in your life. Work to create a respectful and reciprocal relationship-one in which families feel valued and supported.

In this video, you'll see educators use various strategies to build strong relationships with families. As you watch, look for effective strategies used by the educators in the video and jot down answers to these viewing questions in your Learning Log.

How do the educators keep families informed of their child's learning and activities?

How do the educators engage with families?

Review Why is it important for you to build relationships with families?

Families and educators each have unique knowledge about a child.

A parent or caregiver can share information with educators about how the child feels, thinks, and learns outside of the formal learning environment.

An educator can offer insight about how the child learns and behaves in group situations, as well as on his or her own.

Strong relationships between educators and families can strengthen children's emotional health. They show children that they can trust the adults in their lives because those adults trust each other.

Children's academic growth benefits from instructional coherence (when the learning in the program is supported by the learning at home and vice-versa).

Respectful relationships between educators and families provide children with models for how to create positive relationships with others.

What are some helpful ways to share information about what children are doing and learning?

Set up a Parent Information Board in the drop-off and pick-up area to post learning objectives, key vocabulary words, and explicit examples of ways parents can reinforce the learning. For example, Today we read a book about scientists. We learned how scientists look, touch, smell, listen to, and learn about the world around them. On your way home, ask your child to look, touch, smell, and listen as he or she practices being a scientist.

Use blogs, newsletters, text messages, and social media pages to keep families up-to-date on learning, provide ideas on home connections, share photos, and encourage families to share home experiences with educators.

Keep a journal for each child. Educators can write weekly entries about each child, highlighting a new project, a new learning, a new challenge, or a new development. Family members can read and contribute to the journal.

Reflect
Think about the learning environment at your own program as you answer these reflection questions in your Learning Log.

How do you build positive and collaborative relationships with families?

What did you learn that you will put into practice in your own learning environment?

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This site provides exciting, engaging media-rich learning opportunities for parents and educators of children ages 0-5. From detailed lesson plans to simple, everyday activities, you will find everything you need to help your children succeed.

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A tenured school principal discusses the importance of being prepared with an agenda, and offers strategies to conduct meetings that becomes trust building experiences.

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076. Organize and facilitate effective meetings with professionals and families

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“I often found that talking to our hall monitors, our hourly folks, they have a lot of insight...That really moves the team along with problem solving and setting goals without spending so much time on being stuck.” - Mary Mangione

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These strategies are ways to bond the educator and the families of students, by being welcoming and making these families feel included

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5 Culturally Responsive Family Engagement Strategies

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By creating ways for families to feel welcome and included, educators can strengthen the relationship between home and school.

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Collaborate with Families to Support Student Learning and Secure Needed Services

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This article gives tips on how being genuine and listening to the families of the students can be the most productive way to forge a trusting partnership

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We use this at my son's school. It allows for two-way communication, keeps families informed, and builds positive relationships that support student learning and engagement.

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Talking Points can help overcome any language barriers to ensure all families can participate in their child’s education and receive designated services.

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Remind keeps families engaged in their child’s academic and behavioral progress.

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This article stresses the importance of how meetings need to be organized with an agenda and proper scheduling.

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This is a guide to keeping things on track and ensuring that properly scheduled meetings will increase participation from everyone

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The Basics of Designing & Facilitating Meetings | MIT Human Resources

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Meeting Design is the deliberate act of planning and preparing for meetings ahead of time, which follows a process and includes certain key elements. Meeting Facilitation is the conscious act of guiding the meeting process so that it stays on course, to make sure everyone participates, and to reach the agreed-upon meeting goals.

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Allows for more flexible meetings with families and educators because of the ability to meet virtually

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Calendly is such an easy tool to use for all parties and it helps keep a person organized with notifications and reminders

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Padlet is a visual board that helps everyone stay organized while allowing everyone to participate and leave a message at their convenience.