Case Studies to Engage Every Family: Implementing the Five Simple Principles

Partnering with families just got easier In his bestselling book, Engage Every Family, Dr. Steve Constantino introduced school leaders to the five simple principles of family engagement: a pathway and process designed to bring all families into the school community—including those that have traditionally been disengaged or disenfranchised. This official companion book, co-authored by Dr. Margaret Constantino, uses examples and exercises to aid in the implementation of those principles. Organized around a collection of rich, diverse case studies mirroring challenges educators face every day, this hands-on workbook offers opportunities to address your own school’s current conditions, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and use best practices to support every student by engaging every family. Features include 20 carefully constructed case studies illustrating the five simple principles Adaptable processes and strategies to apply at the classroom, school, and district level Prompts to aid in identifying root causes of common engagement issues so you can successfully support each student Questions to guide reflection, discussion, and deeper thinking about each case To give students their best chance at success, we must ensure coordinated support at school and at home. This workbook gives educators the tools, materials, and ideas they need to reach every family—no matter the situation—and partner with them to grow their students’ achievement.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Darla Edwards About the Authors Preface Introduction: A Quick review of the Five Principles Principle 1: Creating a Culture That Engages Every Family Principle 2: Communicate Effectively and Develop Relationships Principle 3: Build Family Efficacy Principle 4: Engage Every Family in Decision Making Principle 5: Engage the Greater Community A Call to Action

About the Author :
For over twenty-five years, Dr. Steve Constantino has captivated thousands of teachers, administrators, school board members, and businesspeople from the United States and around the world. His keynote presentations and workshops have been featured in local, state, regional, national, and international conferences. Working as a high school principal in 1995, he stumbled across research about the effects of family engagement on student learning and was immediately convinced that this was the missing ingredient in helping all children learn.   Steve’s work quickly gained national prominence, and soon he began traveling the United States, speaking, and working with all types of educators, school board members, and businesses to promote sound practices in family engagement that result in increased academic achievement for all students. His natural gifts as a motivating orator, coupled with his knowledge and practical experience, make him one of the most sought-after speakers in the field of family engagement.   Steve began his career as an instrumental music teacher and later became an assistant principal, principal, deputy superintendent, and district superintendent. Steve is the former chief academic officer and acting superintendent of public instruction for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Steve is an executive professor at the William & Mary School of Education where he teachers in the Education Policy, Planning and Leadership department and continues to travel the globe helping schools, districts, and organizations to engage every family.   Dr. Margaret Constantino is an Executive Associate Professor in Education Policy, Planning and Leadership and Director of the Executive Ed. D. Programs at the William & Mary School of Education. Her 30-year career in education includes classroom experience as a special educator in elementary, middle, and high school settings. As a school level leader, she led the development and implementation of one of the largest International Baccalaureate Programs in North America. She has served as principal at the elementary and high school levels in both suburban and urban school systems. She also served as director of special education in Cobb County, GA, the nation’s 24th largest school system. Margaret’s teaching and project work crosses doctoral and principal preparation programs, with expertise in innovative leadership, design thinking, action research, special education, equity, and social justice. 

Review :
Case Studies to Engage Every Family is a valuable tool for all educators! The case studies allow us to apply theory to our own experiences so we can begin to be problem solvers. Constantino′s systematic approach helps educators to fully understand that only when we change our thoughts and beliefs about what real engagement means, will we begin to see results. Steven and Margaret Constantino have their finger on the pulse of today’s challenging educational landscape. These case studies challenge our thinking for how we can more effectively engage families. Each case study provides a unique true-to-life scenario with thought-provoking questions to help foster educator–family relationships. Strong family-school-community partnerships are more important than ever. However, most educators are not sure how to do it well or where to begin. This is the perfect guide, offering practical examples of how to bring the Five Simple Principles to life. These case studies resonate because they reflect common challenges. I encourage you to read it again and again. These case studies are detailed, thoughtful, realistic, and nuanced enough to allow for the types of rich discussions and thoughtful reflection that can change the climate and culture of a school and the nature of school-family partnerships. The step-by-step process makes it easy to analyze the scenarios and apply the principles to real-life interactions with families.   A companion piece to Engage Every Family, this book provides the what and the how of engaging families in the educational process. In every case study, I recognized a scenario I have experienced in my ten years as a Family Engagement Specialist. Reading this work built my capacity to strengthen authentic family engagement for EVERY family. This is an extraordinary inclusion of scenarios relevant to diverse school communities. The book offers a variety of examples that allow educators to make connections to their own practice.