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Sandra Duvvuri
CHLD 230: Family Engagement
Professor Michelle Garcia
August 2, 2022

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Questions ....
1. When you meet a new family how do you meet that family's need based on their diverse backgrounds?
How do you interest and engage them in the program?

2.What is an effective practice you have adapted to your program that has helped you build a strong relationship with your families?

3.When meeting your families how do you know the best way to communicate with them?
What have you noticed recently about the forms in which you communicate with your families? Has anything changed?

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I am in the early child development field because I love working with low-income children and their families. These families are at greater disadvantage in all areas overall in society. To me partnering with the families and helping achieve their personal goals and guide them through the first years of life of their child is very rewarding.
I could say that 90% of my families are Hispanic or Latino and helping them in their primary language in a Country that's not their own makes me very proud. I am just like them and I to me is very important to gain their trust because its easier to work together for the best interest of their child. I want for them to enjoy their first years of life of their child and for their child to grow healthy and achieve their maximum potential.   I also want my families to learn to advocate for themselves and their child in this society.
The only way we can achieve this is by working together in a partnership.

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When interviewing Ms.Stephanie I could feel her passion in the field in child development by the way she expressed herself about her families.

Her success in developing trusting relationships with her families is very effective. This is because she empowers and encourages them to develop their own goals and she is there to support them along the way. She works in collaboration with the family and their individual needs.

She did mentioned  that at the beginning of her career she presented herself as the Teacher and them as the parents. This first impression did not work for her because the families did not feel they could trust her and it took longer to build relationship with her.

One thing that I will implement is the way she is able to gather information by asking questions that are important to the family at the beginning of the school year. Questions that will help me communicate better with the families.

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Ms. Stephanie points out that her program has targeted this area very well.  She continues to explain that during the enrollment of the child in the program she has a "Transition HB204 form". This specific form asks  the family various questions regarding forms of communication. The family can choose text, phone, e-mail, language preference etc. She also helps the parent determine their best way of learning material by hearing  it, seeing it, reading it, writing it, or  hands on.
She is very happy for this form because it  helps her determine which way is more effective to communicate with each particular family.
Ms. Stephanie also says she uses other apps to increase communication with the family however text or zoom has become more effective since after the pandemic of 2020.

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Ms. Stephanie shares  with me that one way she builds a strong relationship with families is by setting clear expectations for both the teacher and the family. She also shares that being a home visitor has many advantages because the family is more comfortable to share with her in their home environment. In her experience she is able to meet extended family members and the participation of the father figure is more likely to participate in the child's education.

Ms. Stephanie also shares that she likes to find something in common with the family to make her more relatable. She also says that she is genuine and cares very deeply for her families because each one of them has taught her something special.

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I learned from Teacher Stephanie that one way she is able to engage families in the program is by collaborating with each other. She said: "Its a reciprocal relationships that receives and takes information from one another!"
She then said that she works  with each family individually as  their home base teacher. She visits the family in their home once every week for 90 minutes. The first couple of visits she is able to get to know the family better. In the first two visits she completes a survey with the family. In this survey she is able to determine the immediate needs of each family, and then she provides resources in the community that can help the family meet those needs.

Once those immediate needs  are met she is able to move along and coach the family to make a goal. This goal can't be any goal but one that will benefit the whole family. For example Teacher Stephanie shared some goals could be to save money for a car in the next year, continue their education, learn how to drive, find a job etc. She then helps the family plan to achieve that goal. The families come up with various ideas and she writes them down, finds information, provides resources and follows each two months with the family to document the progress.

She says: "sometimes the goals are not met, however  the family can see the progress  and they often feel motivated to continue the same goal the following year even if I am not their child's  Teacher anymore!"